i always fall for prime day, like charlie brown trying to kick the football. it's always lame and i always think this year amazon may have learned their lesson and it might be good, but i guess i just like things that are unlikely to be included in the sale. maybe i am just a sucker. i was particularly interested in this year because i wanted to see how motivated amazon & sellers were to clear out warehouse space. not very, apparently. most of the things on my lists rose slightly in price as some sellers took away coupons and discounts in anticipation, and then fudged their prices the day of. there were some smaller drops but 5% off isn't worth getting excited about. the biggest/best thing i found was the 25% discount on overstocked used amazon warehouse items. not all, just whatever they needed to clear out. i like buying used so i def saved the most money there.

now that prime day is over i am seeing the price drops and deeper discounts return, go figure. i ordered a package delivery box for $72 that i have been watching go from $65 up to $90 since april. $72 seemed a fair enough price, so i ordered, but right after prime day they dropped it to $70. great job, amazon. way to make your customers feel valued. like they don't care enough to even pretend their own sale event is good, if they post a lower price right after the sale. if they have an AI setting prices, it clearly does not understand the psychological underpinnings of sales. it's just sloppy and poorly thought out to an offensive extent.

i'm starting to think the real prime day is a day or two after prime when sellers evaluate and decide they maybe didn't sell enough to meet targets. like everyone fucks with their prices for the week before and the day(s) of, and then sees how it shakes out. i imagine there would be a lull, then a glut of orders, and then slack for the following weeks as demand has to build back up. honestly if i were a seller on amazon i would hate prime day. it just fucks up your order flow and creates customer expectations that may not be possible to meet.

i got boring dult household stuff, mostly. extra masks and dust respirators in anticipation of having people over for craft nights (i should have got disposable gloves in different sizes too but the good ones weren't on sale - i am going to check costco, even if they don't have the cool black gloves). a hanging wire fruit basket thing and an air herb dryer and ceiling hooks. a sock drying rack with a bunch of hanging clips that i intend to repurpose for painting small fiddly things. extra water filters for the fridge (we are set on all water filters for 1.5+ years now, awesome). a folding mattress frame for the guest room. helmet hangers for our star wars helmets.

i did get a neat wood bowl (divit shilp viking bowl) for a few bucks off the normal $28. i got it today and i'd say it's a good deal even at full price, if you're into vaguely lotr carved wood display bowls. would make a fantastic dice trough. i don't remember exactly how (i blame the Cat), but shortly after living together, all our dice ended up thrown in together, so we have roughly a pickle jar's worth of dice between the two of us. i guess this kind of makes us filthy dice heathens because we don't have nice color coordinated dice sets. i don't think i have ever purchased a proper matched dice set (oh no wait, i lie, i remember buying a dark grey set once, i think i lost half of them, also the d10s were percentile and i don't like that). i just picked out what i liked from the bin, you know? same for spouse. so we go to gaming and everyone else has these beautiful shiny matched sets in their favorite colors in velvet pouches (i have to say, dice have gotten ridicuously pretty and fancy) and spouse and i have little grubby altoid tins full of randos. listen, i've been rolling my pink glow in the dark d20 for close to 30 years now and it'll be a cold day in hell before i roll anything else and i don't care if it doesn't match. anyway, this wood bowl would look awesome filled with dice.

i got 6 of the d12 coffee pod holders, because they dropped $3-4 to like $13 each. want to make 2 lamps for the front room, 2 lamps for our bedroom, and then i have extras for mistakes or funsies. i am pretty confident i can make a decent looking lamp out of them. i probably won't save money vs buying a normal cheap lamp, but whatevs.

i'm trying to lock down what we need now so ideally, we won't have to worry about furniture or decor or most houseware purchases in the future.

i finally ordered the big 8’ octoganal rug for the front room. it hasn't budged so much as a dollar off the price in 3 months, nor has there been a used one, so i gave up and ordered it. i was also getting worried they would change their shipping and exclude alaska. it's an overisized item and nobody wants to ship those here - i think we squeak in by accident on amazon. the rugs here locally are either boring or overpriced or both.

what the heck is up with this obsession with neutrals? am i crazy or is everything taupe or oatmeal or grey lately? has this "coma aesthetic" been there all this time and i just didn't pay attention? it's a bit too calm and bland for me. it looks good with houseplants, i guess, but what a snorefest. it's like everyone wants to be tasteful and the only way they know how is to do wall to wall neutrals. grey walls and floor. beige couch. neutral rug. crusty "farmhouse" unfinished wood. weird word art plaques and bizarre novelty accent items that are neither useful nor personable.

(on the other hand, if my aesthetic were "in" i'd probably be bitching about how nobody makes nice classic neutral things anymore, and what's with all this loud burnt orange crap, so ... maybe i just like to complain. see if i sent this to spouse i know exactly how he'd reply, with the three dots of shame.)

i miss spouse. :-(

cats have had some excitement. there is a neighbor cat that seems to want to make friends. they stop by every few days and hang out a little. i think they especially like Cat. Cat seems uncertain about this and he pouts and pretends to ignore the interloper, but he's not angry. also, lately i catch him sort of waiting for the visitor to show up, kinda like that pablo escobar meme. Other Cat, in an unexpected twist, saw the visitor for the first time and made a beeline right for them all "howdy howdy howdy!" and i actually had to distract her with a long weed because the visitor cat was making a warning sound when she got within 4' and seemed unnerved. i'm not sure Other Cat understands that she could get in a fight. i don't think she's had another cat mad at her. i thought she was going to see the new cat and get scared and hide, but she just went straight over there all happy to make a friend. anyway, everybody seems pretty chill with everyone else and there's no puffed tails or hissing. neighbor cat has a collar and tag and seems cared for. i have not gotten close enough to read the tag. neighbor cat specifically seems to want cat friends, not people friends. doesn't want anything to do with me. kinda cool, having a neighborhood cat friend.

oh yeah, i got a visit from the Jehovah's witnesses. i answered the door and it was two younger guys in collared shirts so i know what's up and i wait for them to introduce themselves and confirm they are JWs. then i say, nicely, "sorry guys, but nope." like, tell me to have a nice day and begone. and the one dude tries to push back and says "what makes you say that?" like he doesn't already know. in my head i think sourly "no means no." so i just stare at them for a sec, shut the door, lock it, and walk away. i don't owe them any more of my time and energy than it takes to decline. i've thought about getting a no soliciting sign but from what i understand, salesmen are trained to ignore those signs and see those people as easy marks. so why spend the money. what i really ought to do is donate to the satanic temple and see if i can get a sticker or something. i know you can order a membership card, but i'd feel awkward digging in my wallet to flash it. BACK OFF JWs! the only bummer about a sticker is if spouse's parents ever visit it will set off fireworks. but, ha, let's be real, they're never going to visit us because they don't give a shit about us commie godless vaxxed leftist city folk (also they prob can't afford the gas). big ol' goats head pentagram right above the cheerful "press me" doorbell. yeah. i'll grab my dice tin and cast a spell straight out of D&D on those MFers. I DABBLE IN THE DARK ARTS! ROLL FOR INITIATIVE! i'll either get no visits or excessive visits after that.

i've also not mentioned the fresh drama in spouse's family. so spouse has an older half brother he's never met, from his dad's previous marriage. the half brother lives in utah (is mormon) and apparently his life just fell apart and he got back in touch with spouse's dad because he is about to be homeless with no support network. spouse's parents never met anyone down on their luck they wouldn't "rescue" so they offer to let the brother (M) come stay with them. this guy has never lived in alaska, but he has been to their house once like 12+ years ago (i doubt he understands that the place is a proto-commune and there's one flush toilet for many adults living in busses and sheds, but he at least knows it's not luxurious and not near civilization). so spouse and the other brothers were going to pool money to buy M a plane ticket. spouse thinks the guy's story is suspect and there's something going on that hasn't been revealed. why the sudden divorce and the guy has nobody to stay with, no employment? i put my money on drug addiction.

so spouse finds out more, turns out: M's wife is divorcing him because she came out as a lesbian and wants him out so she can move in her girlfriend. the older daughter is transitioning to male. the other daughter is lesbian. there are two younger sons and apparently M thinks one is gay. none of the kids want him around. he's not had full employment for years while he tries to be a writer/artist, and this was a big source of stress in his marriage for years. i asked spouse if his writing/art was any good and spouse kindly says that "it's okay but not going to make money". this dude is in his 40s.

so we've got a conservative mormon whose LGBTQ wife and kids don't want him around, he's got no money or employment, no friends to take him in, and he wants to bum a flight to alaska to live in the middle of nowhere with his estranged father with no good opportunities for him to better his situation. this sounds like it will go well.

the last update was spouse's oldest brother (M's full brother) was pushing for him to stay in utah for his kids' sake, because if he leaves for alaska he's kinda abandoning them and it will be difficult/expensive to go back. absolutely true. also, bad fucking idea to run away to alaska to live in a rotting house crammed full of strangers miles from the closest town, where the COL is high and winter is coming.

i told spouse that we are absolutely not letting this guy stay in the spare room. i can see how this will go and he'll want to stay in anchorage instead "to find a job" and we are the only sibling here. nope nope nope. i veto in advance.

(i still think there might be a drug problem.)

i told spouse if his parents were more social media savvy they'd make a youtube channel about their life and get internet famous. plenty of drama to keep people watching! poor spouse. what was the horrible reality show - "the alaskan bush family"? yeah, spouse's family is way more entertaining and weirder than those jokers.

THIS SEASON ON ALASKAN MOUNTAIN PEOPLE HOARDERS: LONG LOST SON CALLS FOR AID

i gotta do stuff now, fiddly diddling not finishing my projects.

OH so i've been watching the youtube howlers and eventually you blunder into someone who seems genuinely smart with real thought. i like this guy emil kalinowski - he just has a rare combination of very smart and very kind. i'd listen to him reading a crumpet recipe and drinking tea, he just seems delightful. i'd totally play D&D with this guy.

we are living in a silent depression