My tricycle lament

I've seen a lot of advertising gimmicks, but wrapping an outdoor ad kiosk in clingwrap is a first. The ad is trying to make paying 50€ for a shrinkwrapped pack of the local telephone books seem alluring. There is a blue 'city info' book that is valuable for the street maps and other very useful information, but it's not worth 50€. I can't remember the last time I used a big, heavy, treeware phonebook to find a phone number so it's a mystery who parts with their cash for them.

We had a good time at the flea market today and managed to sell most of the books we lugged there from our apartment. The economic equation of the buyers wanting everything for less than 5€ and your desire to not haul anything back home makes for a good day for tightwads. What you paid originally for an item vs. what you think it's worth vs. what the buyer is willing to pay is an enlightening experience in capitalism in it's most raw form. It also reminds me why neither Jarkko nor I are in sales or marketing. If I ever go again, I'll take a Finnish sales shark to man the table and deal with the more hardcore old ladies haggling over a few cents. :) A couple people also came by and introduced themselves which was really cool, too.

I promised myself that I wouldn't buy anything today and I kept to that promise but there was an adorable, rusty, old three-wheeler bicycle in need of some work that someone in our group was selling which I took a fancy to. It was mechanically sound but it needed a good cleaning and the frame needed painting. I also envisioned redesigning the baskets behind the saddle and decorating the bike in an art car style with a Nordic flair...like maybe making it into a giant herring or Moomin on three wheels with a large enough basket in the rear for groceries for a family of 12. A trailer for HB to ride in was also a fleeting vision which was quickly replaced by the thought of him glaring at me in a decidedly irate and indignant manner. Sadly, someone came along and rescued me from my vacillation by purchasing the bike. If I would have had a proper garage for the project it was sure to become, I would have bought it without a second thought. My pragmatic side is a happy camper while my inner, impractical engineer is a bit miffed.

17 May 2004 at 1:51, Helsinki