Posted on by Erica Firment

Reference Challenge!

I called in sick to work today, with a sore throat and general upper-respiratory grossness. I spent the day lying on the couch with cats floating on pillows around me. Our two cats are huge wooly monsters. Rescued from cat-jail, they resemble bobcats more than housecats.

chesscat.jpgFortunately, they don’t seem to know how huge and potentially ferocious they are. Curled up in sleeping cat-balls, they resemble furry manhole covers. Occasionally one will purr and try to shove himself up my nose.

Sick days for me usually involve DVDs, Tylenol PM, and tea. Recently however, I have discovered a wonderful website called eBay.

I’ve been online since 1994 and Mosaic. I was one of the first librarians to have a blog (Jessamyn at librarian.net was and always will be waaaay ahead of me!) I subscribed to A List Apart back when it was a list, and learned CSS by copying code from Webmonkey. I’ve been e-around for a long time. But I’d never gotten trapped by eBay until now.

rug50.jpgIt started innocently. We needed a rug. Rugs are expensive. I found an eBay seller with deeply discounted Pottery Barn rugs. I bought one and got it almost immediately. Then I found people selling Anthropologie clothes for crazy prices. I created a favorite search. It was all over.

Living in a rural area like Ithaca is almost ideal. There are mountains, gorges, parking spots, and very few car thieves. But the shopping is terrible. Unless you have a penchant for Old Navy, or hemp clothing, there are no recognizable stores within an hour’s drive. Since I refuse to buy my work clothes at the Farmer’s Market, I tend to shop in short bursts while I’m traveling. EBay has opened a new world for me. The combination of librarian ninja query skillz and quality stuff for a dollar has made online auctions dangerously profitable.

I’ve mostly gotten it under control. Now I just log in to explore new categories.

Your sickly, addicted, digital librarian friend, Erica

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10 Replies to “Reference Challenge!”

  4. Have you tried that dress on? Gosh, it is beyond pretty and I love that color. I hope you find it.

    I am totally hooked on ebay. Its a sickness. I collect vintage pyrex. People on ebay in this area are total bloodthirsty cutthroats. I went on and nailed a turquoise refrigerator set with 1 minute to go last night. I know the other 5 bidders have to be hating me right now. Ha! Take that you pyrex hoarding wenches!

    Good luck finding that dress. I love your blog.

  5. Wooo… that is a pretty dress!

    And I understand being addicted to eBay… I am currently on an eBay 12-step recovery program. My weakness is the affordable camera supplies (lenses, filters, antique cameras, light meters… droool…) that can be found there. :)

  6. Have you tried one of these on? Not to be a buzzkill, and I have no idea what size you are (you don’t look like a 12), but just remember that wedding wear runs 2-4 sizes smaller than you really are. I was a 16 at my friend’s wedding, and I was told that I would NOT fit in the largest dress size (24) without extra fabric. Yeah, that was the greatest moment in self-esteem history. I refused to support the fucking dress, and my friendship ended soon after.
    Anyway, it’s way easier to get “taken in” than “let out” in a dress like this.

  7. Hmm. Good point Jessica – I just checked my sizing and a 14 would be a better fit. Sigh. Good catch! I’m off to change the post and then binge and purge…

    BTW, you should move to the midwest. We’ve got a whole different idea of normal out there. I’m not sure what they feed these New York women, but I think they need to add some wheat germ or something.

  10. Thanks ellie! I’m sure it will look the same on me as it does on that airbrushed, professionally lighted, rail-thin model! Woo!

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