“ “Must a name mean something?” Alice asked doubtfully. “Of course it must,” Humpty Dumpty said with a short laugh…”
- Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass, ch. VI, Macmillan (1872)
I like names. People names, place names, thing names. Names can be fun. I also tend to fall on the side with Humpty and agree that a name must mean something. My screen names mean something. The one I use for eBay™ and this site, 'fuzzybear,' has a direct correlation to the fact that I am fuzzy and give great bear hugs. OK, fine, the Mrs. gave the nickname to me because I did a decent Fozzy Bear impersonation (or was it because I am hairy and have the temperament of a bear?), and I used it for a screen name. Still, it means something, as most nicknames do. In a moment of random, chaotic thought I reflected upon the name of this project. "One Room At A Time." By definition, the name is fairly straightforward. I have discussed the intent of the project in other posts, so I won't bore everyone with redundant information. The origin of the name, however, is interesting.
It is not like I came up with something original. The whole "One [fill in the blank] At A Time" is a familiar convention. There is "One Day At A Time," a phrase useful for therapeutic environs and friends of Bill W. We have the name "One Thing At A Time" for people who are multitask challenged, or for those individuals who have interesting eating habits. "One Person At A Time" is a name given to a useful management tool for teachers. Just with these three examples, it is easy to see how "One Room At A Time" befits a personal therapy process for an addictive obsessive/compulsive personality type. Ahem. Then there is the nickname for the project. "1RAT."
Think about it. There is the whole " I am just one person in the rat-race called life." Or "just another one of those pack-rats." Or "you, for one, are a vicious little rat." Or "first, if you don't take care of this stuff, we'll get rats."
You know, I think I now know why I have taken to calling the project "One Room" for short.
06 January 2007
03 January 2007
Broccoli salad
There is a quote about 'intentions' out there somewhere in the literary world that applies to the issues met so far this fine day. I reckon I could use some search engine and find it. Of course, that would mean yet another distraction from the non-project task of the day: make Broccoli Salad. Here it is approaching the dinner hour, and I have yet to make it. Ugh. Not the salad, mind you (as I like it), but the mere fact that I have yet to do it. Wait, that means that this is a distraction. Dang it.
[fast forward in time]
There, that's done.
[fast forward in time]
And it was tasty.
[fast forward in time]
So, I can finally get back to this post. What was I saying? That's right, intentions. Too bad I forgot what I wanted to say about them. Probably something witty, and sarcastic. Probably something about how I thought distractions of family would be over with the end of Christmas break. Probably something about how 1RAT needs to be a focus, but not a distraction from important daily tasks like preparing for meals or paying bills. Something like that. Probably.
[fast forward in time]
There, that's done.
[fast forward in time]
And it was tasty.
[fast forward in time]
So, I can finally get back to this post. What was I saying? That's right, intentions. Too bad I forgot what I wanted to say about them. Probably something witty, and sarcastic. Probably something about how I thought distractions of family would be over with the end of Christmas break. Probably something about how 1RAT needs to be a focus, but not a distraction from important daily tasks like preparing for meals or paying bills. Something like that. Probably.
02 January 2007
Doing the Math - Week Five
I have a confession. Before my ardent supporters become concerned, however, I assure everyone that it has nothing to do with a premature conclusion to the project, nor does it involve any nefarious acts. In fact, the Mrs. had full knowledge of what I did prior to my doing it, giving me permission as it were.
I bought something on eBay™.
Yes, even within the throes of keeping the project moving forward, I managed to add to the clutter. I had my reasoning, however, which I shared with the Mrs. then and now share with you. It involves that wonderful capitalistic concept that drives the free enterprise system. Mostly. There is another method behind my madness, which I will share after I do the math.
You see, I bought a 'lot' of toys. In the range of 250-400 toys. The ones that come in kid's meals from a variety of fast food joints. As I was researching one of my items prior to listing, I came across the sale of this collection, and the notion popped into my brain that if I bought it, there was great potential in recovering my investment, at minimum, as well as bringing joy into the lives of others. The shipment has not arrived yet, so I will use the low end of the quoted range of items for illustration purposes.
Auction closing bid: $29.00
Shipping: 18.05
Total purchase costs: $47.05
Using the low end of the range provided by the seller, that works out to about $0.19 per toy. Granted, a little pricey for something that comes free with a hamburger, fries, and drink in a fun little box, but bear with me. Let's say that somewhere in that mix is an entire set of toys, perhaps something like the "Land Before Time" set of 6 dinosaur toys. A recent auction sold a similar (unbagged) set for $6.95, which works out to about $1.16 each. If I am fortunate to sell at the same price, it could be something like this -
Cost for set: $1.14
Sale price: 6.95
Gross: 5.81
That's not too bad, all things considered. Another example would be the "Pocahontas" set of 8 (bagged) that sold for $4.99, which works out to about $0.62 each -
Cost for set: $1.52
Sale price: 4.99
Gross: 3.47
Again, not too bad, all things considered. How about a "Hunchback of Notre Dame" set of 5 (bagged) for $3.99?
Cost for set: $0.95
Sale price: 3.99
Gross: 3.04
"Mr. Potato Head" set of 5 (bagged) for $7.75?
Cost for set: $0.95
Sale Price: 7.75
Gross: 6.80
Now, having gone through all of that, and shown the world the math, there exists the great possibility that I won't recover my investment. I did point this out to the Mrs. when I brought up the purchase in the first place, but added the extra little rationale that helped us both decide to bid on the auction. It may well be this rationale which, while incurring a loss, makes it all worthwhile. You see, I decided that whatever I could not resell would be put out at our yard sales.
In the 'Free Stuff' basket for the kids.
I bought something on eBay™.
Yes, even within the throes of keeping the project moving forward, I managed to add to the clutter. I had my reasoning, however, which I shared with the Mrs. then and now share with you. It involves that wonderful capitalistic concept that drives the free enterprise system. Mostly. There is another method behind my madness, which I will share after I do the math.
You see, I bought a 'lot' of toys. In the range of 250-400 toys. The ones that come in kid's meals from a variety of fast food joints. As I was researching one of my items prior to listing, I came across the sale of this collection, and the notion popped into my brain that if I bought it, there was great potential in recovering my investment, at minimum, as well as bringing joy into the lives of others. The shipment has not arrived yet, so I will use the low end of the quoted range of items for illustration purposes.
Auction closing bid: $29.00
Shipping: 18.05
Total purchase costs: $47.05
Using the low end of the range provided by the seller, that works out to about $0.19 per toy. Granted, a little pricey for something that comes free with a hamburger, fries, and drink in a fun little box, but bear with me. Let's say that somewhere in that mix is an entire set of toys, perhaps something like the "Land Before Time" set of 6 dinosaur toys. A recent auction sold a similar (unbagged) set for $6.95, which works out to about $1.16 each. If I am fortunate to sell at the same price, it could be something like this -
Cost for set: $1.14
Sale price: 6.95
Gross: 5.81
That's not too bad, all things considered. Another example would be the "Pocahontas" set of 8 (bagged) that sold for $4.99, which works out to about $0.62 each -
Cost for set: $1.52
Sale price: 4.99
Gross: 3.47
Again, not too bad, all things considered. How about a "Hunchback of Notre Dame" set of 5 (bagged) for $3.99?
Cost for set: $0.95
Sale price: 3.99
Gross: 3.04
"Mr. Potato Head" set of 5 (bagged) for $7.75?
Cost for set: $0.95
Sale Price: 7.75
Gross: 6.80
Now, having gone through all of that, and shown the world the math, there exists the great possibility that I won't recover my investment. I did point this out to the Mrs. when I brought up the purchase in the first place, but added the extra little rationale that helped us both decide to bid on the auction. It may well be this rationale which, while incurring a loss, makes it all worthwhile. You see, I decided that whatever I could not resell would be put out at our yard sales.
In the 'Free Stuff' basket for the kids.
31 December 2006
The Envelope(s), Please
It is time to announce the highly anticipated results of the voting for One Room's one room. The task was a challenge, but I did manage to get through the huge volume of votes and can now tell you that... [drum roll]
Interesting...[drum roll continues]
Well, folks, you are not going to believe this...[drum continues, laboriously]
Perhaps we need a recount...[drum sputters and stalls]
We have a tie. [cymbal crash]
Let's see. Two votes definitely for the attic. One vote for the "attic," but clearly a coerced vote as determined by the hand-scrawled "I was forced to say it; I really vote for room A." One vote for...[raises eyebrow]
Well, according to our hanging chad expert, it is a vote for Room A, although it does seem that the voter attempted to vote for every room. [looks at the Mrs.] Seeing as all the other votes were obviously misplaced, that means we have a tie. That means the tie must be broken. The tie must be broken by me. By me who put it to a vote in the first place.
It's a conspiracy, I tell you!
Fine. Be that way. I'll make the final decision then. I decide to start with...
Interesting...[drum roll continues]
Well, folks, you are not going to believe this...[drum continues, laboriously]
Perhaps we need a recount...[drum sputters and stalls]
We have a tie. [cymbal crash]
Let's see. Two votes definitely for the attic. One vote for the "attic," but clearly a coerced vote as determined by the hand-scrawled "I was forced to say it; I really vote for room A." One vote for...[raises eyebrow]
Well, according to our hanging chad expert, it is a vote for Room A, although it does seem that the voter attempted to vote for every room. [looks at the Mrs.] Seeing as all the other votes were obviously misplaced, that means we have a tie. That means the tie must be broken. The tie must be broken by me. By me who put it to a vote in the first place.
It's a conspiracy, I tell you!
Fine. Be that way. I'll make the final decision then. I decide to start with...