Rediscovering Ebay

www.ebay.com

I have been a part of the ebay community for a long time. Back when my second oldest daughter was about a year old, 1996, I believe, I was a bored housewife and was poking around the internet, trying to learn more about it. I found a site that was about button collecting because I was interested in that at the time (still like buttons as a matter of fact) and I was chatting back and forth with another stay-at-homer, who liked buttons and she pointed me to this little website called "ebay" where she purchased some buttons through an online auction. At the time, I thought is seemed a little risky and very technical, but I went there anyway. I didn't tell my husband anything about it yet. The first item I decided to bid on was a set of clay marbles from the civil war--I also collect antique marbles--at that time there were no pictures showing items. You were on your own, so it seemed really risky. I bid on the marbles and got them for $10.00. I sent the guy my check and a few days later, I had my civil war era antique marbles. Only then did I decide I could tell my husband what I had discovered. Fourteen years later, what an evolution! From a tiny, picture-less auction site to the empire it is today! Unbelievable!

I am writing this post today because I have gone through a dry period in regard to eBay. I have either been too busy, or too uninterested, or like now, too financially strapped to even bother looking, however, since we are in such dire straits in terms of personal income, my husband and I have started selling things again, and eBay really is a good place to make a little money on the side if you have the time and motivation. Selling some items from his tool collection, and my selling of other various items (handmade Halloween costumes coming soon!) has at least allowed us to put gas in our car, or go out to eat once in awhile. All those years ago, who knew I would be relying on a website to help get my family through a financial nightmare. For that, I am thankful for the gal who told me about ebay and thankful that ebay has been so successful for so long!

New Book--Great Read

I just finished reading the recently published book, "Last Dog on the Hill" by Steve Duno. If you love dogs and have a heart beating inside your chest, you can't help but enjoy this book. I usually shy away from books about animals, but as a dog owner who has loved and lost a couple of really great canine friends, I decided to go for it. This book is a memoir of Mr. Duno's life with his beloved Lou the feral dog he found on a hill in California. Lou seems almost like a superhero; way too smart to believe, but even if some of the stories about Steve and this great dog are a little embellished, it is still a really good book. There is a lot of humor and a lot of sadness in the book.   Mr. Duno is a great storyteller, and it felt like we were just sitting around listening to his adventures with this amazing dog that changed his life and helped change the lives of countless dogs who were slated to be euthanized. I finished the book in tears, but I had the satisfaction of knowing that I am not alone in my utter fascination and infatuation with my  furry companions. Even though Lou seems almost too extraordinary to be true, the relationship between him and his master is enviable. We all need a friend as loyal and brave as Lou!

Fading Summer

This week all the kids are back in school. The school where I work will start up again on Monday, and it just seems like the summer went so fast! Granted, my kids get out of school before Memorial day, so their "summer" break technically started in late Spring, and school starts in late Summer; no matter, it still seems like things pass by faster and faster. I am not sure if I like that or not. In one way, it is good because when you are a kid it seems like everything takes so long! It felt like I was always waiting for some event, or holiday, or season. Now, in almost the blink of an eye, another month has passed. Now the cicadas are shrilling, the days seem dry, the sparkly, cool, blue water of the neighborhood pool has lost its thrill. Every once in awhile, my dog seems to catch a whiff of Fall caught in a hot breeze. It is all so fleeting. I am finally learning to appreciate each hour, because just like that, change is upon me, and on and on it goes. . .
 

Congratulations! You Lose!

Shortly after I wrote my last post about filing for bankruptcy, we got a letter from our lawyer. The first sentence said, "Congratulations! Your Chapter 13 bankruptcy payment plan has been confirmed! Yada, yada, yada, b*llsh*t, b*llsh*t, b*llsh*t. . . What in the hell are they congratulating us for! That has to be the most asinine  letter I have ever received. Congratulations, you now get to pay us an enormous amount of money for the next five years, live below the poverty level, and be less motivated than ever to improve you earnings--(because if you do, we will adjust your payment to an even higher level, CHA-CHING!!!!) Filing for bankruptcy can sometimes really give people relief. Sometimes people need a second chance. Sometimes people need a kick in the pants to get their act together and pay for what they want. For me, I get that we need to be "punished" for what "we" (I only was aware of some of the debt we had, the rest was hidden from me by my husband) did. Instead of trying to pay back what we owed using Consumer Credit Counseling, my husband insisted that we jump into the bankruptcy, thinking it would be a quick fix. That is him in a nutshell--everything has to be "right now." If he would have been willing to really work out a budget with CCC, we might have avoided this whole mess. It all seems too much for me, too humiliating, too stressful to see that you have absolutely no money for groceries, too scary if, God forbid, any of the six of us would have some sort of accident, or illness, we would not have any way to pay for it. Even more likely, if one of our cars had a big problem, we won't be able to get it fixed. Extra money is just not there, and there are no credit cards to fall back on. In addition to that, we cannot ask our families for help because my husband has ordered me not to tell anyone; add to that that we have to lie to our children when they want to do something extra, and we don't have the money. All of this is simply too much, and really something that I am ashamed to be going through. This should never have happened to intelligent, educated, hard-working, motivated people. If only my husband had told me the truth when I asked him if we needed to work on a budget years ago. If only, if only. . . Please heed my words, do anything you can to avoid bankruptcy. It will ruin your life!