By: Revanche
Weekend Window Shopping
September 1, 2006
If I had the kind of spending money my supervisor seems to THINK I have, some things I’d be getting for this upcoming business trip, or just for myself, might be: 
The Embossed Leather Frame Bag: $128.00
Maybe a nice pair of pumps – does the croco leather and peeptoe make up for it not being as business-formal as a closed toe pump? Maybe not…. $118
A nice, elegant little not-black dress for the low low price of $148!
And maybe the work-sized version of the Croco Large Open Tote: $188.00
Yes, this is probably how I don’t overspend when shopping. These prices are so ridiculous that I can hardly imagine being able to afford just one thing, much less an outfit!!
By: Revanche
Aluminum, plastics, glass = $30.26
With the added benefit of cleaning up the overflow of aluminum cans *temporarily* stored in the backyard since 2001, I made a trip to the recycling center up the street and came out a whole $30.26 richer!
Good for the environment, good for the pocketbook! [I like the word pocketbook, it gives the impression of a book that can hold all your crap and still fit in your pocket. And seems to inherently mean there’s money in it, unlike my empty wallet.]
I’ve never actually used this sort of recycling center before but I learned that they are open 8:30-4:00 everyday. It’s a manned station, but you can either have the guy working there do your cans by volume or insert them, one by one, into the little feeder doohickey. They pay 4 cents per can or $1.75lb of sorted aluminum. They’ll take your assorted recyclables in bulk, too, but they’ll just pay you less by the pound: $1.17? I was vaguely wondering if I came out ahead doing about 17 pounds by weight or if I would have made much more going by the feeder system.
But since I had three enormous garbage bags-full, I would still be there feeding those blasted cans in one after the other. In 98 degree weather. Ugh. Oh, and the disadvantage of the singles system is that they do not accept squashed cans. Back in 2001, recycling centers still accepted squashed cans, so I had can-pucks aplenty.
That was kind of fun, now I’m eyeballing the cans in the kitchen anticipating another profitable recycling run.
