Monday, June 27, 2011

Dear eBay sellers:

If the item you're selling has small, shiny discs on it, they are called "sequins". They are not, however, called "sequence".

From merriam-webster.com:

se·quin
noun \ˈsē-kwən\

Definition of SEQUIN
1: an old gold coin of Italy and Turkey
2: a small plate of shining metal or plastic used for ornamentation especially on clothing

vs.

se·quence
noun \ˈsē-kwən(t)s, -ˌkwen(t)s\

Definition of SEQUENCE
1: a hymn in irregular meter between the gradual and Gospel in masses for special occasions (as Easter)
2: a continuous or connected series
[redacted because the definitions took up too darned much space]


NOT THE SAME

The raspberry beret is covered in sequins.
This game is called Sequence.



To make a long story short, sequins ≠ sequence. That is all.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Getting jewelry on the cheap

I used to like Fantasy Jewelry Box, until I realized they were getting a lot of their products from Chinese wholesalers.

I discovered that after I found "Wendelyn's CZ Leaf Design Genuine Tahitian Pearl Solitaire Necklace", which FBJ sells for $38.95, for sale on eBay for $12.95 with free shipping (it has since risen to $14.71 + $6.14 shipping). If I did some more diligent searching, I could probably find it for less. I wouldn't want to, because this is actually a very unattractive necklace in person, but still.

I've since spotted a handful of other dupes. You could get "Willetta's Antique Gold Nature Theme & Ribbon Tie Necklace" for $21.95 at FJB, or you could get it off eBay for $4.99. If you want 240 of them, you could buy them off Alibaba.com for $2 apiece. FJB gets the shipping advantage here, since the eBay seller is located in China. It's a difference of about a week, based on my prior experiences with both FJB and Chinese resellers.

Don't want to drop $69.95 (marked down from $109.95!) on "Marie's Fancy Multi Color Crystal Peacock Bracelet" or "Maylen's Fancy Purple & Blue Crystal Peacock Bracelet"? You could get this blue one, red one, or this green one off eBay for as low as 1 cent starting bid. Heck, you can get the multicolored one or the purple one for $15.95 plus $6.95 shipping. Don't want to buy from that seller? You could buy the multicolored bracelet from this seller too. Or from this seller, who actually lives in the US. None of those costs more than $20, including shipping.

If you see something you like on Fantasy Jewelry Box, it would behoove you to take a look around at other options before settling on FBJ.

Friday, June 17, 2011

The customer is always right... right?

WARNING: the below post contains some instances of potty language. If you're easily offended, why are you even reading my blog in the first place?


As anyone who knows me can attest, one of my biggest pet peeves is having to deal with rude cashiers.

Having been a cashier several times in my life, I've had to put up with awful customers: people constantly treat you as though you're mentally inferior because you're "just a cashier". They seem to think it's acceptable to belittle you, make unreasonable requests, or bitch you out for trying to be helpful. When I was a cashier at Target, I asked a little old lady if she needed help bringing her groceries out to her car. She replied, "Unless you're also going to bring them into my apartment, don't even bother!" Another time, I had to buy a woman a new pair of underwear and shorts because she shit herself and got it all over the floor while waddling from the cafe to the bathroom. I've had customers make me cry on more than one occasion, though I always managed to hold back the tears until no one could see me.

Nowadays, it seems like cashiers are getting rude and nasty in response to customers' constant denigration. I'm not suggesting that they blithely accept this treatment, but would it kill people to just be nice?

I try to be nice to every cashier I meet, since I know what kind of crap they have to put up with (or up with which they have to put, I guess, if you're into the whole "not ending sentences with prepositions" thing). However, I have encountered my fair share of petulant little twits who need a serious attitude adjustment. Why are there some cashiers who won't greet customers or even make eye contact with them? When did it become acceptable to throw decency and respect to the wayside? When you work in customer service, you need to at least pretend like you give two craps about the customer. That's YOUR JOB. If you're having a bad day, I'm sorry, but don't feel like you're entitled to take it out on me. Your personal piss-offs are barred from entering the store where you work.

Let's make a deal between all the cashiers and all the customers in the world: just freakin' be nice to each other.

Sunday, June 05, 2011

International Delight coupon winners

I am Internationally Delighted to announce the winners of my giveaway: in first place, winning three coupons, is Kristen; in second place, winning two coupons, is Chandra. Winners have been notified and have 48 hours to respond, lest their prize be awarded to someone else.

Since there were only ten entries, I wrote everyone's name on a little slip of paper and tossed them into my Twins baseball cap:


I then had my husband draw two names:


I also took a picture of him drawing the names, but he didn't want his disembodied, ghostly hand posted on the internet, so you'll just have to imagine a man's hand in a hat.

Friday, June 03, 2011

Gimme S'more handcrafted marshmallows

Where have these been all my life?


I need to buy a dozen of these S'mores gourmet marshmallows from softlysweetly's Etsy shop.

I bought a 12-piece sampler from her a few weeks ago and they did not last long. Handmade marshmallows are stupendous. You'll never want to eat another rubbery, powder-coated, store-bought mallow again -- the texture, mouthfeel, everything is so much better with handmade. Of course, that tends to hold true for most handmade things, with the exception of arts and crafts. They might look tasty, but don't put them in your mouth.

On second thought..... I should get the Create Your Own Adventure, er, Flavor Assortment, with S'mores, dark chocolate raspberry, and coconut lime. Oh, yes. I still have about a pound and a half of Binky's fudge in the fridge, but I think I can make room for marshmallows. I'm kinda fudged out, actually. I think I might stick the rest in the freezer and nom on it at a later date.

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Bad flats strike again

If you ever wanted to know what your foot would look like if it got jammed inside a meat grinder, look no further. Sole Society, which usually has some decent-looking heels each month, has had its Facebook cadre all a-Twitter (ha, see what I did there?) about the "Darlene" suede ruffle flat.

First of all, why does anyone think THIS looks good?


Secondly, I hate suede. That's just a matter of personal preference, but eww. Seriously.

Finally, I made this graphic to illustrate what I think of these shoes: