Today I started preparing for grad school and logged onto our web board to go through my check list for new students.  As part of this we introduce ourselves on our 'Blackboard' system. This is just a short paragraph about our background -  a short resume of sorts. Of the 30 or so students that have already done the same, at least 1/3 have already earned one Masters and a few have multiple, while all have quite impressive resumes.  Although I don't consider myself a dummy, my intellectual insecurities always run rampant at this stage where I don't yet know what to expect from these perceived competitive comrades.  Will I be able to keep up?  Will I make an academic fool of myself?  Have I been out of the academic world too long to be competitive?  AAAAAHHHHH!!!!   Needless to say I have a few issues to work on. :)

I am also feeling much more like a student as of today - I sent in my first tuition check!  Ah, can't beat those feelings of a starving student!! Granted, I am not attending a private college, but without loans, that check is not a fun one to write.....

Regardless of all this, I can't wait to start my classes - less than a month to go!!

Yesterday, Reeves and I went to the Art Deco Show in San Francisco and what a fantastic show it was! They really have an amazing assemblage of historically and aesthetically significant artifacts. The Art Deco period appeals to both Reeves and me in it use of modern materials as well as the angular cubist influence to the use of exaggerated perspective and the beauty bestowed in the design of everyday objects like toasters and tea services. This was the second to last weekend of the show which made it a challenge to navigate around all the plebes, but well worth the effort. 

I shouldn't have been surprised by the quality however since it is the V&A's collection. (that is, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London) They have a top notch compilation of items and over the past couple decades have really made an effort to update and transform a bit of a stodge institution into a much more modern showcase of their astounding collections.  In the summer of 2002 I saw their Design & the Decorative Art: Britain 1500-1900 exhibition while in London, and let me tell you, for being the huge Anglophile that I am, I almost peed myself around every turn at the sheer quantity and quality of each gallery.  I believe that this exhibit is semi-permanent, so if you are in London, really do make an effort to check it out. 

Starting in High School I began an almost daily journal where I would pen the trials and tribulations of my teen angst.  Throughout college my journals were my method of dealing with all those thoughts you just can't express to anyone but a blank page.  It didn't judge, criticize or complain, but let me unleash my bottled psyche. 

I still have all those journals tucked away in my memory boxes and pull them out now and then to chuckle at who I was, relive a bit of of the past and reflect on where I have come. I have never let anyone read them and probably never will. 

Now, with limited time and even less energy to devote to two journals - that is a blog and a personal journal - I feel a pressure I didn't in my journal - to be witty, cleaver, intelligent and well written, a much different feeling than that blank page beckoning me to purge my most private thoughts. 

We will have to see how long I am able to keep up this type of journaling.  I know that the blog is a different venue for a different purpose, but so far, in my vast experience of 3 days, it has drained me of mental energy I am going to need much more of when grad school starts in a month.......

Over the past 9 months I have discovered the joys eBay imparts to those looking for  that oh-so-coveted item, scarce to find in any antique store, much less retail.  I started small, a few pottery items ranging from only $2 an item to about $40 a piece. Since I want these objects not as collectors items, but as a useful, as well as aesthetically pleasing objects, I wasn't too concerned with exact condition or value. 

Therefore, the eBay process was heaven-sent!  I could browse antique dealers around the world (who knew that there seems to be a concentration of the English-made dishes with the pattern called “Old British Castles” in Germany!) from the comfort of my couch while Tivo-ing through the British version Antique Roadshow for Henry Sandon's “jolly little tea-pots“! 

So, with about 25 purchases under my belt and nary a problem, I thought I was ready for some more advanced eBay-ing....well, the ulcer I seem to have now would speak to the contrary! 

After watching several auctions end, and finding an 'average' selling price for the much sought after Louis Vuitton Multicolored White Speedy 30, I thought I could spot a good auction and “authentic“ handbag.  Well, even with my years of retail experience and expertise, I was a neophyte kneeling at the alter of the eBay gods, and they weren't treating me kindly.  The first bag I purchased, from the dozens and dozens of choices, turned out to be an “authentic“ reproduction. The seller's description was very good and deceiving and I was too much of newbie to know what I really should have been looking for in a real bag. To my own credit, I didn't consider any auctions with bad feedback or no option of returning the item.

Upon receipt and inspection of the item I realized it was a fake, a good fake, but a fake and e-mailed the seller to return the bag.  Since her response was a full page e-mail explaining that “you can't buy a “real“ “authentic“ bag for what I bought the fake, etc. etc., I am positive I am not the first to request a refund.  Thankfully she was very responsive and reputable and I was able to get my full price refunded. 

You would think that any logical and level-headed person, which I like to consider myself, would stop here and consider this type of venue off limits for buying a larger-ticket item that is prone to duplication.  However, my Id took over and rational thought flew out the window when I believed I could be the proud new owner of the bag I have wanted since the first fuzzy runway pictures hit the magazines over a year ago.

Even before I had a chance to mail the fake back, I found another bag on Ebay that had the original receipt, and from all the pictures (I had done more homework to know what I should be looking for) seemed to be the real thing.  As soon as I had decided to participate in the auction, the shakes set in and I think I was physically ill feeling for about 2 hours after it ended. Since this all happened only a day before we were closing up our house and leaving town for a week, I wasn't going to be able to alleviate my fears of an unscrupulous seller till after we returned home.  Again, this seller guaranteed the bag and would return my money if I didn't like it.  Even with his guarantee (and PayPal's protection plan backing me up) I actually had several bouts of the shakes, sweats and nightmares post-purchase.  And all this for a silly bag!!

Well, the end of this very long fable... The bag was authentic, and for only $20 over what I payed for the “authentic fake“ I got the bag I wanted!!  My only concession was that it was very slightly used (but I would have probably broken it in more in my first week of using it) and it was missing the luggage tag and keys.

Although it has worked out in the end, I don't know if the process was worth the worry....it is going to be a long time till I do this again and I will definitely research much more throughly in the future.....

Side note:The issue with fakes on eBay is reaching a litigation pinnacle - it will be interesting to see what comes of the pending lawsuit by Tiffany & Co. against eBay selling fake Tiffany products.  More here: @ CNN

Well, after a year or so of stalking my friend's blogs, I have finally decided to take the plunge myself and put my 'little' and truly humble thoughts out there for everyone. 

I think this is the pinnacle of my technology geekdom and I am sure Reeves is swelling with pride over the fact I am actually going to use my blog! Anytime he can get me to use (and not complain about) technology I know it warms the cockles of his heart.

Well, unfortunately this is not the ideal time to be able to write much as I have a house full of double-bagged food and other indigestibles. We just had out house tented for termites this past week.  The house looks like a tornado hit and being the designated non-bread-winner, the task is mine to un-bag everything.  At least this will force me to do some well needed re-organization and expulsion of canned food that expired several years ago. (and yes, canned food does go bad!)