Hallowed eBay thy name...

Ahhhhhhhhh........

That would be the sigh of relief coming from my shoulders right now. Why, you might ask? Because last week, when I found out that I was not, in fact, getting a new computer just yet, I decided I had gotten rather attached to the idea of not having to lug my laptop back and forth to work every day. Now, I know what you're thinking.

"Wahooty, don't you have a perfectly good desktop computer that is sitting at home, literally collecting dust right now?"

And you would be absolutely right. There is no reason for me to be lugging a computer around, except for this one: my only internet access is via my landlord's wireless, and my desktop wasn't properly equipped. And when all of the people I need to keep in touch with are south of the border and the phone is not a financially viable way of communicating on a daily basis, I am even more internet-dependent than your typical nerd. If I can't come home at night to my virtual roommates (hi, #1 and Em!) and check the weather forecast in both Celsius and Fahrenheit every morning, I don't know what to do with myself. (Seriously - I freak out to an inordinate extent when the internet goes down for even a little while...I feel completely cut off from the world...I can't even watch TV anymore without checking tvguide.com to see what's on. Yes, I am fully aware that this makes me a Loser.)

"Well, these things can be fixed. Get thee to eBay!"

Which, dear friends, is exactly what I did. Finally.

I am writing to you from my sorely neglected desktop computer, with brand-new wireless adapter, and fresh off of many, MANY sorely needed software updates. It's been over a year since this computer has been online, and then it was on dialup - I had completely forgotten how much faster this computer is than my sad little laptop. The only problem is that I can't be on this computer while I sit in my big white chair, but that's why Baxter will still be coming home with me on weekends.

But knowing that tomorrow evening I won't have to hoist that big black laptop bag over the turnstile on my way into the subway makes me happier than it has any right to. As does the knowledge that I can now go out after work without having to decide between taking my computer to dinner and coming back to the lab after a couple of beers (either way, I look like an ubergeek).

I've been on a strong eBay kick for the last couple of weeks. This is not unusual for me - I used to be quite the eBay junkie. Usually after a couple of glasses of wine and a few too many episodes of Sex and the City - a volatile combination that always has me convinced I do not have NEARLY enough heels and dresses, even though in reality I rarely have reason to wear either. I normally would not recommend drunken e-shopping, but that's the beauty of the eBay - often your auction doesn't end until after you've sobered up, and I'd have to be completely shitfaced to place a bid any sooner than an hour before the auction ends. Almost all of my favorite shoes have been purchased on eBay, and one of my favorite ways to spend a Friday night at home is browsing the vintage clothing pages (I seem to do a lot better on eBay than I ever do in real-life vintage stores - it's so much easier to sift through the crap and get to the good stuff). I have to say, though, that the fun is substantially reduced when one lives in Canada and everyone wants your first-born child in exchange for shipping across the border...if they're willing to ship to you at all. But lately I've been having good luck in finding things that I feel are a good deal, even after the shipping. Right now, I'm wearing a pair of jeans that came last week - they appear to be the only brand and style of pants that fit me well right now, I can't find them here, and they were only $23 after shipping. Two words: hellz. yeah.

And my perfume should be coming any day.

What? I can quit any time I want to.

No, seriously.

Shut up.