Thursday, August 30, 2007

A fan or not a fan, we all have opinions...

This past Saturday as my partner and I were enjoying her very first weekend off, we were hit by the revelation that "Oh wow! We can go to garage sales now". You see, she has worked in positions which have left her lucky to have 2 days off in a row her entire adult life. Now she works 7a-3p monday thru friday. YAY!

So, we whip out the newspaper and start hunting down addresses. I'll admit, we are lightweights and only made it to about 10 sales, but treasures we did find! A yogurt maker (never used), a board game (still wrapped in plastic), a 4-pane window (ripped from someone's house and destined to become something fabulous in ours), a "Premium Saltines Crackers" tin (remember these...in excellent shape) and another little treasure was this old, small, rusted fan.

I swooped in on it at once and carried it around the garage which was full of sale items. It was such a sublime find to me...I couldn't/can't stop looking at it. 25 cents. All mine. I brought it home, created a photo studio and modeled it for the camera yesterday :-P "Oh yeah, THATs hott!" I've never claimed to be anything but silly. I know nothing of the fan's origin or history. The plug was ripped off. It would need re-wiring to see if it worked or not. I am not at all concerned if the little fan blades will ever whirl round n round n round again. I think that it is fascinating just as it is.

Strange isn't it the allure of things old, not-so-perfect or even useful. One person's junk is another's object of beauty. It seems to me that these old things with their thoughtful aesthetic designs and details are juxtapose to our new, shiny, smooth, plastic world. Neither is better than the other in my opinion. Balance is always key to every part of life. Perhaps too much new, shiny, smooth is what attracts some of us to the old stuff, just for a change.

Here is a list of 5 things of which I am a fan of:
  1. Animals. Love'em. Especially snuggly or frolicky babies!
  2. Architecture. Structures, Details, Shapes all captivate me. Especially architectural restoration.
  3. Food. No seriously. I've come to realize that I really do love food.
  4. Discovery. Satisfying your curiosity about the world around you is...well...satisfying :-P
  5. NPR. It is a staple of each day that never gets old. Thoughtful, provoking, entertaining, good stuff.
Here is a list of 5 things of which I am not a fan of:
  1. Complacency/Apathy and the fact that I am both at times.
  2. Working for a living. I'd rather that money DID grow on trees!
  3. Slugs. They creep me out on a deeply emotional level. Thank goodness that they cannot move swiftly as well. eeeeeeeek!
  4. Changing the litterbox. It isn't even hard! I need to get over myself with that one.
  5. Mean and/or careless people. Their ugliness only perpetuates more ugliness. STOP IT! Love IS all we need :-)

6 comments:

Samantha said...

Elli, garage saleing is my favorite thing in the world! And your lists are wonderful, you are such an awesome gal.

TrueMirage said...

FAN-tastic find! I love rusty old fans. so Casablanca.

I'm with you on the litterbox - yegh.

nydampress said...

Great fan! I agree who cares if it works or not, it is a lovely relic of the past!
Slugs "...deeply emotional level" HA!!

Brandi Hussey said...

That IS a cool find! I love the texture of the fan, and the colors.

I'm with you on working, 110%.

I just wanted to stop by to welcome you to the Indiepublic Blog Ring! Thanks so much for joining!

AWJ said...

Love the fan! Reminds me of one we had when I was little, except it was black. I haven't been to a garage sale in awhile, but your finds make me want to hunt some down! :)

paintandink said...

Ooooh... I love the fan. Love garage sales too.

I used to hate slugs, too, and then I saw "Flushed Away" and, well, the singing slugs awoke a deep affection.