Not the Sharpest Knife in the Drawer

Sometimes I'm not the quickest study. When my new best friend Alan with Circuit City said that they were going to replace my computer, I innocently believed they meant a new computer. When Alan called today, he offered a refurbished machine, similar to the one I have, or its refurbished value of $1099. I paid $1825 including tax in November 2004, so at first I thought that I would take the computer rather than the money. My instant analysis told me that I had lost $800 for less than two year's use. Then I realized that anytime you buy technology, it is a rapidly depreciating asset, so it wasn't as bad as it seemed. A refurbished unit also means that it was likely someone else's problem that was returned. Since I already have a problem computer, I nixed that idea. I called Alan back and told him I would take the money. Well, it turns out not to be money at all, but a Circuit City gift card for $1099 instead. This, of course, means that my new computer will be new, but will have to come from Circuit City. And since they buy at wholesale and sell to me at retail, they will get off cheaper than $1099. The remaining extended warranty will transfer to whatever I buy from them. Evidently, Circuit City will now offer my crappy old laptop to vendors who might want to fix it and resell it. Alan said that if I am not notified that they want it in 30 days, it is mine to keep. Yippee, I can use it to hold the door open. I guess at the end of the day it is about what I had coming. I used this beast for nearly two years, less the time it was broken. Prices have come down, so I can get a pretty nice laptop for $1100. I'm satisfied. Another thing. Last night at bowling one of my teammates asked me if I knew a guy named (insert name here). I said, "Yeah, in fact, he lives in my cul-de-sac." "Well, not anymore", he replied, "he died last Thursday." This seems real unfair. I remember when I was a kid, about 12, a boy who lived near me and rode my bus, took his father's car in the middle of the night and was killed in an accident. He was 12 and his name was Donald. I couldn't imagine someone that I knew being dead. It didn't seem real, and profoundly disturbed me. Anyway, I was walking Sneedlet around the cul-de-sac Sunday night and I noticed all the lights at the guy's house were off and the house had the feel of having been empty for a bit, like the owners were on vacation. I remembered that I hadn't seen him or his family in awhile, now I know why. Man I hate when this happens. This guy was only about 50, so if you are a 56 year-old guy, like me, this news is bad, really bad. I worry about having worked and saved all my life, only to wind up prematurely dead. This guy wasn't even sick. He went to the hospital for an elective procedure and had a heart attack. Every time one of my friends or acquaintances dies, I stop and think, why am I dragging my sorry behind to a job everyday I don't really like? Everyday I spend there, is a day I will never get back, so I should probably use them up more thoughtfully. Maybe the secret to life is to get up every morning and do exactly what you want to do, because today might be it. My neighbor's death is as disturbing as Donald's death was in 1962, in a different way. I knew I wouldn't steal my old man's car and get killed, so Donald dying was not real to me. Having a heart attack? Different story. I have think this over some more. Anyway, that's my thoughts for the day. Merle. Things in this blog represented to be fact, may or may not actually be true. The writer is frequently wrong and sometimes just full of it. Tag: Daily Life Personal Finance Humor