Why I Ache a Lot Today...

[redneckgaijin]

This morning, used most of what was left on the $100 Wal-Mart gift card (previously used to buy her gas Wed. and to get some supplies a week ago) my grandmother got me for my birthday. For me personally, Fraggle Rock: Season One; for the Exploder, some oil, oil treatment (really need a change sometime soon), power steering fluid, fuel injector cleaner, two spark plugs and three spark plug sockets for my wrench set.

Went to flea market; no customers to speak of early on, so I went ahead and installed the two new spark plugs. (Why only two? Because one cylinder of the V6 in the Exploder has oil leaking into the compression chamber, and this corrodes and prematurely wears down the plug there. The old plug, coming out, looked like a very old and neglected battery terminal- but probably would have functioned for a while longer. I replaced the plug on the opposite side at the same time for balance. Replacing all six, however, would be difficult, since one plug is stuck in a position requiring multiple flex connections, a mechanically gifted octopus, or partial dismantling of the air intake manifold to swap out. The Exploder has MUCH more power with the two new plugs in; hopefully an extra mile or two per gallon will also come of this. In the process, lost a flathead screwdriver socket from the set trying to get the rubber from the spark plug socket off the installed plug; also scratched up my hands and lower arms quite a bit.

During the day, made as many deals as possible to avoid hauling home as much as possible. Let what was left of most of the smalls go for a proverbial song- I think I got my money out and a little bit more, but not much. Sold some pictures for what amounts to only a couple of bucks more than they cost me, gave one away completely as a package deal- it was damaged. Took a quick break to send out some packages at the post office, then came back, hustled all I could, then began packing.

The books I had for sale- the good ones I'm offering on Amazon, the paperbacks I'm likely going to swap at a bookstore, and the really cruddy ones I don't know how I'll unload- went into four boxes. Four ***HEAVY*** boxes. Remaining glassware and ceramics, thankfully, only made up one rather small box- except for those pieces going to auction, which will load tomorrow.

Brought home four pieces of furniture, three I didn't want to sell and one I tried and failed to sell. Loading them was a chore, but the handcart I'd brought to the flea market was no help on the uneven floor, so it came back today too. Two pieces were lightweight, two very heavy indeed.

Drove home, ate dinner, gradually unloaded. Table and headboard/display shelf into storage. Video shelf and bookshelf into the house, positioned, loaded. Books distributed according to their eventual fate. Glassware to storage. Various items pulled for Xmas gifts to the house, destination unknown.

My head is sore from cigarette smoke allergies- an occupational hazard of flea marketing. My hands are sore from scratches and scrapes as the engine demanded its taste of blood. My back, legs and feet are sore from packing, loading and unloading some pretty heavy stuff.

Thankfully, tomorrow I don't have to unload what I load.


Oh- finances? Friday sales $31.30, today's sales $120. Combined with the past two weekends ($232.95), that comes up to $384.25 recouped of the approx. $700 total investment in this enterprise. Unfortunately, today I spent $40 at the post office, and yesterday I filled up the tank ($40) and shipped three packages at UPS ($60- nearly $30 for one package, ground, to Alaska)- so I'm to all practical purposes null for the weekend.

And that hurts more than anything else.

(No. I lie. My back hurts worse than that.)

Comments

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

If you donate the unsaleable books to the public library, you can write off what they cost you as a charitable deduction on your taxes. It ain't much, but it's better than nothing.