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"We need men who can dream of things that never were." John F. Kennedy

I HATE to shop

Today at lunchtime I go went out to Lowes and Home Depot to do more hunting and gathering for the house.

So, I'm at Lowes, looking at light fixtures. This gentleman comes along and asks if he can help. I tell him I'm looking for something to go in the kitchen.

He says, "Get a ceiling fan."

I say, "I have a ceiling fan now. I want to get rid of it."

"Why would you do that?" he asks, incredulous.

"It's ugly," I say. "Besides, it's useless in the kitchen - I don't use it - the air would blow the gas underneath the burners. And it's ugly. Very ugly."

"They make pretty ones, now." He says, waving to draw my attention to the dozens hanging up.

"That's a matter of opinion," I laugh. "They've made them more decorative. I don't think they've made them pretty yet."

He laughs - I think AT me, not WITH me - and asks, "How old is your house?"

"A little over 100 years old," I say.

He says, "Put in some recessed lights."

"No, I don't care for those. I want something with some character."

He says, "Well, that's all they're putting in new houses anymore."

The tone was one that indicated I was a fool for not wanting to do whatever the latest thing is. Now, think about this... if I thought new houses were wonderful, I wouldn't have bought a 100 year old one. See? Doesn't that make sense?

Why in the world would I give a flip what they're putting in new construction? Obviously, I think new construction leaves a lot to be desired because I bought something old. I want to get as far away from new construction as possible.

I wanted something solid. Something with real wood in it. Something built by people who cared about standards. Something with real baseboards, real wood floors, windows built by people who knew how to build windows instead of just buying them prefab. Shoot, when people who knew how to build HOUSES built them instead of just buying the parts prefab and assembling them in some fashion.

Last week I bought quarter round and had to explain that I wanted REAL wood, not psuedo wood. The kid just could not understand why anyone would want anything other than the fake stuff. Well... damn... because it's FAKE!!!!!!! I like real cheese as opposed to "process cheese-like" substances too.

Finally, I gathered my things at Lowes and went to Home Depot to get some paint mixed.

Early this morning I opened the can of Behr paint that was left after painting my living room three years ago. I have some touch up work to do. I opened the can to find goo in the bottom.

I was not impressed with Behr paint when I was painting with it. And I'm certainly not impressed with this discovery. I have probably eight different brands of paint from that time and this is the only brand that has turned to goo.

Nonetheless, I now own another gallon in the same color so I can touch up. I started to just get a quart but it's 2/3 the cost of a gallon and if I don't have enough... well... you know the routine.

Getting paint mixed required me digging in my purse for an old receipt to get their phone number and placing TWO calls to get someone to show up to mix the paint. Yes, not one, but two, phone calls.

The other night I went to buy some doors and spent 25 minutes waiting on someone to help me. I asked one of the 11 employees that were in the front of the store and they said someone would be back there. There was no one. Of course, it was 9:45 by the time I left - they close at 9 - but if they had shown up the first time I had someone paged, instead of me having to do it two other times, they would have gotten out on time. To their credit, they were very pleasant about the whole thing.

But... did I mention... I HATE to shop. It is far too complex.

phones, phones, phones

I have found a new way to indicate when one is too busy... I haven't had time to even listen to the messages on my cell phone that came in while I was talking to other people on my cell phone. They're playing in the background now. I just was on the regular phone and had to interrupt that call for a cell phone call who's number I recognized as urgent. I know I'm not this important. How can things be this crazy?