Sacrifices

Ohhhhh the sacrifices we make!

Back when I worked for a trucking company in LR, one of our loads was filled with Sony TVs. As often occurs, this load got to its destination and had two more TVs on board than the receiver had ordered. This puts the trucking company and shipper in a bit of a pickle. What do you do with the extra cargo?!?!?

To be honest, I'm not sure of the legal outcomes of this even though I probably should be. Obviously, the shipper isn't going to want to pay the trucking company to haul those TVs BACK to where they came from only to have them shipped out AGAIN someplace else. Further, those TVs aren't technically the trucking company's property so they aren't fully responsible for what occurred.

In this case the problem was resolved fairly easily. The trucking company I worked for made a deal with the shipper that employees of said trucking company could buy the TVs for cost. Even better, these were 42" TVs...and Sonys to boot!

I snatched one of those up like an Etheopian crack addict snatches up a McDonalds Quarterpounder! It was $1,200 but WELL WORTH IT! I've had that TV ever since. It traveled back to Fayetteville and then moved up to MI with me.

In Fayetteville I had a crappy little, one bedroom apartment. I happened to really like this apartment though. It was a GREAT pad for a single guy. Short walk to all my classes. It actually bordered campus. This "complex", if you can call it that, was built in the 1970's I'd guess. It was on the third floor, but that really didn't matter to me b/c I didn't have enough money to go to the grocery store anyway. My grandmother kept me stocked with food and I drank a lot of water and....ummmm...beer. Yeah, I was like that guy in the commercial who gets to the cash register and doesn't have enough money for BOTH toilet paper AND beer, so he puts back the toilet paper. Got to have your priorities!

The other great thing about being on the third floor, and simultaneously being broke, is that I didn't hardly have to use the heat all winter. Now, lots of folks would have been REALLY cold in there but I had a little (and I mean LITTLE) space heater that kept one room tolerable and I could get covered up pretty well when I went to bed.

Also, this year in Fayetteville was the year that Mamma and I dated. I came back home to Little Rock EVERY WEEKEND (except FB game weekends). Lots of miles on the old Cherokee during those trips but I didn't drive it during the week so it all evened out.

All this to say: That was a great year! All this time, that Sony 42" TV was situated in my living room right in front of the only comfortable piece of furniture I had: My recliner. I didn't have a couch. I had a recliner. I had an office chair for my desk. I had 4 chairs situated around a table. Trust me, I spent HOURS in this recliner sitting in front of that TV and I LOVED that year. Broke as a joke and loving every minute of it.

When I decided to go to school in MI, I did so b/c the old rule is that you should get your terminal degree from someplace you never want to be again. Thus, MI. Plus it's a great school for my discipline, but that's too practical of a reason...right?

I wanted to come back to AR so I went to MI partly for this reason. Now, we're lucky enough to be coming back to AR! Here's the problem: The TV. It's big. I mean REALLY big and takes up a lot of space. Plus, I want a new, flat screen, HD TV. So, I've decided to save the money I would spend moving the TV, sell it, and use the money saved and earned for my new BIG HONKIN HOG DADDY FLAT SCREEN....errr...to pay for moving expenses, baby diapers, and formula. Yeah. That's it. Baby diapers and formula.

However, I've got to admit that selling the TV is a little difficult. It was the largest purchase I made after finishing college (outside of my Jeep) and I went through some good times with that TV as the only other thing in my apt/house that talked. Maybe I'm a big wus and am stupidly rather emotional over a physical good, but I'm a little depressed to have sold the TV.

But I sold it anyway. For $150 to a Ph.D. student up here who, conveniently, is moving on to Ohio for a job starting in the fall. One man's trash is another's treasure, I suppose.

Oh well. Let's raise a glass to the 42" Sony. Adios amigo!