The Punishment for Fiscal Responsibility

It's hard enough to be a fiscally responsible adult person when one is properly rewarded for it, but when this is the result, I don't know, I just don't know.

When I bought my condo last fall, I knew there were going to be plenty of things I would want to get for it, and that I wouldn't be able to do them all at once. It was a new conversion, so I don't have any huge projects, but there are all these little things that you want to do any time you move, little organizational things, and the things you realize you don't have, or that would be perfect for the space in that one corner, or what have you. I started a new section of my to-do list*, called "for the condo, sometime", which has items like wine glasses (since I don't drink wine, but now I entertain more), a reading chair for the bedroom (since the bedroom is big enough for a reading area), and a medicine cabinet (since I really don't like the one the condo came with).

*yes, my to-do list has sections

Early on, there were two organizational items I wanted for the bathroom: this and this.

My bathroom is pretty large, as such rooms go. There's space between the sink and the wall, enough for the slim cart, which would hold quite a lot of my odds and ends. I planned to get it at some point, but no rush. It's from The Container Store, one of my favorite places to browse, and the two stores in Massachusetts aren't near enough to me to just drop in and grab one on my way somewhere, it has to be an excursion. I could order it online, but the shipping makes the twenty buck item over thirty, no thanks. So I waited.

Then there's a larger space between the toilet and sink, which is where we have a litter box, which while necessary is not exactly eye-appealing. So when I saw the furniture thing in a catalog, I was smitten. Hides the box, and not unattractive! I was not, however, smitten by the price. One hundred dollars, did I like it that much? Money was tight after the move, and I pondered "wasting" it on such a non-essential. Solutions has been having sales this spring, though, and in May had a 20% off any one item, and I decided that was my sign. I waited until my credit card "cycled" (so it wouldn't be on the same bill as the computer, thank you) and ordered it.

So here's the timeline. Last Saturday I drove to the Container Store (this is after my failed shoe shopping, if you want to gauge my mood), and went into the store to find that they were out of the slim cart. It's backordered. It hadn't even occurred to me to call and see if it was in stock. So, SOL for the whole point of my going to that store.

On Monday, I ordered the litter box furniture cover piece online, and they note that it's backordered but I see that it's expected in on the 29th, so I still have hope that it will ship out quickly, and maybe I will get it in by this weekend, so I can put it together (that's right, it's Some Assembly Required) and have it in place before my house guests get here later this week. I watched the order status this week and nothing changed, though, so Thursday night I called to ask. The woman checked on it and was really nice as she noted that it was showing her an expected in stock date of June 29, not May 29. Yes, I was looking at the day, and ignoring the month. Genius.

So I could have ordered it and had it months ago, but while I was bring fiscally responsible, and waiting to order until I could afford to pay for the thing, it was going out of stock, and now it won't be here for weeks. Does that sound right? I mean, I know, I know, "who said life was going to be fair", but really, that's just not nice!

The cart is back in stock on the website, by the way, but I called the store and they won't be getting it in for 7-10 days.

The whole things just frosts me. Huff, huff.

On the other hand ... I had a lot of fun at the improv show last night. Perhaps because I couldn't do it in a million years, it just blows my mind, what these people can do. I mean seriously, how does anyone mime "spackling a woodchuck with yogurt" to another person, and how does that person get it? My face hurt from laughing. If you're local, go to ImprovBoston in Inman Square. Do yourself a favor. God, they are funny.