Treasure Island (Spoiler: it's not an amusement park)

So I live across from a unique, rather fancy, overpriced grocery store. Kind of a bastion in a world overrun (thankfully so, in many instances, like, oh I don't know, ANYTIME after 9 pm) with major chains like Jewel, Walgreens, Dominick's, Walmart and Target.

Treasure Island calls itself "America's Most European Grocery Store".

Now, I've not frequented enough European markets--actual ones, located in Europe--to either attest to the validity of that little slogan or scoff at its presumption, but T.I.'s within walking distance, and there's something very sturdy to tie Hugo to outside of its doors, and those are big factors for me.The store is actually within spitting distance of my roof, I'd hazard. So, I'd resolved not to get too lazy and become a daily grocery shopper. Unfortunately I've got all of the preexisting conditions....proximity to more than one grocery store, occasional laziness, odd/intermittent eating habits and times-- & perhaps most damning--the tendency to shop when hungry. Further complicating the latter is my tendency to BE hungry. Right.

I've come to the conclusion, and won't make you walk through the calculations with me (I'm convinced, so you just have to believe me. It's an exercise in trust, like a trust fall) that I neither lose nor save money by shopping at Treasure Island. Their prices, of course, are higher than those at Jewel, for instance, and they rarely have sales. It's just mathematically sound, though, that the extra money I spend on buying my yogurt at Treasure Island is more than recouped when I calculate what I save now that I no longer purchase package mailers.

Here's the key to my success in both saving time and not losing money by shopping at T.I.: THEIR BAGS. These bags are the sturdiest paper. I'd construct a small flotation device and trust it to hold a small child (not my own) for a good 90 minutes atop a body of water. THAT sturdy. I began to resort to packaging some of the books I sell by wrapping them in Treasure Island bags when I didn't have any package mailers. It occurred to me that there was no reason NOT to always employ this method.

Look: If you substitute the word "purposes" for "purchases", their bags even suggest I get my creative on..... I'm just complying.

I've gotten a number of compliments from customers who, upon receipt of their order, have let me know they appreciated the packaging.

Presumably for its uniqueness and not the butcher paper aesthetic.

Oh that? That's just my business outbox.
Thank you, Treasure Island.
Stay classy.
And stay situated right across the street.

..........I GOT NEW SUNGLASSES.......

......and thought I wanted to publicize that to more than just the two people who received this picture via text. There's something very insect about my face here, but nonetheless, I love them. I rarely look good in sunglasses. Not even positive I do in these. But I feel good, and couldn't care less. I haven't blogged in awhile; topically this really doesn't warrant a post.

Forgive the egocentrism.

$14.99 very well spent.

And heaven help me, they ALMOST cover my brows.

A for effort.

I really appreciate the "My work here is done" vibe I get from this shot.
And without disclosing more than you'd ever want or need to know,
that's quite an accurate sentiment.
No need to look so martyr-ish about it though.
I'm the one carrying the plastic bag.

If ever there were a letter I should have responded to 12 years earlier...?

Happy Birthday Job!!!!

Job and I reconnected exactly a year ago tonight; I wished him a happy birthday.

That turned into an hours long exchange.

Nothing has been the same since.

Not for a single day.

I mean that 'single day' part quite literally.

:)

About six months ago I found this letter from him, and read it to him over the phone.

Neither of us remembers me responding at the time.

[Yeah, he still gets significant leverage out of that.]

I love the beginning: "Remember me?".

Sure do.

:)

[Look, I adjusted it so no one can read the words, sweetie! Brilliant. Stealthy]
In fact, Job made my birthday last year incredibly special. It's 16 days after his. I'm a year younger, though he maintains that I'm older. Follow the logic?

Right, me neither. There is none.

I keep some of our 2009 old fashioned correspondences in this box now.

We're avid communicators, and occasionally even exchange real mail.

Totally all just part of his long term wooing strategy, I know.

Happy Birthday, Job.
I know this was embarrassing, but as you're so fond of telling me: you love it.
I hope.
lis

(12.12.2009/Wilmette,IL/3:14am/7 degrees fahrenheit)

I'm serious about savings.

Perhaps the best part is that I circled it in thick black Sharpie, as though I might forget how excited I was, or for what purpose I was photographing my grocery receipt.

It has my name on it too. There's a proprietary element at work.

That's almost a dollar for every year of my life.

...a few things that have made me happy this week...

My personal coffee kiosk. Some of you may recall when, on May 1st, I enacted the no purchasing coffee to go (at Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Caribou etc) statute, enforced by post-its secured on both front and back apartment doors. After saving approximately $1400, I had a brief relapse. Now? I'm back onboard the budget train. It never fails to delight me to see my little cafe when I round the corner into the kitchen.

Long Wilmette-to-Northbrook-to-Wauconda-to-Wilmette trips with David! Where, despite this morning having been our 5th or 6th opportunity, we remain astonishingly inept at taking a photo where he doesn't look drugged and I don't look awful. It's exceptionally strange considering how many 'takes' we attempt. There are MANY stoplights between here and there. And many asinine drivers for whom a dusting of snow seemed tantamunt to the apocalypse.

Chicago Christmas decorations: I am especially in favor of white lights. Lifelong fan of white lights. I prefer white lights to colored ones. White are my favorite. (White lights.) I captured these particular ones because they're of the white variety.
I like this kind.
Resumption of my treadmill regimen. I lowered that blind-- per Job's request... That white man at right stands guard when I'm running. I admit I'm a little disheartened not to be running outside this winter, but as I ramp up operation 'get back in shape', it's best to remember I'm lucky to have such good equipment. Ahem. I concede: it's easier, and draws far less attention to sing the entire "Wicked" soundtrack on one's treadmill than on the sidewalks of Wilmette.

This thing. My car has one of these and I thought I'd publicly state my appreciation for their existence, and mine's reliability. NewsChannel 780, for you Chicagoans, also a staple.

My new peacoat. Forgive the face. I was concentrating on trying to photograph the coat. I then had to defend myself against a robust slew of insults based on the fact that I am not a member the United States Navy and therefore had not 'earned' this coat. Arrived yesterday--Overstock.com holla!!

Hugo's insistence on eating grass everywhere we go. It's not my digestive tract. Have at it, Hoss.

Spending more time at my Mom & Mark's lately. A spontaneous photo of my growing-up house. When my camera is functioning I can get overzealous and take unnecessary photos. Pretty though, no? Never noticed the glaring absence of windows. How'd we breathe in there?

* so, i sell books *

For 'extra' (arguably not a necessary qualifier for an unemployed student, ouch.....) income, I sell books. By my rough estimate, I own--between the ones I retrieved from my mom's house, those that've stayed with me from college straight to apartment life, and indeed the many I've acquired as a grad student, avid 'for fun' reader and long time Barnes & Noble employee (the discount...oh dear the discount)--somewhere around 700. Initially I expected it to be more difficult to part with books for the same reason that I'd become a chronic purchaser rather than a regular library patron-because I enjoy owning books. To reread, keep solely for nostalgic reasons, use for present scholastic purposes and, I'd wondered, perhaps to have onhand to give to my children sometime in the future.It has proven far less difficult to a) determine whether I'm opting to sell a given book, and b) part with it as merchandise once a sale goes through-- than I imagined.

Below, my co-proprietor monitors some of our overflow stock.

The process is relatively time consuming; for each book, I assess its condition, write a lengthy description of both the book itself (literary merit, author, accolades, ouvre etc) as well as its experience in my care....is it in "fair" condition, etc. I describe its blemishes if it has any, etc. Then, I price that bad boy. Originally, I was primarily concerned with getting as many listed on the site as possible, and indeed they did begin to sell relatively soon. I have grown a bit savvier now, however, and will, when I have the time, go into my online inventory and evaluate my prices against those of others'. I learned (and Job can attest to my shock) that some people quite literally must sit there, wait for a price to be listed, and then undercut your price by 40 cents for the same item, listed as in the same general condition. Those people? Those people don't know what I know. Namely that I will win. I'll monitor sales and decide--hey, okay, this compendium of Time Magazine's Top 100 Photos Ever? Sure, it's worth over $30, but I'll part with it for $14.29 rather than engage in a back and forth where the other seller shaves 50 cents off each time I lower my price.
Because, follow me here; although I am a student of the humanities and not of math, I do know the following: $14.29 is greater than zero. :)

Below is a photo of the operation during its humble beginnings, before it gathered steam. Now that chest functions as a staging and wrapping station for completed sales, effectually the books' last stop before the Wilmette, IL post office.
The manager, Hugo, and I assemble recent sales, package them in accordance with their fragility & weight, and check to be sure the items are address to the proper recipients (Kind thanks yet again to "Kat the librarian" who was graceful enough to forward on the copy of The Dante Club she didn't order to its actual buyer. She was a lamb, no joke). There's a grace period of about a week before you're required to have packed and shipped off your items. My record has been unblemished--until, that is, the past two weeks. I've slipped. I'm shipping out a few tomorrow that are late, and I'm equal parts curious and apprehensive to see if the tardiness impacts my "feedback"rating, heretofore at a stellar 100%. Until now I've been regarded as a prompt shipper, 'great communicator' (save it) and someone who describes their items accurately, doesn't inflate or exaggerate the condition of the book or books to make sales.

I abandoned the inclusion of a handwritten note in each book about halfway through the endeavor. Depending on circumstance, or whether I've interacted with the buyer online at some time during the process, I still dabble in a post-it here or there, and am not averse to flourishing a signature with a large smiley face in Sharpie. ON the package. Oh yeah, I'm bold. I've even gotten a few notes back.

I remember doing the math the first month or so to determine how many hours I was dedicating to assessing and listing the books as for sale, as well as measuring that against the sales I was making. It's certainly nothing that could substitute for real work, but I've found it rewarding, and often really enjoy having made a sale not only because my wallet's thicker to the tune of a cool $4.85, but because someone somewhere will enjoy that book (or suffer through it in the name of a syllabus demand), whereas if it stayed here, it'd languish interminably on my shelf.

p.s: [I am known as an "A + + + SELLER", which in book sales parlance/jargon is apparently good!]

And while there's no official recgnition given for the most eccentric, outstanding wrappers, I can't imagine people don't appreciate receiving a book secured in four layers of newspaper, the headline atop the front page reading : "Saddam to Hang for Crimes Against Kurds". Hey--I'd found old newspapers I'd kept for other purposes and have grown resourceful in efforts not to spend as much on fancy manila envelopes as I'll earn in book sales. But yeah, old news huh.