My brother and his wife are moving to Australia, where she will attend medical school and he will mooch off our relatives get a job. Everything must go! We just returned from their house $200 poorer, but rich in junk. A backup bread machine? Ours squeals like a pig whenever it's in the mixing cycle, so sure. Speakers for the garage? We're building our house around the garage; of course it's going to need surround sound. My sister-in-law was happy to let me have her old purse for free, pointing out that she'd received it for free as a gift from my mom, but my brother jumped in and charged me $20 for it. When I'd wanted it a few years ago, his price was $50. We aren't close.
A surprising thing about my brother and his wife is that they are bodybuilders. I know, you re-read that last sentence, thinking you'd surely misunderstood. Take a look:
I'm the opposite of a bodybuilder (here's a post to prove it), but I've made my peace with that and had no interest in purchasing any of their weights or kettlebells. I did bring home a couple of yoga DVD box sets, which I intend to look at every morning with good intentions, and occasionally dust. Imagine my surprise when Sexy Nerd offered to purchase the weights and kettlebells.
"Will you actually use those?" I asked. He nodded, leaving me instantly impressed, imagining a buff, new Sexy Nerd who pumps iron and helps clean the floor by lifting the sofa over his head. Just when I thought he couldn't get any better.
"These are so heavy," he added. "They'll be perfect for projects in the garage. I always need to weigh things down and it sucks when I can't find anything heavy enough."
Did I just pay top dollar for the handyman equivalent of a paperweight? *Sigh*
A surprising thing about my brother and his wife is that they are bodybuilders. I know, you re-read that last sentence, thinking you'd surely misunderstood. Take a look:
I'm the opposite of a bodybuilder (here's a post to prove it), but I've made my peace with that and had no interest in purchasing any of their weights or kettlebells. I did bring home a couple of yoga DVD box sets, which I intend to look at every morning with good intentions, and occasionally dust. Imagine my surprise when Sexy Nerd offered to purchase the weights and kettlebells.
"Will you actually use those?" I asked. He nodded, leaving me instantly impressed, imagining a buff, new Sexy Nerd who pumps iron and helps clean the floor by lifting the sofa over his head. Just when I thought he couldn't get any better.
We got the weights home. I asked where we'll keep them once we move. "In the garage," Sexy Nerd replied. The notion of it also being a gym would help me feel better about the excessive window costs and scenic views in every direction, surely wasted on a closet for cars. If only he'd stopped there.
"These are so heavy," he added. "They'll be perfect for projects in the garage. I always need to weigh things down and it sucks when I can't find anything heavy enough."
Did I just pay top dollar for the handyman equivalent of a paperweight? *Sigh*