Androphobia

I was very afraid of men. The first time I went to daycare, I saw that she had two grown sons and I freaked a little. I hadn't really interacted with any men since I kicked Ryder's father out. I wasn't sure what to do. What if they started yelling at me? I knew I was a shitty person, though I wasn't clear on why. What if they got angry enough to hurt Ryder or me?

I still am a little afraid.

I didn't interact with men, besides work and such, for a long time. I could not even think about dating. That was crazy talk.

I have a hard time thinking that all men are not like the ex. All men are not going to fuck me over. They are not all mean. They are not all going to call me names and get angry at any little misstep.

I still am a little afraid.

I Hate eBay

I have had a broken laptop in my possession for a while now. All it was doing was collecting dust until my friend suggested I sell it on eBay for parts. What a novel idea! I never thought such a thing possible.

She helps me set up the listing. Bidding starting at $25, buy it outright for $75, shipping $14. As soon as I listed it someone bought it for $75! I was psyched.

I waited for payment. And waited and waited. None came. I had to report the buyer. I planned on just relisting it, but since I am a new seller, I could only list one computer every 30 days. So I had to wait a little longer.

Finally my 30 days were up and I relisted it. I watched the bidding for a week. The final bid was $41 - and I was psyched. All I had to do was ship it. I tried going through UPS online, but they quoted a shipping price of $17. Well that could not be right. So I decided to go into a store. I checked the email I received from eBay and made the shipping label out to the PO Box they had listed.

Once inside the store, the clerk said that because it was a PO Box, it had to be shipped USPS priority shipping and would come to $26. I was so flustered that I just said okay. It was the only address I had, after all.

I went to my friend all upset that it had cost so much to ship. She told me to contact the buyer and tell them what happened. She said they would pay me, if only so I wouldn't give them a bad rating. So I did. I politely explained the situation and asked that she pay the difference.

I received a response today. The woman said that in the transaction details it not only says I shipped it UPS but it also gave me her house address. Furthermore, she told me that she does this all the time and if I did actually pay that much for shipping that I got ripped off. This really upset me. I didn't ship it UPS, I didn't have her home address, and I did not know if I did get ripped off. How could I have? Shipping prices don't change. Do they? So I double checked the email I was sent. Yup, PO Box. I checked the shipment tracking number, yup, USPS. Then I went online under transaction details. It does say that it was shipped UPS. I think this is what I was going to ship it. And sure enough, there was her home address. I had never seen this page, and why would I? I received an email with all the pertinent information. I blame eBay for not being user friendly, confusing, and sending me the wrong shipping address.

I am grateful that I have $30 more than I did before, but it was not worth the hassle.

My Penny Girl

She is too cute.

Do you have any pets?!

I sure do! I have a mini schnauzer mix named Penny. She is a very smart dog. Although I rarely admit that. She is awfully cute, but awfully needy. I don't really do needy. I have a hard time when my kid is needy, forget about the dog. But I try to bring her to Maine on occasion so that she can run around the backyard. She is good enough that I just let her out into my backyard a couple times a day and she rarely runs away. And always returns.

Rachel's Holiday

Remember the Blog Dare? I have done a couple. It has great ideas when you want to post something, but don't know what to post about.

The last book I read...

was Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes. It is about a woman who overdoses and is sent to a rehab facility by her friends and family. Rachel does not think she should be in rehab, but not many of the patients do, actually none of them think they do. It is a great book. Marian Keyes does a great job at addressing serious issues and putting a funny outlook on them. I have also read Anybody Out There and that's another I'd recommend. They are easy reads but not just fluff like some.

October Again!

So it is October again here in Salem which means Halloween Every Day! It is by far the funnest thing about living in Salem. For about 2 weeks. Then it gets old. Really fast.

But for now I am excited! Last night was the Grand Parade. (Pics coming soon) We had great seats down on Front Street, which, apparently, is not a popular spot. All the better for us. And now you. Now that you know.

Ryder wore his super cute costume:

He got so much candy because he was cute. Especially from the college girls.

Tonight is Trick or Treating at the shops downtown. More candy. I still have candy from last year, of which I need to throw out before our excursion tonight. Good month to decide to eat healthy.

Anyways, the effing ferris wheel is due to go up in just under two weeks. I am not looking forward to that. But I am looking forward to fried dough, root beer floats, costumes!, trick or treating, and the Bizarre Bazaar.