2006-04-22 23:00:00
Shopping spree
I realized something. I like to spend money. I found this out today by going shopping for stuff that should have only cost in the ballpark of $30 and, once I was done, spent around $250. I bet you're wondering how, aren't you? Well, I'll tell you.I needed to go shopping to get little things for my trip to Florida, such as toothpaste, shaving cream, razors, a toothbrush, sun tan lotion, a beach towel, and swim trunks. My sister and I started at WalMart where I found everything except the towel and trunks. WalMart had both, but no towels were long enough for me (I wanted one at least 6' long) and no trunks I liked fit me (I wanted some cool blue and white trunks). We then drove around the plaza to TJ Maxx, but they were closed. After a trip to the UPS store (my sister needed to send a package), which was also closed, we were on our way to Lowe's when I spotted cars in the JC Penny parking lot. I thought this was odd, because it was about 6:30PM and the mall closed at 5PM on Sunday's. I pulled around to try and read the hours on the door, but couldn't, so I parked and we walked up. The sign said they closed at 5PM, but the doors were still open. I started to open the door when I heard a female voice say, "Do you need a coupon?" Startled, I turned and said, "No, thanks." The lady started explaining how Pennies was having a sale, which was why they are still open, and would continue to be until 8PM. You could get an extra 20% off everything you buy if you had a coupon. This lady had two. Apparently they came in pairs; something like "for you and a friend." I was her friend today. She gave me her second coupon, I thanked her, held the door for her and my sister, then went on my way.
This was great, I can get 20% off a beach towel and swim trunks if I can find any I like. We went upstairs to the men's department where I immediately saw the swim trunks. They were half off the original price of $30. Great! They ended up costing $15.99 after the extra 20% off. I figured, if everything is on sale, I should walk over and check out the dress shirts and suits. I had been looking for a nice black suit for some time, and now was a good time if everything was on sale. I couldn't have asked for a better time. Buy the coat at regular price and get the pants for $1. The coat, originally $175, was $140 after the coupon, and the pants were $0.86 after the coupon. $140.86 for a $275 suit. Not too shabby. Then I saw the ties. Hmmmm, I just bought a melon shirt and don't have a tie to match. I found a nice tie with many shades of orange, perfect. Then I found a 6'x5; beach towel, awesome! So we left Pennies and got into my vehicle. I saw a car pull around and said to Kelli, "She's gonna pull right beside me." I said this because there were a million open spots, and it would be just my luck for someone to pull right beside me. She did. It appeared to be a mother and her daughter. The daughter eyed me up as soon as they pulled in. I put the vehicle in reverse, looked over, and she was still looking at me. I started backing out, looked one more time, and she was still staring. This girl was checkin me out. But like the moron I am, I continued to drive away.
There was still one thing I needed to get, screws. The dock for my Sirius receiver had two screws fall out (of the four that hold it to the mount). That's not good. So I first went to Lowes, which was closed, then went to the Home Depot, which was open til 8PM. I took one of the remaining two screws with me and tried to match it to the enormous wall of screws. I found the section of machine screws and started the hunt. After a few minutes, I found some that appeared to be the same width, same thread spacing, but a little longer. Length wasn't a big deal, I could handle that. Those screws also came with nuts, which would come in handy later (I didn't know this at the time). For $1.86 I bought the screws, went to my vehicle, and tried to put them in. Blast! In about half way and they stopped. I told myself I would make them work, no matter what. So I got home, got a big screwdriver, some nail polish (to be used in lieu of thread-lock), and dumped the screws and nuts onto my bed. I tried forcing a screw into the mount but it wouldn't go the whole way. I noticed that the space between the mount and the screw head was exactly the thickness of the nuts that came with the screws. So I got 4 screws, put on 4 nuts and twisted them as close to the screw-head as I could, put some nail poish on the threads, and screwed them in. Perfecto! The nuts acted as a nice spacer and the screws went in just enough to be really tight. That, along with the nail polish, should mean that these screws will never come out, ever.
So you see, all I wanted was a few little things, but I can't pass up a sale, even if I don't know about it.
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