.

.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Popcorn


Nathalie and I finally got around to having a yard sale over the weekend. We've been planning on having one ever since we moved in together and had two of everything. Not only that, I've been lugging around several boxes of stuff that I haven't used in years, but have kept for one reason or another. It's amazing what you'll hang on to if it has even the smallest iota of sentimental value.

The yard sale was a success. We sold over two-thirds of what we were offering. It truly is amazing what people will buy if the price is right. Someone even bought my stupid clock that no longer tells time just because I was selling it for a measly quarter.

The rest of the stuff we're going to donate to a local charity in exchange for a tax deduction. Amusingly, the amount of deduction per item is more than what we were asking for during the sale, so we'll actually make more money by donating our stuff, albeit we won't see that money until after we file our taxes next year.

One thing I realized about yard sales is the similarity to popping popcorn in the microwave. Initially there's a flurry of activity, with the bag just popping like mad. Then after a while, it starts to slow down. And that's when you should stop the microwave and take out the bag, even though there are unpopped kernels remaining. Because if you keep the microwave going, trying to maximize your yield waiting for that last kernel to pop, all you'll get is burned popcorn. Or, in the case of yard sales, sunburn.