Saturday, October 22, 2005
Q: What's black and white and red [sic] all over?
A: My new loot! Yesterday was payday, and I took full advantage of it by doing some much-needed shopping...and I also got an unexpected gift. Read on for descriptions of the loot (or stop reading now if you don't really care).
Black
-A space heater. Before the start of every winter, I am forced to think of some sort of solution to keep the gas bill for my drafty apartment from reaching astronomical levels. Last year, it was those shrink-wrap window coverings, which took me like a week to install and promptly fell down after about a day. Not about to go down that road again, I reasoned that I could just take my keep-cool-in-the-summer strategy (i.e., run the air-conditioning for a few hours each evening, then sleep with a small fan going) and apply it to the winter--hence, the space heater. Now we'll just have to see if it works. Regardless, it's got to be better than spending a week struggling with that shrink-wrap nonsense.
-A new pair of khakis. These aren't actually black; they're gray, but I'm putting them into the "black" category, because otherwise they won't fit with this little theme I've got going here. I've been half-heartedly looking for some new khakis for a while now, because the only pair I have is about two sizes too big, so I was pleased to find a pair in my (correct) size on the Old Navy sale rack. As a bonus, they make my butt look flat, which, if you know my butt, is a good thing. (By the way, if you're sitting at home right now going, "Yeah, I do know Clare's butt," let me just say that I am officially creeped out.)
Red
-Paint for my (sort of) new kitchen table. I bought the table months ago during my big IKEA shopping spree, but I've been waiting to paint it until it cools off (which it has; note to self: you may live in Alabama, but it is almost November, and it is too cold to be wearing flip-flops). Maybe it's just me (although I suspect it's not just me), but I have to like both the color and the name of a paint before I can buy it. Heirloom Red was out for that reason, but I was torn between Radiant Red and Posh Red. Finally, I went with Posh, because it was a little darker (I'm hoping this will translate into fewer coats) and because I figured that, with that name, my kitchen table could function as a sort of homage to Hannah and Ann's former neighbors, David and Victoria Beckham.
White
-A new winter coat. It makes me sadder than it probably should to have to give up my old winter coat, which was red and had a big, dramatic collar. But like the khakis, it had also gotten a little too roomy. So I was comforted when I found a gorgeous winter-white, empire-waist, J.Crew-esque coat at Old Navy for the rock-bottom price of $50. (The cashier, when she rang me up, even remarked what a good deal it was, which seems to be happening to me a lot lately. But no, for those of you who are wondering, I didn't accidentally steal anything this time.)
-An iBook. This, obviously, was the unexpected gift. I had mentioned to my freelance boss a few weeks ago that I was planning to buy one as a Christmas present for myself. She asked if she could help pay for it, but I felt kind of weird about that, so I asked if she would buy me the Office software for it instead (since I'd be using the software primarily for my work for her). We had the whole deal worked out, but yesterday, I had to ask her to send me a presentation at work, since I don't have Power Point at home. She asked when I'd be getting the new computer so she could hook me up with the Power Point software, and I told her not until December. (I had plans to ship it to my parents' house so I could open it on Christmas morning, which frightens me because I am turning into my mother, knowing what my Christmas presents are, yet not allowing myself to have them until Christmas.) She asked if she helped pay for it if I could get it sooner, and I said probably not, and went on to try to explain the intricate logic I had worked out in my head as far as how I was going to purchase the computer. (I won't bore you with it here, because really...it doesn't make much sense.) Anyway, to make a long story short, she asked me what computer I was looking at, I told her the iBook, and she was like, "Let me buy it for you!" We went back and forth on that one for a while ("No, that's too generous!", "No, it's a tax write-off!", etc.) before I agreed to let her do it, and then her husband and I had a big debate over iBook vs. Powerbook (he thought I'd appreciate the extra speed and capability; I thought stuff like that would be wasted on someone who basically uses her computer to surf the Internet and write stuff in Word), but finally, it was official: I am getting a new iBook! For free! All right, technically, the company will own the computer, and I said I'd give it back if I stop freelancing for them within the next two years, but I don't forsee that happening. So I'm getting a new iBook! For free! That's better than the space heater and the khakis and the paint and the coat combined.
A: My new loot! Yesterday was payday, and I took full advantage of it by doing some much-needed shopping...and I also got an unexpected gift. Read on for descriptions of the loot (or stop reading now if you don't really care).
Black
-A space heater. Before the start of every winter, I am forced to think of some sort of solution to keep the gas bill for my drafty apartment from reaching astronomical levels. Last year, it was those shrink-wrap window coverings, which took me like a week to install and promptly fell down after about a day. Not about to go down that road again, I reasoned that I could just take my keep-cool-in-the-summer strategy (i.e., run the air-conditioning for a few hours each evening, then sleep with a small fan going) and apply it to the winter--hence, the space heater. Now we'll just have to see if it works. Regardless, it's got to be better than spending a week struggling with that shrink-wrap nonsense.
-A new pair of khakis. These aren't actually black; they're gray, but I'm putting them into the "black" category, because otherwise they won't fit with this little theme I've got going here. I've been half-heartedly looking for some new khakis for a while now, because the only pair I have is about two sizes too big, so I was pleased to find a pair in my (correct) size on the Old Navy sale rack. As a bonus, they make my butt look flat, which, if you know my butt, is a good thing. (By the way, if you're sitting at home right now going, "Yeah, I do know Clare's butt," let me just say that I am officially creeped out.)
Red
-Paint for my (sort of) new kitchen table. I bought the table months ago during my big IKEA shopping spree, but I've been waiting to paint it until it cools off (which it has; note to self: you may live in Alabama, but it is almost November, and it is too cold to be wearing flip-flops). Maybe it's just me (although I suspect it's not just me), but I have to like both the color and the name of a paint before I can buy it. Heirloom Red was out for that reason, but I was torn between Radiant Red and Posh Red. Finally, I went with Posh, because it was a little darker (I'm hoping this will translate into fewer coats) and because I figured that, with that name, my kitchen table could function as a sort of homage to Hannah and Ann's former neighbors, David and Victoria Beckham.
White
-A new winter coat. It makes me sadder than it probably should to have to give up my old winter coat, which was red and had a big, dramatic collar. But like the khakis, it had also gotten a little too roomy. So I was comforted when I found a gorgeous winter-white, empire-waist, J.Crew-esque coat at Old Navy for the rock-bottom price of $50. (The cashier, when she rang me up, even remarked what a good deal it was, which seems to be happening to me a lot lately. But no, for those of you who are wondering, I didn't accidentally steal anything this time.)
-An iBook. This, obviously, was the unexpected gift. I had mentioned to my freelance boss a few weeks ago that I was planning to buy one as a Christmas present for myself. She asked if she could help pay for it, but I felt kind of weird about that, so I asked if she would buy me the Office software for it instead (since I'd be using the software primarily for my work for her). We had the whole deal worked out, but yesterday, I had to ask her to send me a presentation at work, since I don't have Power Point at home. She asked when I'd be getting the new computer so she could hook me up with the Power Point software, and I told her not until December. (I had plans to ship it to my parents' house so I could open it on Christmas morning, which frightens me because I am turning into my mother, knowing what my Christmas presents are, yet not allowing myself to have them until Christmas.) She asked if she helped pay for it if I could get it sooner, and I said probably not, and went on to try to explain the intricate logic I had worked out in my head as far as how I was going to purchase the computer. (I won't bore you with it here, because really...it doesn't make much sense.) Anyway, to make a long story short, she asked me what computer I was looking at, I told her the iBook, and she was like, "Let me buy it for you!" We went back and forth on that one for a while ("No, that's too generous!", "No, it's a tax write-off!", etc.) before I agreed to let her do it, and then her husband and I had a big debate over iBook vs. Powerbook (he thought I'd appreciate the extra speed and capability; I thought stuff like that would be wasted on someone who basically uses her computer to surf the Internet and write stuff in Word), but finally, it was official: I am getting a new iBook! For free! All right, technically, the company will own the computer, and I said I'd give it back if I stop freelancing for them within the next two years, but I don't forsee that happening. So I'm getting a new iBook! For free! That's better than the space heater and the khakis and the paint and the coat combined.
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