A Life Less Ordinary

Moving Day...

by Helen

Is this Friday. My progress seems to get handicapped everyday by Scrabble online, but I am making decent headway to at least a point of my apartment being unwalkable. 

Goal for today - finish the kitchen as much as possible. 

Cleaning Out the Pantry

by Helen

I have some friends and old roommates who when moving throw perfectly good food out because of the hassle that it is to move it from one place to another.  I prefer to try to save and use as much as possible (within reason) because it seems silly and wasteful to just toss pasta that you haven't used.

So yesterday, Adam and I went through his pantry. So what do you find in a pantry of an apartment inhabited by two guys"

Many boxes of stale cereal

3-5 boxes of stale crackers and wafers

Unopened Cheez-Its

6-8 containers of various pasta 

A couple of canned foods - olives, tuna, etc. 

Lots of sugar of all varieties

Multiple bags of flour 

Corn starch

An opened can of pickles and a sealed can of jalapenos 

Rice Roni

Soup mixes

Oatmeal to last us for 10 years 

Dry mashed potatoes 

I'm sure I'm forgetting some items, but this was the bulk of it.  So it seems that at least some boys clearly go shopping and buy things without knowing that they already have those items. I am hoping that my pantry will be less repetitive, but I'm not holding my breath. 

Decisions for Two

by Helen

In my job for the last five years, I truly believe that I was paid to make decisions.  I usually had to do it fast and often got burned on doing it too fast actually. I prided myself on not being afraid of making a choice and standing by it. 

It's different when you are moving in together because you have to consult with each other before making the final decision. So today and yesterday, I have been calling the cable companies to figure out what the best plan is for TV and internet at our new place.  I also called DirectTV to put in a moving order.  However, all I was really trying to do was collect information, but these sales people really wanted to close the deal right then and there.  I understand the mentality - if they let me get off the phone, I may not come back.  But really - if you are confident in your product, why not let me make a decision on my time table.  

I had a terrible experience with QWEST today for example. I was pretty specific that I was interested in TV and Internet.  Instead the sales rep tried to convince me that I pay too much for my phone...Granted, I pay too much for the privilege of using the IPHONE but QWEST doesn't support the IPHONE so that's a total non starter.  Once we finally went over the options I wanted to talk about, the woman asked if I wanted to place an order.  SoI said I need to think about it and talk to my boyfriend.  After this she proceeded to tell me how much my customer satisfaction is important to QWEST and she would love to give me a $50 VISA gift card if I sign the agreement now.  I told her I am happy to call back when I am ready to make the decision.  I got off the phone feeling gross.  

On the contrary, COMCAST sales person was really nice and calm and put me in a no pressure situation.  Go figure.  

Bottom line is - I think it's good for me to have to consult with someone before I make decisions.  Makes my decisions more sound, even though it is definitely in my nature to just make a decision and move on to the next task (and agonize about it being the wrong decision after that).