....an animal lover.  Here I am at age 13 or 14, holding our cat Johnny, while our monkey, Chico, looked on.  I'm certain in the next frame I was holding Chico, while the dog Maitli looked on.....

But, and this is the important part of this post...will you take a look at those STRIPED PANTS???? What were we thinking back then???? LOL

Yes, indeed. 

Was it not bad enough that Jeannie and I had to serve coffee, tea and “snacking cake” to our parents and their bridge club friends? Did we ALSO have to dress like little waitresses?  Apparently SOMEBODY thought this was a winning idea.  Mom made our uniforms for us….we wore them…

Does Jeannie look happy in hers?  Clearly, I am aghast at the idea!

I remember being small.  I remember thinking how far away everything seemed and how very far I had to go to reach things.  As an adult of, course, I realize that my parents placed things out of my reach so that I would want to work harder to get them. I am not speaking of those things that parents want to put out of reach so that their children will not hurt themselves.  That is another topic altogether.

How to be patient, how to figure out a way to get the desired item, and how to be willing to do the work necessary to get there were valuable lessons I learned from my parents.  Would I have learned these lessons as well had my parents simply been able to give me whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it?  I don’t really know, but somehow, I doubt it.

I remember specific examples: 

• My violin…to get one of my own, I had to practice hard for a year and “show promise” in my playing ability.  I ended up helping Dad make my first violin for my 10th birthday and making my own at age 13.
• My sewing machine…I had to use my mother’s ancient Singer and sew nearly every day from that Christmas when my sister got her sewing machine (which is what made me decide I wanted one) until that Christmas three years later when at 17 ½ I got the IOU from Santa in the Christmas tree (my sewing machine would be purchased after Christmas during the sales)…Dad had made it known I had to prove I would use the machine, if I were to get it.  I still use that sewing machine today.
• My bicycle…the other kids in the neighborhood were riding at 5 and 6 years old…we had to wait until we were 9.  The Christmas I got my bicycle, I was thrilled…and that bicycle saw me through my teenage years.

There are many more examples, of course, but I think you get my point.  Part of the lesson was taught out of necessity.  With six children, purse strings were necessarily tight.  Part of the lesson was taught out of steadfast belief by my parents that children should be allowed to explore their interests, but should prove their interests to be sustaining before a great deal of money was invested.  And part of the lesson was taught because of their belief that those things we work hardest for are the things we most appreciate.

I was looking through an old scrapbook today and found a photo of myself on Christmas morning, when I was three.  I have no idea whether the bear on the mantle was mine.  I had a four year old sister, a two year old brother and a baby brother at the time.  But I can still recall that feeling I had that day, and so many times thereafter.  I was taken with that bear and finding a way to get it was my challenge. (Please pardon the blurry old photo...I use it to illustrate my point)

I posted a few nights ago about a customer who has promised to leave me bad feedback.  You may read the earlier post for details.

http://blogs.ebay.com/jcarolek/entry/So-she-has-warned-me-jcarolek/_W0QQidZ315911010

However, today, after more than seven years on eBay and at least five of them as a seller, I found, once again, that I can learn from my selling experiences.  I have changed my invoices to include a nice bold printed message, in the place where a store logo might go.  This, I hope, will allow me to avoid any future customer ever thinking my invoice is a bill.

I remain convinced that if one person took the time to tell me she was unhappy with the "bill" being sent with the shipment, others probably felt the same, and just did not feel right telling me.

Here is my new invoice template.

Today was a hard day for hubby.  It is the one year anniversary of his father's passing.  I took a look back at my blog entry of the following day.  I can still feel the emotion I felt as I wrote those words. 

I think about those who have posted during similar times of late.  Some have been chastised for blogging when a loved one is critically ill, dying or has just passed.  While I did not spend my days lost in blogville while my father-in-law was undergoing the life-extending surgery that ended his life, I did find some release in being able to post my feelings...and, thankfully, nobody found fault with my doing so.

I thought, in honor of this wonderful man, I would repost the entry from a year ago.

Sad News

Today I gave my presentation and it went better than I could ever have hoped or anticipated.  This was my final “hoorah” for my old team/job, and marks (theoretically) the hand-off to the guy who will be taking over.  I was quite nervous about the prospect of today’s presentation because:

1. I am not a trainer, by education, work experience or anything else
2. I had to develop the training for this group completely on my own
3. This “group” consisted of 14 very high-level folks (much higher than I)
4. I was taking 8 full hours out of their very busy schedules
5. I was presenting material that, while absolutely critical to the company, is only a blip in the volumes of critical material these folks are responsible for

So, the day started out without the morning “breakfast” which the admin had supposedly ordered (charged to my AMEX card).  NOT a good omen.

A few phone calls and it was determined that NOTHING had been ordered…not breakfast…not lunch…great!

So, I started the training and when we took our first “comfort break” I raced down to the cafeteria and placed the lunch order.  They were very accommodating…we’ll see how much their being accommodating cost me! LOL

As it turned out, I guess I should not have stressed so much about this presentation.  These guys were into it and we had a great time.  In fact, though we finished all of the training (including all of the discussions that arose as the material was presented) in the allotted time, they ALL stayed around for an extra hour and half, just discussing the operation. 

However, each and every one of them suggested that there is NO WAY that I can actually be transitioning off this team…they swear there is no way…we’ll see! LOL  My new boss has a ton of work I am already behind on, so, we’ll see.  One thing I have learned over these many years is that these folks with a lot bigger paychecks than mine have a way of getting what they want!

However, for tonight, having made the 4+ hour drive home safely, I am actually RELAXING for a little while.  Tomorrow I will get started on the new assignments that have been begging my attention.

I hope you all had a great day!

These free lisitng fee "offers" are apparently a real boon for eBay.  Now they are giving us this offer for the whole month of September?  Well, I guess all the added revenue from all those zillions of sellers who paid for gallery pics to list their items for free last week was a bonanza for eBay.

So...how did it work out for you?  Did you sell loads of items from the free listing fee day of the 15th?

ARGGGHHHH!

It is a VERY good thing that I am NOT paid to be particularly OBSERVANT! 

I arrived at the hotel at about 4:30 PM yesterday and was assigned my quarters.  I entered the room, checked out the space, which consisted of living room, kitchenette, bedroom with two double beds, dressing area and bathroom.  Fine, I fired up my computer and went to work.  At about 1 AM I went to bed.

This morning I awoke, showered, dressed, ran down to the lobby for some breakfast, returned to the room and took a couple of conference calls, wrote a post and read others, and put some finishing touches on my presentations.  I then left for the office around 10:15 AM.

I returned to my quarters at about 7:00 PM tonight and as I walked into the room, I spied another door.  Curious, I tried to open it.  It opened with no resistance to reveal…another bedroom with a king sized bed, another dressing area and another bathroom!

GEEZ Louise!  I’m glad I’m on top of things around here!  When I book a room, I guess I don’t expect a two bedroom, two bath suite…I wonder how many times I have stayed here and had more than the single room?????

This morning I ran downstairs to the lobby of the hotel to partake in their breakfast fare.  I had skipped supper last night (unintentionally) as I was dead into my preparation for my presentations I will be giving today and tomorrow.  So, I was hungry.

I helped myself to some scrambled eggs, a slice of ham and two mini muffins.  I poured myself a mixed drink (cranberry juice and orange juice) and made my way to a deserted table (oh, that it had been a desserted table!) 

After spreading my napkin carefully across my lap, I took up my fork and knife and began to eat.  I noticed that the gentlemen at the table next to me were watching me eat.  Odd, I thought.  And then it occurred to me.  They must think my eating eggs by holding the fork, tines down in my left hand and “pushing” the eggs onto the back of the fork before raising it to its final destination (my mouth) was a bit odd.

It brought me back to the day when I began this method of eating.  For, before that fateful day, I had eaten my food as most Americans do, with the fork held in the right hand and the tines turned up, not down.  My day of come-uppance came when I was 11 years old, attending Charlton Park Convent in Cheltenham, England.

I was eating lunch with the other students (all girls of course).  My parents had taught me good manners and I was using them.  I carefully cut each bite to a postage stamp size, placed the bite in my mouth, closed my mouth to chew it 32 times (hard and fast rule from Mom) and NEVER talked with my mouth full.  I was well into my routine when the blow from behind, between the shoulder blades caught me by surprise!

“Judith!   You are not a baby!  Only babies eat with their forks turned up like spoons!”  Sister Mary informed me with a look of disgust I can still see today.  Mortified and embarrassed by my obviously ignorant eating methods, I watched as she demonstrated the “proper” way to eat.

At 49 years old, I have NEVER reverted back to the way I learned to eat.  I will, I suppose, for the rest of my life, grasp my fork in my left hand and pile the food on its back.  And, endure the on-lookers’ gazes!

While I was out of town on business last week, I had a customer purchase a T-shirt from me.  The only communication of any sort from this customer was her payment.  That is fine with me.  On the notes line of her payment, she included the following.

"This is a present from his middle aged daughter. By your birthday it will be too cold to wear it."

I really did not know what this meant, but I figured it was just letting me know she was buying the shirt early.  Why I needed to know that, I cannot imagine.  So, on Saturday morning I shipped it out as per normal, with all of the other shipments that had been paid for during my travel week.

Today, Monday, two days after I shipped it, she apparently received it.  And she left me a message.

"I purchased this item as a gift. It was received yesterday, with a bill!
Thus I'll leave bad feedback."

Well, of course, I doubt she actually received it yesterday, being as how that was Sunday and all.  I checked and, in fact, it was delivered today.  I have no idea what she is referring to as far as a bill....could she think the invoice is a bill? I have sent her a message back letting her know that the item was paid in full and that I always include the invoice in the package. 

I have no idea whether she is upset because her gift recipient saw what she paid for the shirt  (surely she would have opened the package herself to then wrap it before gifting it?) or whether she thinks the invoice is a bill.

At any rate, she has alerted me to the bad feedback she will be leaving me. 

ARGGGHHHH!!!

These arrived while I was out of town on business this week.  I just finished listing them.  Many sizes.  All New with Tags.

The new Advice from a Polar Bear and Advice from a Penguin are, as always, great!

Advice from a Penguin

Dive into life, Find warmth among friends

Appreciate snow days, Take long walks

Stand together, Go the extra mile

Keep your cool!

Advice from a Polar Bear

Live large, Sniff out opportunities

Learn some good icebreakers, Be thick skinned

Be fearless, Appreciate long winter nights

Keep it cool!

So, I don’t watch TV and rarely go to the movies.  I figure, while I might enjoy the shows, I have too many other things that require my immediate attention to allow for TV and movies…anyway, when I am older and/or disabled, I will want to have something to keep my interest, so I want to be certain I will not have already seen everything.

That makes me think of all the other things I am going to do when I retire.  I used to think I wanted to do “new things” when I retired, but now I am thinking I want to be able to focus on some old favorites that I have let go by the wayside.

Here is my current list:

1. Gardening – more flowers, more veggies, fewer weeds.
2. Sewing – make my own clothes again, make grandchildren clothes (note to self…get children to produce grandchildren first.)
3. Violin – practice…ummm, how many years since I REALLY practiced? … Play in the local orchestras.
4. Guitar – LEARN bar chords (darn it!) I need time to focus on this!
5. Counted cross stitch…I have tons still to do…but it is hard to use the needle and thread with my fingers constantly on the keyboard!
6. Reading – I mean reading a book, NOT a technical rag necessary to keep abreast in my occupation – a just for fun book! Right now I listen to them on tape or CD while doing other things!  Nothing gets my undivided attention.

Now, I know I have at least 10 years before I can seriously expect to be able to retire, and of course, I plan to continue eBay selling, provided eBay is still viable when I retire, but, I think I will have my plate full when that time comes.

I guess I should focus on work…retirement looks pretty tiring!

eBay states several times in their rules for everyone, rules for sellers and rules for buyers, and in their tutorials, that they rely on other members reporting the violations they find. 

Specifically, "The sheer volume of new items put on the site every hour makes it impractical for eBay to review all listings or reported violations. With about 5 million new listings put on eBay sites each day, inevitably some violations go undetected.

Therefore, it's possible for 2 identical listings, each violating the same rule, to be treated differently. A member may report one item to us which we take down. eBay may never learn about the other one. This may seem unfair to the member whose listing was removed and we know that it's a frustrating experience . Like police officers enforcing speeding laws, though, there will always be those who get caught and "ticketed," and those who get away undetected. While it's frustrating to be the one caught - it doesn't excuse the speeding violation (and ticket). We will continue working to improve how we enforce our site policies.” (Taken from the keyword spamming tutorial)

Now, my questions are these. 

1. Knowing that eBay relies on the other members to report violations, and can only investigate a small percentage of those reported, and those who are found to be in violation do, in fact, get sanctioned, while millions of other similar violations go unreported, do you, as an eBay member, feel it ethical to report violations by other members? 
2. If you do, are you subjective or objective in your reporting?  Meaning, do you “decide” whether the violation is on your top ten list of offenses before you report, or do you report every violation you see (this is not to imply you go looking for violations, but that if you come across them, you report them…no matter whether they meet your hot list of violations.)

Ask your seller for evidence....I purchase my insurance through U-PIC and it is included in the handling fee of $1.25 I charge my customers.  It will NOT display on the postage, because it is not purchased through USPS.  However, my customers can request verification and I can provide it.  Here is an example of part of my manifest from May.  If you are not sure and want to know, ask.  If your seller cannot provide evidence of purchasing insurance he charged you for, demand a refund. (The manifest includes the eBay item numbers and the tracking numbers, but I removed them from this display to protect my customers.)

Log ID Carrier ShipDate Declared File Date Invoice Tracking Shipper Consignee DVUs perDVU Cost Claim
703250 USPS Del. Conf. 05/29/07 $20.00 6/1/2007 9:05:08 AM   Adelman 1 $0.65 $0.65 Claim

703251 USPS Del. Conf. 05/29/07 $20.00 6/1/2007 9:05:08 AM    Scott 1 $0.65 $0.65 Claim

703245 USPS International 05/29/07 $35.00 6/1/2007 9:05:08 AM    Carley 1 $1.20 $1.20 Claim

703246 USPS Del. Conf. 05/29/07 $35.00 6/1/2007 9:05:08 AM    Drum 1 $0.65 $0.65 Claim

703247 USPS Del. Conf. 05/29/07 $10.00 6/1/2007 9:05:08 AM   Lamb 1 $0.65 $0.65 Claim

703248 USPS Del. Conf. 05/30/07 $20.00 6/1/2007 9:05:08 AM    Smith 1 $0.65 $0.65 Claim

703249 USPS Del. Conf. 05/30/07 $20.00 6/1/2007 9:05:08 AM    De Pompa 1 $0.65 $0.65 Claim

703252 USPS Del. Conf. 05/30/07 $20.00 6/1/2007 9:05:08 AM   Gobble 1 $0.65 $0.65 Claim

703253 USPS Del. Conf. 05/30/07 $45.00 6/1/2007 9:05:08 AM   Hamilton 1 $0.65 $0.65 Claim

703254 USPS Del. Conf. 05/31/07 $10.00 6/1/2007 9:05:08 AM  Michaud 1 $0.65 $0.65 Claim

Today was day number 4 of my working week in the wonderful burbs of Boston, MA (weather phenomenal). 

Day one…I drove to the location…parked in the first parking facility I found…covered parking garage…no fees…no marked requirement for permits, etc…..LONG walk to the actual building.

Day two….drive close to the building and start to enter parking lot (not covered)….notice signs “Parking Permit Required  -- Towing Enforced”…drive back out and down a bit further to an unmarked area…parked….man approaches car with walkie-talkie thing…(Clearly in official capacity)…I roll down my window and ask if it is OK to park.  He gives me a LONG explanation about how this is for visitors, but limited to 3 hours (no marking to that effect anywhere)…but no problem, I could park there and he would not ticket or tow me….I could NOT get him to tell me where I COULD park legally…(understand, there are easily 10 parking spaces available for every car in any of the lots).

Day three…I see a lot marked VISITORS…this MUST be me…I pull in…I park…a woman with a walkie-talkie thing approaches my car…I get out of the car and open the trunk to retrieve my computer…I ask her if there is any restriction on my parking there…(same spiel as I gave the guy the day before --- same answer)…OK, I’ll move, but where should I move?  No, no…I could go ahead and park there and she would write down the make of the car and the license and I could park there the rest of the week without trouble…but the only place I could LEGALLY park was in some far away BACK lot where they had a shuttle to bring us to these seemingly abandoned buildings….weird…but, OK.

Day four…trusting the woman from yesterday, I park again in the VISITORS lot….different person wandering with walkie-talkie, but I do not wait to chat with this one…lady from yesterday said my make, model and license were recorded so I could park there the rest of the week….I came out of the office after 5PM and strolled confidently to my car…which was now clasping a TICKET in her left wiper blade!

GREAT!  So, I think, I have to figure out how to pay this ticket before leaving town tomorrow or have the rental car folks send DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER after me!  However, upon closer inspection, I see that this is NOT actually a ticket I have to pay, but rather a ticket telling me that they have recorded my violation (parking without a permit in a visitor lot which is not so marked but is, apparently restricted to 3 HR parking)….this is one of those, “don’t make me have to tell you twice” warning type tickets.

So, tomorrow, I suppose I will have to make small talk with whatever parking lot stroller happens to pass my way with a walkie-talkie as I park my car.  Otherwise, I suspect I will come out to find another love note, or worse…a towed rental car!

This is a lovely place, but I guess allowing cars to park in the parking lots would just make it look “trashy” or something…and marking the lots with signage that actually helped those considering parking there know the actual parking rules would be an eyesore…so…I’ll sweet talk the parking person again tomorrow and hopefully, will be able to drive safely to the airport tomorrow afternoon!

Another lovely New England day was made better by an hour’s drive south to visit my uncle and aunt for supper at their home.  I had never been to visit them in their “new” home (6 years…ummmmm…shame on me!)  The drive was easy, the house was lovely, the food was excellent and the conversation was exceptional! 

I also made a discovery on the drive over.  I had never even turned on the radio in the rental car, because, not having the manual for this new fangled vehicle, I had already spent ten minutes just trying to figure out how to move the seat forward to a position where my feet could reach the pedals.  Also, as I drove, I had seen some letters in my mirror and thought, perhaps, I was getting a message from aliens, but, if so, they have a limited vocabulary…so far, I have seen S, SE, NE, E, N in the mirror…(mirror, mirror, on the wall…).  I also spent a fair amount of time trying to get a comfortable temperature in the car.  I was able to raise the “thermostat” to over 80 degrees, but was constantly feeling a blast of cold air..competing with the heat I was pumping out…concerned I was going to cause a thunderstorm in the car with the cold front meeting the warm front, I tried everything I could think of to warm the whole car up….it took three days of driving the car before I “discovered” the OTHER control (for the front passenger.)  Now I could see the problem…my alien passenger had his thermostat set at 50 to challenge my 80 (which, by this time, I had cranked up to 88 in my feeble attempt to get the whole care warm…so I had decided I should not test my luck on trying to tune in the alien radio station….

But, since the drive was a straight shot for 49 miles, I decided to live dangerously, and pushed the button to turn on the “tunes.”  I was immediately sent into orbit by the volume of the “music” that was broadcast to my alien friends.  It would appear they are somewhat hard of hearing….  Frantically, I spun the dial to reduce the volume and then set about improving their music selection.  I found one that was acceptable to me, and since I heard no complaints from them (except I did notice a change in the mirror code…it went from SE to S…maybe I was supposed to understand that, but I figure it was better left unquestioned), I left it tuned to that station. 

I drove along happily enough, proud of my gadget know-how that had permitted me to actually turn on the radio, adjust the volume and locate a station, while driving the car, and without mishap.  About ten miles into my trip, the aliens decided they had had entirely enough of my music….they changed the station…seriously…I never touched a thing…one minute it was FM 92.3 and the next it was XM X17 or something.  And WOW!  What kind of music was that?  So, again, I used the seek buttons until I found an XM alien station which suited my musical tastes.  It must have suited the aliens too, because they did not change the station again…either on the way there or the way back!

So, today was busy, fun, exciting and, well, a little confusing…but, the good news is, I get to do it all again tomorrow!

Tonight I have seen a flurry of these posts regarding when to leave it, what to leave, etc.  I have actually had an interesting situation occur tonight...one I was not anticipating....I had a customer leave feedback first.  Why is that odd?  Well, my practice is to leave feedback when I print the shipping label, or deliver the item, for local pick up items. So, I tend to be the first to leave feedback.

Recently I sold a Jeep for my daughter.  Well, actually, I sold it, but the buyer wanted to change the terms of the sale and renegotiate costs, and payment methods as well as delivery /pick-up methods.  Suffice to say, while he might genuinely have wanted the Jeep, he had no interest in complying with the terms of the sale.  After a few eBay messages back and forth, I filed the dispute and released him from the deal...he took a strike for my trouble.  But I did not leave feedback.  I was still "thinking about it."

Tonight, one month or so after the "sale",  this customer left me positive feedback.  His words were simple, "Thanks, sorry."

I still am unsure what feedback I will give him.  I find it refreshing that he did not try to neg me, because, since he responded to the dispute, he had every opportunity to make me look like the bad guy.  He chose not to.  I find that refreshing, somehow.

Still thinking.

Hello, jcarolek(2525)

Remember the song...in the year 2525...well, my feedback has reached that infamous number! LOL...I'm showing my age again!  Hope everyone has had a great day!  The weather here in the burbs of Boston could not be better.  I could get spoiled by this!  Now, if the parents of the screamming kids outside my hotel door would take a moment to remind them that this space is shared by many and they need to keep it down to a dull roar, all would be right in Beantown.  As it is, I'm fairly certain this will be a repeat of last night where it was well past midnight before these bundles of energy sought rechraging and went to sleep!

Anyway, it was another great day at the office and I did confirm that I am the elder of this new team...weird feeling for me.  My new boss is out of the hospital and actually dropped in to visit us today...however, he will not be returning to work for a while and has already started to divest himself of some of his management functions...guess who he announced was to fulfill these....hmmmm.....well, so, I am on a new team, I will be managing the projects and doing the analysis....I feel my plate starting to overload again! LOL

It's all good!

An interesting phenomenon I am now experiencing in my profession -- I have reached the age where most of those with whom I work, even those FOR whom I work, are younger than me.  In fact, on my new team, I am, I believe, the eldest of the lot.  If not, I am jolly close.  And the more interesting thing is that I have a great deal to learn from them.

Certainly they can learn some things from me, but, in the world of technology, we older geeks start realizing that keeping up with the “new” is more difficult for us than for our younger coworkers.  For they are not yet burdened with the tasks of “relearning.” 

I have a coworker who has elected to leave the company and return to a place he worked eight or more years ago.  He could have come to this team, as did I.  In our conversations he kept stressing that these guys are young.  He is two years my senior.  I asked him why it mattered that these guys are young.  I asked if their youth made them unreliable, or unpredictable or what.  All he could come up with was that they are young, and smart.

I find it interesting that we raise our children to be the best they can be…to seek goals tougher than those we attained, perhaps, but better armed to do so because of our commitment to their education etc. (translation…MONEY).  And then, when we, ourselves, encounter the very best examples of products of clear parental commitment,  and educational excellence, which have been augmented by individuals clearly interested in what they do, the best we old fogies can come up with is that they are “young.”

Well, today I met my new team…my new boss is close to my age…(but is in the hospital hopefully being treated successfully for traveling blood clots)…three guys 5-10 years my junior, a gal 15 years my junior, and four guys 10-25 years my junior.  So, from these fine young men and women, I have much to learn. 

And I’m thinking that retirement is where I will be when relearning gets too hard and my brain hurts trying!  Until then, I think it’s time for me to get some free education from our youth!  I certainly have given out my fair share!

Well, I made it through my first day on my new team.  All in all, I’d say it went very well.  I didn’t even realize it was close to quitting time when they started wrapping up.  That, I believe, is the key to being happy in your work.  So, the new team now consists of ten people…eight guys and two gals. 

Today was a learning experience for me…basically, I was there to observe the process, and actually, this whole week will be the same.  From here on, I will get the opportunity to work solo, or with a partner, periodically returning to this area for these all-hands team weeks.

Several things that struck me as I watched these incredibly intelligent professionals, passionately sharing their opinions/concerns, etc….first, I am going to feel just a wee bit out of my league for a while…(not really a problem…I always believe there is room to grow) and second…WOW…these folks have strong opinions! LOL!  So, mostly (so far at least) I concur with their opinions, but I am curious to see what will be required in the form of persuasion, should I find myself in a position that requires my disputing their opinion….should be interesting.

So, here I am, back in the hotel room…checking out eBay and…believe it or not, WANTING to get started with some research for WORK! LOL…I can see now that I will have to choose my hotels not by whether they offer free Internet connection, but by whether they offer either free wireless, or multiple Ethernet ports so I can connect in with both my work laptop and this, my personal laptop at the same time!   Man, I miss the comforts of home! LOL

Of course, when I returned to the hotel room and logged into eBay I was greeted with a sale notification (good news).  I tried to send an invoice...got a message saying this failed because the member had been blocked....took a look at the newbie buyer who had made the purchase, and sure enough....NARU.  Interesting. Filed the non-paying bidder dispute, but I have to wonder what's up with that?  A person creates an ID, makes a purchase, does not pay but immmediately either closes his account or is NARU'd?  Strange.

Anyway, I hope everyone's day has been going well.