April 24, 1991
Dear Everyone:
Just when you thought it was safe to go near the
Mall... Shopping II, The Sequel.
“Jeannie” and I have been shopping the past few
weekends, she for a condominium, myself or some new blouses. Also a new
pair of sandals just in case Summer ever comes to sunny California (it's
freezing here! Highs are only in
the 50’s.)
A few weeks ago I received one of those
certificates from JC Penney. You
know, the one that says “between these dates save 25% off everything you
buy in the store in a single day (excluding jewelry, furniture,
carpeting and anything else with a substantial price tag)".
Getting one of these certificates does to your
budget what getting a box of Sees Chocolates does to your diet:
You
know you
shouldn't, but not to accept it would be, well,
rude, don't you think?
And I really could use some new
blouses.
When “Jeannie” goes shopping, she’s looking for
bargains. The actual item is
often non-specific. When I go
shopping, I generally know more or less what I'm looking for.
Put the two together and you have
the system. We go into the
appropriate section of the store and I tell “Jeannie”:
“Blouses.
Size 14-16. Short sleeves.
Open neck.”
Go get ‘em, Tiger!
“Jeannie” goes off and while I'm looking at a few
possibilities, she comes back with an armload of candidates.
Unfortunately, the designers had
decided that this would be the Year of the Ridiculous Neckline.
It was difficult to find anything that I felt I would be
comfortable wearing. Nevertheless,
we did find three acceptables. The
score: Pete-1.
“Jeannie”-2.
As long as we were there and getting 25% off stuff,
I picked out a set of “designer” bed sheets that claim to have been
“inspired" by Monet's water lilies. Have
you priced sheets lately? Ye
gods!
“Jeannie’s” condominiums were primarily in the
Dublin/Pleasanton area, although she thinks she might be better off,
geographically speaking, in Clayton. I
like condominium-shopping because it helps me to realize how incredibly
lucky I was to stumble across my place at the time that I did.
The price, financing and timing
were just right and I've yet to see a place that has anywhere near the
storage space that my little hovel has. By
the way, my next-door neighbors have sold their unit for approximately
$36,500 more than I paid for mine. And
I have one more closet than they do.
My upstairs neighbor, Thunderfoot, however, has had
her place on the market for over a month and doesn't seem to be getting
so much as a nibble. I could have
bought that unit, but at the time I thought “If I don't like the way the
bathroom and bedrooms are laid out, chances are prospective buyers won't
either might be harder to sell” Looks
like I was right.
Another reason I like going condominium shopping
with “Jeannie” is that we get to look at all the models, plus picking up
on designing tips. This year's
homes are all wearing “bleached” wood. Two
places had the exact same cabinets throughout.
This seems to be a “natural” progression in
designer evolution. We've gone
from Country (designers no longer, thank God, feel compelled to place a
goose on the kitchen counter) to Santa Fe (washed out blues and pinks
and lots of terra-cotta pottery) to the current Pale Blah.
Hopefully, by next year, someone
will get an idea and go “Primary Colors!” and the pendulum will start to
swing the other way.
In the meantime I'll stick with Monet.
Love, as always
Pete
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