When is a rug a doormat?

craigslist rug

I’m sick of being nice, honest and midwestern.  If you’re midwestern and NOT nice and honest, please don’t be offended by my use of the stereotype. 

I just sold a rug on Craigslist for $35.  It was posted for $50.  Here’s the dialog of the trade.  You be the judge. 

Rug-Buying-Dude: Thanks for showing me the rug.  Hmmm…it really is a very SMALL rug.  $50 is a lot…  You know, I’m getting divorced and refurnishing my whole apartment…. giving her everything. 

Midwestern-Girl: Oh really?  Well congratulations!  So what do you think is fair?  Make me an offer.

RBD: Oh!  I thought you’d feel bad for me!  How about $30?

MWG: No, I’m divorced too.  It’s the start of a new chapter in your life.  Really!  How about $35?*

RBD: (Puzzled pause.)  Why didn’t you counter with $40?

MWG: Because I felt bad…

RBD: Ha!  So my story worked!  Do you have change for $40?

MWG: No.*   Oh, just kidding, I actually do. (reaching into my back pocket)

So let’s review.  I had 2 opportunities to stay firm and get more money, as indicated with asterisks* in the above dialogue.  I waffled on both.  WHY AM I SUCH A WOSS?

Granted, the real reason that I ”felt bad” is because I KNEW that the rug was heavily used and only semi-vacuumed, unlike MY craigslist story of rug newness and recent professional cleaning.  I felt that the rug wasn’t really worth what I was asking.  Furthermore, I had just eaten a large quantity of garlic in my fresh pesto dinner and was self-conscious of my deadly garlic breath talking to this craigslist dude.

So I lose because HIS fake story trumped MY fake story?   Because I’m unable to fib, even in a craigslist situation where it’s totally expected and possibly acceptable?   grrrrrr

Going 100% digital

Today’s accomplishments:

1) Completed uploading entire CD collection to computer.
2) Sold 90 CDs for meager but exciting profit of $112.22 on spun.com.  Was not able to sell Justin Timberlake’s Justified, Arrested Development (the group not the show), or Ravel’s Bolero.
3) Disposed of 30 cassette tapes excluding ancient recording of Lynn, Jen and Emily singing John Denver’s Country Road at Troy High’s All Night Graduation party (1989).  I don’t have a tape player so this retention is inexplicable.
4) Took out garbage.
5) Completed no real “work” related to corporate paycheck.

Next step, organization and shipping of the contents of approximately 20 photo albums and 3 boxes of hard copy photos to online photographic scanner.  Paper be gone!!

The piece de resistance…  the glossy paper cookbook stronghold.  This digital thing might just turn out to be all talk.