REI Garage Sale-Year 2: Ryan and Brandon Do Dallas

9 am. feels like 5 am when you're performing nearly nightly in an outdoor Shakespeare festival in Dallas, Texas for something over 5 hours.

Up with the 9 am sun, I brewed some coffee for the both of us. New brew from Brandon's brother, a gift from his recent trip to the Caribbean. We french press it and go, already late, thanks to me.

9:52 am we roll up to Dallas REI (for a 10:00 am garage sale crazy-grabbing bash). Now I expected a line and I expected camping out and lo and behold we got both! After all, who better to camp out in line than people who camp anyway? The Six-flags line of people stretched around the building and included camping-wise families with babies, cadres of rock climbing enthusiasts, young couples fresh off their bikes, and another varied assortment of less-outdoorsy looking folks, which I suppose included Brandon and I. I wore my Chacos anyway, just in case.

10:00 am and the doors open. The line lurches forward and we are shuffled inside and upstairs to the back. Two doors. Two rooms. Over 100 people.

I expected gnashing of teeth and fisticuffs and bumping and jostling and stealing!

Instead, there was polite quick stepping, blind grabbing, and surprising generosity among the garage salers.

The big tickets items were gone by the time we made it in the rooms. I operated on the dictum of taking first and reading the label later, and so quickly had an armful of little things that looked like a good deal. Brandon went straight for the boots and I poked around the accessory bins. Backpacks were just out of the question. And there was a great kayak. I really wanted that kayak.

Well, we rummaged and raced through there and found some pretty good things. I was upset with some not-so-generous folks who stood in a corner mooning over their heaping piles of packs and tents. REI signs posted forbade stock-piling but I guess one man might actually need 10 frame backpacks, several tents, and that beautiful yellow kayak...Maybe he's starting an outdoor tours outfit, and I say, more power to him. I mean that, or at least 20% of me does. The other 80%, well, you get the idea.

So all told, here's what I got:

REI Campware Percolator 9-cup RETAIL: $39.50 MY PRICE: $4.83

Apparently it leaks from the spout. After two cups of delicious, make-your-chest-hair-stand-up-straight percolator coffee poured with nary a drop spilled, I disagree.

Mountain Green 30-LED Lantern RETAIL: $30.00 MY PRICE: $1.83

The handle is busted and the screw-on top is poorly designed. True-but a jerry-rigged, wire handle never hurt anybody. And it uses D-batteries! How quaint.

Princeton Tec Headlamp RETAIL: $ 19.95 MY PRICE: $ 4.83

The actual lamp is broken off from the head band. Some might say it is hopeless! But where there is duct tape, there is always hope.

Portable Aqua with PA+Plus RETAIL: $10.00 MY PRICE: $0.83

This is the stuff! The packaging was tattered but looked mostly untampered. Safe enough for my drinking water! It's patented two-part purification process cleans the water and takes away the nasty purified taste of dangerous organism killing chemicals! For under a dollar, who can resist?

Byer Moskito Travller Hammock RETAIL: $ 39.95 MY PRICE: $ 9.83

This thing rocks! It gets tangles up, according to the label, but then what hammock doesn't? And now I can so easily sleep in the jungle, unflustered by malarial mosquitoes and other nasties. Sounds good to me.

FINAL SAVINGS MANIFEST

Total Retail Cost: $ 139.40

Total Garage Sale Cost: $ 22.15

TOTAL SAVINGS $ 117.25

Thanks REI for another great sale. Camping to commence any time now. Hopefully.

Post-Grad?

Hello! Wow it's been a while! Here's a short recap:

Finish Senior Year-Difficult!

Graduation-Yes!

Post-graduation-Oh...this is a melange of delight and sadness, abject confusion and elation rolled into one big ball of shoulder-harrowing pressure/pleasure!

Summer stock Shakespeare-Cool!

Final summer class to complete ad degree-Not cool!

Waiting for 1-3 jobs, potentially all at the same time-Difficult!

Being broke-Kinda fun, mostly difficult!

That's mostly it.

Oh! Also, I've started making delicious homemade hummus for profit. I don't have a name or a label but I have some secret guarded recipes:

ORIGINAL sans Tahini

ORIGINAL with Tahini

"GREEK STYLE" with Oregano

CREAMY SWEET PEPPER

SAVORY SWEET PEPPER

SPICY SUNDRIED TOMATO

I'll make some for you! 6$ for 16 oz. or 10$ for two! Worth it, I assure you.

Vince Guaraldi, Man for All Seasons

Okay. So first of all, you need to know that I'm not that kind of guy who listens to Christmas music* all year long.

*I am the kind of guy who listenss to Christmas music all year long.

I'm not the person who's blasting Jingle Bells in July just to prove the festivus in my soul in the blistering Texas heat to the person waiting at the red light next to me. That person is a person you usually want to punch in the nose, and then yell, "Wait until November! Happy Fourth", or something along those lines.

BUT I am the person who will listen to Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Christmas ALL YEAR LONG. July, August, May, October, Whatever and Whenever. Because it makes me feel good. Makes me feel great, in fact. I listen to it when I need to feel calm and not upset, like therapy. Christmas therapy? I know every note to Christmas Time is Here and Skating is time to whistle along while I love to scat sing to O Tannenbaum. And Linus and Lucy is tucked in there like a friendly gem which I always remember with a fond, "Oh yeah! This song". Such a wonderful thing that never gets old. And it isn't just Vince. Sometimes there's Bing. And Brubeck (makes GREAT Christmas stuff! Who knew?) They're all allowed to come with.

I've been listening to Christmas jazz for two weeks straight now, inspired by my constant playing of Vince Guaraldi's album, and quite honestly getting fed up with just how short it is! I need more than that approximately 45 minutes of Christmas jazz bliss. So thanks to Pandora, my wish has come true! Vince Guaraldi Trio Radio, all day, all night. It hasn't gotten old yet. This is probably aided by the fact that my roommate and I have been baking too, bent on making the whole apartment a holiday experience before November even starts!

Is it ever wrong to reminisce about great past memories and to generate warm feelings in our apartment? I should hope not. Come over! Let's hear it together. You won't be disappointed.

REI Garage Sale=Best Value for Misers Like Me

So I'm a member of REI, and let's be honest, I'm a pretty green outdoorsmen. I've always wanted to be more of one, with dreadlocks and lots of anklets and tan and really good at climbing rocks and a wearer of bandanas, except they look cool. One of those. Biggest obstacle to me becoming this=equipment is ridiculously expensive, and you need some essentials to get started. The only problem is I'm po', and I'm a penny-pincher. (I'm Scottish. Deal with it).


Well, I've been balding since I was 17, I'm more of a bracelet-man myself, my skin is as pale as a translucent moonfish, and I'm mediocre at rock climbing. I do wear bandanas, though. I'll leave it at that.

So before you get all concerned with my stereotyping or self-confidence issues or my penchant for placing too much importance on some "cool person" image I've created for myself, let me just say that I'm proud to be a member of REI.. I'm one step closer to being the adventurer I long to be. And I'm okay with my skin color and my premature balding and the fact that I'm a rock-climbing student with much to learn (though I'm doing alright for myself). And dreads (dreds?)smell bad anyway.

That being said, REI has a members-only garage sale every year in the summer, and boy howdy, there are so good deals. Seriously. All the garage sale goods are used items, either once (i.e. some kid bought boots and thought they hurt, but the jokes on him because all boots are supposed to hurt for a while) or many times (we'll get to that later). Even if I bought a pair of shoes from REI in 1979 (I was born in 1987), I could waltz in today and return them for a refund , and then my boots would get sold in the sale! Amazing.
Okay, so people camp out (that's a funny) for this thing, no joke. Crowds of people clamboring for marked down goods. And REI is not cheap, but this stuff=real cheap. So the crowds didn't surprise me. Here's what I bought. Prepare for jealousy:

LOWA Renegade GTX Mid (Narrow Width) Hiking Boots

RETAIL: $199.95

MY PRICE: $18.83

The previous owner had them a week and thought them too narrow (narrow width! Duh!)

AND....

REI Brand Cruise UL 60 2007 Lightweight Backpack

RETAIL: $103.99

MY PRICE: $19.83

I found this covertly sitting in the back with the full-price packs. It's like heaven, it's so light. People were glaring at me the whole time with slanted eyes, all up in my biz about me having the pack and not them. No joke. I saw hate come out of these people. But I found it! Geez.

AND...

Kelty Trail Dome 4

RETAIL: $179.95

MY PRICE: $24.83

So this purportedly had two broken poles and 1 rain-canopy pole was absent. No problem. It was used, for sure, but people were buying literally buggy-fulls of discount tents. I had to get what I could. I unrolled it later and it's crazy-ripped. There's a foot-long rip near the door and a big puncture rip near it, and there's no pegs! I can't complain too much, though. Look at that price!

I also bought a baby caribiner and a Nalgene, but those weren't discounted and thus, not too interesting. All in all, it was awesome savings times. Check out the final savings manifest:

FINAL SAVINGS MANIFEST

Total Retail Value: $483.89

Total Reduced Value: $63.49

Total Savings: $420.40

Woah baby! That's alot of money. I'm on the way. Next time you see me I'll be munching granola on a mountain top in the haze of a campfire in front of my Kelty Trail Dome 4. Probably.

Thanks REI and customers who didn't like your merchandise!

Latest Regret #1345.4A: Not Learning Lindy Hop

I love swing dancing. East coast swing dancing, let me clarify. Westies out there will be horrified if I don't specify. They are serious. Like gang serious. 

But the thing is, like working out, me going dancing doesn't happen enough. Every so often on wednesday or saturday when dancing is nigh in Dallas, (which it is yearly-ask me! We'll go as per your impetus), I finally get myself on the dance floor, provided there are people there with me (at least one, and not even a girl). I love it! And I dream to learn more.

I want a great pair of shoes so I can finally do the Lindy hop! It's such a fast, exuberant dance that can really get crazy! If you haven't seen it, get on that: 

Not sped up a all either. Those dancers are legit. I have seen this. 

So I'll be able to do that. One day. That's the dream. 

I can dance that fast in my heart, I just need someone to learn with!

Doesn't it just look amazing? 

Sons of Hermann Hall, every wednesday 5$ 

and Sammon Arts Center, every saturday 7$! Better than a movie, I swear.

Simmer Time

So I've been playing around with cooking lately. It being summer I have more time on my hands! As per my limited budget, there aren't many options by way of dinner. It's usually chicken and something made of carbohydrates, like pasta or rice, or it's cereal or yogurt or even a sandwich! Thrills. 

I love to cook but it's just so freakin expensive. Luckily I have a pretty good selection of herbs and chicken is a versatile bird, you know? Lately I've been getting risky. I mean, even if it's terrible, I'm still the only one eating it, so no one has to suffer but me. I think it's an honor code or something. If you cook it, you eat it, you know?

So last night was my most successful experiment! It could have been awful. I decided to make some chicken and rice and I wanted a glaze of honey with something special in it. Here's my recipe! You can try it.

chicken breast sauteed in olive oil and garlic, then simmered for 15 minutes in a mixture of

honey, water, a bit more olive oil, cinnamon, pepper, and curry powder. 

I served it over jasmine rice. delicious. though it still needs something else, maybe some red pepper or something to give it some zing.

Waiting on the Rain

This morning, being home, I decided, as I often do, to work and read out in my backyard. I had to hurry and make it out before it started raining because I wanted to get to my seat under our pavilion. It was so exciting! I had to gather my books and supplies and scamper out there before the drops started to fall, and for some reason I felt like a little kid again. Sadly, it only sprinkled for about 5 minutes, but Texas is like that. It fools you into thinking it's going to do one thing when it does a completely different thing. I kinda like that, though. Regardless, I'm sitting under my pavilion in the sun. 

But this is similar to many things in life I think. We see an opportunity and make a decision about it. We get excited and prepared to experience that opportunity, run outside, arms full of hope, ready to accept it full on and with an open heart, and bam! It's something completely different entirely, something you did not ever see coming! It may be worse, it may be better than before-but either way it's completely different and completely disappointing for a bit. It kinda knocks the wind out of your sails, you know? But at this point, I think you have two choices. Important ones. 

One: You decide to hold resentment against that changed opportunity and grow jaded about taking chances on similar opportunities ever again. You keep your hope and your heart to yourself and wait for the chance to use them only on your terms and not on the terms of an unknown situation. In other words, you go inside and watch through the window, hating the sun and resenting the rain for not meeting you when you wanted it to. 

or 

Two: You accept the difference and see what you can do with the new set of circumstances using the things you brought with you, your heart and your hopes. You sit under the pavilion anyway, though it's in the sun and not the rain. You wanted the rain, you got the sun, but if you wait, maybe the rain will come again. 

I decided to wait in the sun. It's much better this way, I'd say.