Anyone in the Dorchester area interested in returning bottles?

[kestrell]

I just put out a garbage bag full of returnable bottles, and it joined one I put out a few days ago, so anyone who returns the bottles in the two bags would end up with enough money to probably buy a not-too-cheap six pack of something else. Also, you would be doing me a favor and I would be grateful. Not like sexual favors grateful, but still, good karma.

The bags are up the front path near the bottom of our stairs, not on the street level.

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

What is the extent of the gratitude scale?

I want to think sexual favors would be the top, but practically "pay one's credit card bill for five years" could beat that out.

The bottom of the scale, on the other hand, is a ripe area for exploration. "Dropping bags of flaming dogshit" may be on the floor, but neighbors could include "Cross-connecting all your cell calls" or "ensorcellment with adenoidal Republican imp."

[kestrell]

In my personal map of gratitude, refraining from doing anything evil is the bottom of the scale. When I was going to MIT and meeting up with Alexx there in the evening because the SCA dance practice was held on campus, I once noticed that I only received WiFi when this one skinny guy was standing next to me (MIT is notorious for its black holes where you can't get WiFi or useful cell phone reception). So I asked him to stand one one leg with one arm in the air so I could send a quick e-mail, and he kindly obliged (although I think, SCA dance practice being the hotbed of flirtation and courtship rituals that it is, he didn't mind showing ofdf his flexibility and agility). At some point later, one of the females became irked with him and wanted to borrow my cane to beat some sense into him, and I said I could possibly do that after he had made himself useful to me.

So, you see, gratitude on the kestrell scale.

Top of the Kestrell scale would definitely be sharing a hotel room, as I now reserve this favor only for those I truly like and appreciate. Allowing you to borrow a favorite book would probably be up there also. Providing accessibility testing or coaching is probably in the middle, along with helping people with research/booksearch projects.

I realize that none of these favors seem like much in the real world, but I find that sharing my space and my energy with people feels like a pretty big thing to me, especially as I get older and crankier.

[jesse_the_k]

Oh, being the depressive I am, I imagined a scale ranging from "deep gratitude" to "fuck you."

Your framing is MUCH better. The image of Alexx channeling signal by imitating a crane is deathless. (Although it seems like MIT should be ground zero for signal repeaters/amplifiers whatevers.)

That you're still willing to do accessibility testing is signatory of your greatness and goodness! And hoory for old age, when there's a default excuse for crankiness.

[kestrell]

Oh, it wasn't Alexx who did the crane/human antenna thing, it was someone named Aaron, so I thought it was especially nice of him.

LJ user tinybuffalo moved into another communcal house near the one in which I live, and we've been hanging out a lot watching horror movies. She's about a decade and a half younger than me and, while she was recently talking about how she had changed jobs because she had realized that she really did want money, I told her that it wasn't selfishness, as she had said, but that as one got older one got better at knowing what would make one happy, and less patient about things that were not happiness-producing.

Speaking of happiness-producing, I am going to go back to reading in my comfy reading char...