Storage Auction

I've been curious about what the storage auctions in this area might be like.  I have been to a few auctions in the past and for the most part, I don't like them.  There is so much waiting around for the item or items you are interested in to come up,  you feel like it's a waste of time.  Then you may have someone bidding the price up so much that you won't  buy your item at that price.  If your emotions get involved in the process you can way over-pay.  I must admit I've had some good luck too.  I bought a great maple dresser that many people were envious of and I have really liked having for 30 years or more now.  I also bought the contents of a dusty old room for $4.00 about 35 years ago.  Very few showed up at that auction and even fewer because the weather was bad.  I would have bought more but I only had about $15.00 in my pocket.  That was when I was poorest in my life. 
There were some nice leather covered soda fountain stools in there, some rubber boots (that fit me), some display cases and a couple of other items that I don't recall.  I sold almost all of them at my Flea Market.  That may have been the only week I made money.
I happened to find the web site of the auction house that does a lot of storage auctions in Michigan.  It's named Blair Auctions.  There were several auctions scheduled for the next day.  Some not too far away.  My son and I decided we would go to one to see what it was like.  It was in Livonia, Michigan.  About 8 lockers were scheduled to be sold starting at 12:15 P.M.

We followed the advice on the website to 1. Dress appropriately for the outdoor weather..2. bring a flashlight..3.arrive early enough to register and 4. bring cash or credit card.
The rules vary from location to location but this place took credit cards.  You should also bring enough locks to lock up the units you buy.  I brought one, just in case.  

The weather was variably light rain, wind, sunny and all of the opposites.  People were instructed to park on one of the side streets, but a Livonia police woman was going to ticket everyone over there so all those drivers had to move inside the storage facility. We had a bit of fun commenting under our collective breaths about her. 
There were roughly 100 potential buyers and it took at least 45 minutes to register everyone.  It seemed obvious that there were quite a few "regulars" there.  
The same rules as you see on Storage Wars governed this auction.  The unit was opened and everyone paraded by checking out the contents without entering the unit or touching any contents.  The auctioneer gave any special instructions and changed into his auctioneer's voice and began.  His style was to begin at a higher level than anyone would start at and then come down until someone waved or signaled in some way that They wanted that bid.  One of his favorite sayings is,"The more you pay for it, the more you like it."  People who weren't interested in that locker were told which one was next and that they could go there and start looking.  It seemed not to work out that way.  They always waited for him to come down to the next unit before they raised the door.  One difference between the real auction we attended and those on television is that as soon as you win the bid on a locker, you had to give the auctioneer a $100.00 deposit.  You get that back when you've cleaned out the locker. You have one day to clean it out. You can't use their dumpsters to discard all the trash, so you need to find one someplace else.

We didn't buy a locker. The prices ranged from$80 to$800.  What's missing is the reveal.  What did someone find?  Why did they bid the way they did? Who was that hot chick in the white skirt? It's really interesting.  After all, I do have a minor in Sociology.

What Women Want

If you have seen the movie by that title and don't like Mel Gibson, keep reading because it's not about that.  

I thought this would be a nice name for a store here in Fenton, Michigan.  Brooke and I would sell the things that always seem to attract women shoppers.  Jewelry, purses and shoes would top the list.  I think shoes might not make the final cut though because with all the sizes you would have to have quite an inventory.  Maybe belts could be the third item.  We would sell top of the line items.  Every woman in the Lower Peninsula would want to come to our store to buy at least one item, just to get a shopping bag that says,"What Women Want".  Men, of course , would go to buy gifts with the assurance that they were doing right by their women. The sales associates would be attractive and somewhat sophisticated, only the most discreet tattoos would be allowed.


We're in the Christmas Spirit at the Lamson household.  Lights are going up, the tree is purchased and decorations are progressing to their holiday stations.  We have a big picture of Gabe up on the closet door so whenever we need a boost of joy, a reason to keep going, we look at that picture.


Happy Holidays.

 

A Nice Omelet

I rarely make an omelet any more.  Probably the perception of eggs being unhealthy with the high cholesterol.  Back when I was a young man though, omelets were somewhat exotic.  In our home kitchen my Mother never made omelets.  Eggs were scrambled or fried.  If fried, they were over-easy or rarely sunny-side-up.  The food was pretty simple, but done well and always consistent.  So, when I discovered omelets out in the big world, I thought they were very special.  I learned to make a few varieties and went through a phase where I felt I was great at making omelets.  Much like the phase many of us go through when we think we're great lovers, it was short lived.  

For Thanksgiving we brought a Caesar salad as part of the meal and we got it from our local grocery.  The salad came with many sides.  We had much of these left over and I thought I'd make an omelet before they were all thrown out.  I used bacon, chicken, onions, banana peppers, ripe olives and cheese(not part of salad).  I think that was it.  It was a nice omelet.  I also like tomato, bell pepper and mushrooms.
  A nice omelet to me these days is comfort food. One of my favorite Diner meals is an omelet.  Served with hash-browns and toast, you've got a large meal.  Good luck with your omelet preparations and Merry Christmas.

The Case of the Missing Bicycle

Before it gets away from me, I thought I should tell you about a theft in Fenton.  I had returned from voting and noticed that one of the three bicycles that I have parked in the driveway for the summer months was missing.  In it's place, lying on the cement was a gazing globe (like you find decorating a garden).

I was shocked at the spectacle.  Did someone actually steal a bike?  My son wasn't home at the time so I thought he may have taken it for a ride, but that would be a first for that.  And that also wouldn't explain the gazing globe.  Was there a "Pack-rat thief" at large in Fenton?  Another question (or observation) why did they take the worst bike of the three?

Later on I quizzed J-man.  He was out running.  I wondered if anything else had been taken.  It looked to me like everything was where it belonged.  I called the police department just to let them know what had happened.  I said they didn't have to send anyone up to the house.  The lady said there had been some recent things going on.  She said it would be a good idea to keep my cars locked.  

About a half hour later a police SUV pulled in the drive and I showed the officer the globe.  He took it so they could photograph it and put it on line where victims can identify and claim their stolen goods.  As I thought about it I think I saw that globe in my neighbor's back yard.  Anyway, now the cops have it.

About three hours later,  the cop is back with my bike.  Someone had left it leaning against Police Headquarters that morning.  It made for an interesting day and I interacted with the department. 

A Familiar Situation

Wow.  I've been playing some online scrabble for a couple of days.  So as I wrote the word familiar I thought, Wow.  Family is in there and also liar.  These have much to do with what I was going to write about.  You might have to read between the lines though because family members read this blog and there are certain sensitivities that must be maintained.  
Every now and then circumstances arise and I make a decision on my own.  Usually it is minor in the estimation of almost anyone who would hear of it.  I am a man after all.  It's not something that would put my family in jeopardy.  Nothing illegal or immoral.  The fact that there is or could be disapproval of my decisions kinda hurts.  I recall when Brooke's grandfather was showing signs of Alzheimers and everyone was upset when he would do something like start cutting floor-boards in the attic.  They were right to worry, but am I perceived to be heading in that direction?   I request some respect and confidence in my decisions.  I don't make them lightly.

A friend of mine came across a good deal on an airplane.  He knew the value, he had the knowledge and he made the decision.  His wife was unhappy.  That is a pretty big decision, but those are the very times when It's most important to stand by your man.  When someone tells me they did something and I can tell they are thinking maybe they went too far on their own cognizance,  I say I think it was a great and brave decision.  If it's an airplane, I want to see it-I want to fly in it.  If it's a new car etc.,

You bought a What? 

Michigan Football

I got on Twitter last Friday because I had quit Facebook and thought I'd at least give it a try.
I had been watching a lot of the press conferences leading up to the Michigan Iowa game that was coming up on Saturday.  I thought I could use Twitter to follow some of the Michigan fans and writers to get a little insight into the behind the scenes.  There were two Detroit News writers (Wojnowski and Chengelis) and the announcer Jim Brandstatter.  Please forgive me not looking up the spelling.  It was kinda interesting as things unfolded.  Brandstatter tweets quite a bit and that's what's fun to me.  He tweeted a little about traveling on a chartered plane out to Iowa.  

Wojo keeps his tweets pretty much on message regarding Detroit area sports.  Chengelis only became active at game-time.  I think her tweets are job/career related.

Well, I watched the entire game and was very disappointed in Michigan's performance.  Not in the players' efforts nor their desire.  I think the problem lies in the coaching approach.  Look, these coaches have been at this game for many years so maybe my opinion is worthless.  None the less, that's what sports is all about and I'm so happy I can express my opinion on my Blog.  


I felt the same way I did when Michigan was Playing Michigan State.  Didn't we prepare for them to have some strategy to use against us?  They had a bye week to prepare for us!  Did we really think we could just adjust to what they were doing "On the fly"?  Well Iowa didn't have a bye week, but if they just listened to the pregame press conferences they would have known we were expecting them to be pretty one dimentional in their approach.  It was going to be a slugging contest.  To some degree that was right but I think they had a plan on defense that we never did catch on to.  I think our approach needs to be more aggressive.  We need to go out on the field and make things happen.  Make them adjust to us.  Take the initiative.  Our defense played well enough to win.  Our offense was just too predictable.  I believe the offensive team is not being motivated properly.  We need to get our lead early in the game Execute, Execute, Execute.  Take the fight out of them and their fans.  We need to Blitzkrieg these people. 
Bo was a great motivator and I would bet all of the great coaches were great motivators.  If that's missing at Michigan, someone needs to step up.  If nothing else, have the team watch the movie,"Patton" before each game.

What not to wear

For a while now, it has come to mind that I should change my style of dress.  I want to look presentable and age appropriate.  I found a blog on which someone had laid out how a man should dress. How To Dress Like a Man by Jeffrey A. Tucker I assume he is a fashion expert of some kind and the ideas he expressed are sensible and struck me well.  Of course I may be easily led.  

One thing he said is that there are only two brands of shoes that are worth buying, Allen Edwards or Aldens.  I am relying on memory so those may be off a little.  He said all others are junk.  When it comes to socks, you just go with solid colors.  Green, blue, brown etc. no argyle or multicolor patterns.  Also,  don't choose a color that is lighter than the jacket you'll be wearing.
Old men should wear suits at all times and always with a tie.  That's the only thing an old man looks good in.  

Advice for finding acceptable suits?  You can get good buys on Ebay or thrift stores(difficult) but if you have to go retail you need to spend at least $450 for a suit.  

An entire man's wardrobe need only take up 12 to 18 inches in a closet.  It was nice to find this information.  It is certainly a good place to start.  The idea is to dress in a way that makes you feel good about yourself, doesn't draw attention and is consistent.  You are a man, you are dependable and you don't change.   I might try some of these ideas and see how I like it.  You may have to get used to seeing me in a suit.

I'm going clothes shopping!