This letter was written by a young girl... maybe middle school or high school aged. I don't think that makes it any less creepy.
Bubba,
I know you don't know me but I have seen you and your butt and think you are very cute. I was the one looking out the window and I don't live around here so I know I will never met you but you never know I might come back an meet you. I hope so because you are very fine and I only saw you out a window. You probly think I am some kind of crazy person for watching you out the window and I am but I could not help myself well gotta go! Hope to meet you soon very soon.
PS - I have your phone # so if you get any strang phone calls from a girl long distance it's me.
Love,
Misty
You should also know that on this note was drawn two things- a Canadian flag (or maybe it's a marijuana plant- I'm undecided), and a knife. Curious.
Then, on the back, is written this:
Bubba, you have a very very nice botty I seen it when you bent over when I was looking out the window.
I hope to see you again soon. Very soon.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Once upon a time... there WAS a happy ending!
Here's a little feel-good story for you guys, because quite honestly, I've had a really crappy day. It doesn't make it better either that we haven't been to auction in about two and a half weeks-- the longer I don't go to auction, the moodier and antsier I get. It's a huge stress release, and I'll be thrilled to death when we get to go back next Tuesday.
When buying abandoned/repossessed storage lockers- more often than not the stuff was the latter, repossessed and not given up voluntarily. It's pretty common for people in this situation to ask for their things back. Now before I tell you why we never give their things back, let me first explain the procedure that gets someone in this position in the first place (so you can stop feeling sorry for them):
1. Person does not pay their storage unit bill. Typically you pay between the 1st and 5th of month for the entire month.
2. Storage unit calls person and lets person know they are past due
3. Person does not show up to pay bill even after courtesy reminder call
4. Storage unit cuts person's lock off of the door, and replaces with storage unit lock.
5. Step #4 should be enough to let person know that stuff has been seized temporarily, but people are stupid-- so often times storage company puts a tag on door saying "contact management" "please pay your bill" or "if you do not pay your bill you will lose your stuff. This means NOW"
6. Person still does not pay bill.
7. Storage unit decides to auction person's stuff off to recoup some of their funds. Storage unit has to follow certain laws (see below) and has to pick a certain date at least 14 days away. They have to get a licensed auctioneer to conduct auction. They have procedure and protocol they have to follow (see below).
8. Storage unit must by Louisiana law advertise in public newspaper at least 10 days before the auction. They are required to put the person's name so they can see they are being foreclosed on, as well as the unit number. And if there's STILL doubt about what the person is losing, they are also required to list some of the contents in the locker. It lists the date and time of the auction.
9. Person has until DAY of the auction to pay. They can literally run up during the auction and yell "stop, stop, I have the money!" -- and then the auction is ceased. I've seen it happen. I've even seen stupid people (there are a bunch) attempt to do this using PERSONAL CHECK. Not a bright idea.
10. Often times, auctioneers/staff/whoever will feel sorry for people (even dumb people) and even allow them a few extra days to pay their bill. They make us bid on the units but "bid/hold" them until the agreed upon time for the person to pay. They do not have to do this by law, but do it as a customer service type of deal. For instance, if the auction is Tuesday at 5, they may give the person until Saturday at 2 to pay. We still bid on it Tuesday at 5, and if we "win" it, they put the storage unit lock back on, until Saturday at 2 when either the person pays up and gets their stuff back or we win the bid, pay the money, and claim our locker.
SO.... with that said, it's obviously NOT a quick process. People cannot have their units "stolen" from them. They cannot expect us to feel sorry for them. They have been past due and past due for a long time. Many of them are incarcerated or spent all their money on drugs. I realize there are a few exceptions (some of my dear friends included), but for the most part, people who lose their things in storage lockers are either irresponsible or stupid or both.
NOW. Because it's not a quick process and because people who lose their lockers are either stupid/irresponsible or both, one of the worst things that we can do is to make contact with these people. That would be SUCH a bad idea. They have proven that they are irresponsible, so let's be nice to them and reach out to them? Wrong. Brian & I are smart enough to know already that this is a bad idea, and we would NEVER EVER dream of giving a prior-tenant our contact information... but even so, I do know of people who have done it and have heard horror stories about them receiving phone calls at 2am asking if the person could come pick up their bathrobe or getting threats that so-and-so wanted their gold back or they were going to sue them, etc. Storage facilities are not allowed to give prior tenants your information unless you give them your permission first and that will just never happen.
PERSONAL ITEMS: are a different story. If we find a diploma, or birth certificate, or a box of photographs, or baby teeth, or whatever-- we return that to the office whenever possible and they usually pass it on to the customer. Some even require that you return these items, because they are of no value to you. Some offices will tell you not to bother because they've already sent certified letters, made phone calls, and taken the tenant to court and they still can't find them-- so they just want you to throw the stuff away. But for the most part, we try to always return things that are of little value to us and great value to others.
Recently, we broke our rule of contacting a prior tenant. We swore we would never do it, but alas, we did. A few weeks ago, Brian and I bought a unit that no one else seemed to want, for $80. With tax (that's a long story) it came to approximately $88. There were several (at least 8) sterilite containers, so even though we weren't totally sure what was inside, we figured it was worth it alone in the value of the bins, and whatever was inside was lagniappe. This was the day that the Auction Hunters people were following us around, so we didn't do a full dig (opening it up like little kids at Christmas) on it, but merely looked briefly through it and moved on to the next auction. All of the things were baby items... baby clothes, baby shoes, baby toys, boxes and boxes of new and unused baby things. Typically kid/baby/household things are used. They are washed, they smell of laundry detergent, they have a little bit of wear on them. These were pristine. I knew something was off but I didn't quite know what-- was the person stealing baby clothes? Was this from a couple who had divorced? Not sure. We made a note to look for answers when we went back later that day...
... and we got them. Halfway through the "personal items" box (I always make a note to COMPLETELY go through the personal items box with a fine-toothed comb... see my tip at the bottom for why), we find it... the reason. A baby's death certificate. The child died of SIDS just a few months old. This explains everything. We go into the office to make SURE we return all of the personal items, and we're told that "the gentleman just called and would like his things back-- he's prepared to pay you." Typically (we get this a lot) we respond "sorry, we're not interested," but this time Brian and I both looked at each other and simply said "give us his phone number." We asked how much he owed on the unit and were told $125. Then we called him.
From seeing tenants in the office furious and cursing and throwing things, and hearing some of the horror stories, and reading some of the letters and things inside these lockers (not this particular one, but just in general), I was expecting the worst. It's not a generalization or a stereotype, but a reaffirmation of my previous point that people who lose their belongings are irresponsible and do not think things through. People who do not think things through are inclined to be dangerous for me. Just a thought. And now, not only am I prepared for a hoodlum, but I'm also prepared for a hoodlum who has had tragedy in his life and may also have a chip on his shoulder.
I could not have been more wrong about Kendrick. He was the NICEST man imaginable. He had manners. He kept saying "thank you so much, I appreciate you so much" through his almost tears. He was a person who had fallen into the situation by hard-luck, not lack of effort. The man lost his vehicle and was taking the city bus each day to work (a blue-collar maintenance job for the city). He had the money to get his things out of storage but not the transportation to retrieve them. He feared his wife, who did not know that he lost the unit, and who would "probably kill me when she finds out," he said. He paid us $125 (what he would have had to pay anyway), and we gladly loaded up the van and delivered the things to his apartment complex (which saved him the money he would have had to use to rent a uHaul, borrow a truck, pay a cab, etc). We made about $30 which covered our time and gas. He felt good, we felt good. We helped him carry the things inside his modest apartment and he kept thanking us over and over again. They're not all like Kendrick-- in fact, we may never get another one like that again EVER-- but I am so blessed that we had the privilege of meeting him that day. It reminded us one more time of the "other side of the story" and that there is good in everyone. It was an honor to be able to do something good for someone who so deserved it.
STORAGE HERO TIP: When finding a box of "personal items" - don't just say "oh, this whole box is personal items, let's just bring the whole box to the office" -- that would be a big mistake. You shouldn't ever be lazy, being thorough will be the difference between whether your unit brings you hundreds or thousands in profit. Additionally, you should know that it is easier to guard one city than two-- and for that reason, people do not scatter their valuables around-- they always put them in one place (this is why safes and jewelry boxes exist in the first place). So, whether something is valuable on the market, or valuable to the person... there is a chance it will be someplace special surrounded by special items around it.
When buying abandoned/repossessed storage lockers- more often than not the stuff was the latter, repossessed and not given up voluntarily. It's pretty common for people in this situation to ask for their things back. Now before I tell you why we never give their things back, let me first explain the procedure that gets someone in this position in the first place (so you can stop feeling sorry for them):
1. Person does not pay their storage unit bill. Typically you pay between the 1st and 5th of month for the entire month.
2. Storage unit calls person and lets person know they are past due
3. Person does not show up to pay bill even after courtesy reminder call
4. Storage unit cuts person's lock off of the door, and replaces with storage unit lock.
5. Step #4 should be enough to let person know that stuff has been seized temporarily, but people are stupid-- so often times storage company puts a tag on door saying "contact management" "please pay your bill" or "if you do not pay your bill you will lose your stuff. This means NOW"
6. Person still does not pay bill.
7. Storage unit decides to auction person's stuff off to recoup some of their funds. Storage unit has to follow certain laws (see below) and has to pick a certain date at least 14 days away. They have to get a licensed auctioneer to conduct auction. They have procedure and protocol they have to follow (see below).
8. Storage unit must by Louisiana law advertise in public newspaper at least 10 days before the auction. They are required to put the person's name so they can see they are being foreclosed on, as well as the unit number. And if there's STILL doubt about what the person is losing, they are also required to list some of the contents in the locker. It lists the date and time of the auction.
9. Person has until DAY of the auction to pay. They can literally run up during the auction and yell "stop, stop, I have the money!" -- and then the auction is ceased. I've seen it happen. I've even seen stupid people (there are a bunch) attempt to do this using PERSONAL CHECK. Not a bright idea.
10. Often times, auctioneers/staff/whoever will feel sorry for people (even dumb people) and even allow them a few extra days to pay their bill. They make us bid on the units but "bid/hold" them until the agreed upon time for the person to pay. They do not have to do this by law, but do it as a customer service type of deal. For instance, if the auction is Tuesday at 5, they may give the person until Saturday at 2 to pay. We still bid on it Tuesday at 5, and if we "win" it, they put the storage unit lock back on, until Saturday at 2 when either the person pays up and gets their stuff back or we win the bid, pay the money, and claim our locker.
SO.... with that said, it's obviously NOT a quick process. People cannot have their units "stolen" from them. They cannot expect us to feel sorry for them. They have been past due and past due for a long time. Many of them are incarcerated or spent all their money on drugs. I realize there are a few exceptions (some of my dear friends included), but for the most part, people who lose their things in storage lockers are either irresponsible or stupid or both.
NOW. Because it's not a quick process and because people who lose their lockers are either stupid/irresponsible or both, one of the worst things that we can do is to make contact with these people. That would be SUCH a bad idea. They have proven that they are irresponsible, so let's be nice to them and reach out to them? Wrong. Brian & I are smart enough to know already that this is a bad idea, and we would NEVER EVER dream of giving a prior-tenant our contact information... but even so, I do know of people who have done it and have heard horror stories about them receiving phone calls at 2am asking if the person could come pick up their bathrobe or getting threats that so-and-so wanted their gold back or they were going to sue them, etc. Storage facilities are not allowed to give prior tenants your information unless you give them your permission first and that will just never happen.
PERSONAL ITEMS: are a different story. If we find a diploma, or birth certificate, or a box of photographs, or baby teeth, or whatever-- we return that to the office whenever possible and they usually pass it on to the customer. Some even require that you return these items, because they are of no value to you. Some offices will tell you not to bother because they've already sent certified letters, made phone calls, and taken the tenant to court and they still can't find them-- so they just want you to throw the stuff away. But for the most part, we try to always return things that are of little value to us and great value to others.
Recently, we broke our rule of contacting a prior tenant. We swore we would never do it, but alas, we did. A few weeks ago, Brian and I bought a unit that no one else seemed to want, for $80. With tax (that's a long story) it came to approximately $88. There were several (at least 8) sterilite containers, so even though we weren't totally sure what was inside, we figured it was worth it alone in the value of the bins, and whatever was inside was lagniappe. This was the day that the Auction Hunters people were following us around, so we didn't do a full dig (opening it up like little kids at Christmas) on it, but merely looked briefly through it and moved on to the next auction. All of the things were baby items... baby clothes, baby shoes, baby toys, boxes and boxes of new and unused baby things. Typically kid/baby/household things are used. They are washed, they smell of laundry detergent, they have a little bit of wear on them. These were pristine. I knew something was off but I didn't quite know what-- was the person stealing baby clothes? Was this from a couple who had divorced? Not sure. We made a note to look for answers when we went back later that day...
... and we got them. Halfway through the "personal items" box (I always make a note to COMPLETELY go through the personal items box with a fine-toothed comb... see my tip at the bottom for why), we find it... the reason. A baby's death certificate. The child died of SIDS just a few months old. This explains everything. We go into the office to make SURE we return all of the personal items, and we're told that "the gentleman just called and would like his things back-- he's prepared to pay you." Typically (we get this a lot) we respond "sorry, we're not interested," but this time Brian and I both looked at each other and simply said "give us his phone number." We asked how much he owed on the unit and were told $125. Then we called him.
From seeing tenants in the office furious and cursing and throwing things, and hearing some of the horror stories, and reading some of the letters and things inside these lockers (not this particular one, but just in general), I was expecting the worst. It's not a generalization or a stereotype, but a reaffirmation of my previous point that people who lose their belongings are irresponsible and do not think things through. People who do not think things through are inclined to be dangerous for me. Just a thought. And now, not only am I prepared for a hoodlum, but I'm also prepared for a hoodlum who has had tragedy in his life and may also have a chip on his shoulder.
I could not have been more wrong about Kendrick. He was the NICEST man imaginable. He had manners. He kept saying "thank you so much, I appreciate you so much" through his almost tears. He was a person who had fallen into the situation by hard-luck, not lack of effort. The man lost his vehicle and was taking the city bus each day to work (a blue-collar maintenance job for the city). He had the money to get his things out of storage but not the transportation to retrieve them. He feared his wife, who did not know that he lost the unit, and who would "probably kill me when she finds out," he said. He paid us $125 (what he would have had to pay anyway), and we gladly loaded up the van and delivered the things to his apartment complex (which saved him the money he would have had to use to rent a uHaul, borrow a truck, pay a cab, etc). We made about $30 which covered our time and gas. He felt good, we felt good. We helped him carry the things inside his modest apartment and he kept thanking us over and over again. They're not all like Kendrick-- in fact, we may never get another one like that again EVER-- but I am so blessed that we had the privilege of meeting him that day. It reminded us one more time of the "other side of the story" and that there is good in everyone. It was an honor to be able to do something good for someone who so deserved it.
STORAGE HERO TIP: When finding a box of "personal items" - don't just say "oh, this whole box is personal items, let's just bring the whole box to the office" -- that would be a big mistake. You shouldn't ever be lazy, being thorough will be the difference between whether your unit brings you hundreds or thousands in profit. Additionally, you should know that it is easier to guard one city than two-- and for that reason, people do not scatter their valuables around-- they always put them in one place (this is why safes and jewelry boxes exist in the first place). So, whether something is valuable on the market, or valuable to the person... there is a chance it will be someplace special surrounded by special items around it.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Letters from Storage Lockers #2 ... warning/ explicit!
This one is self-explanatory, just read on. I will say that the entire letter was in caps only but I won't do that to you, readers! Just going to do it all in lower case instead. There's really no punctuation at all. Enjoy.
**Disclaimer: VERY obscene, bad words, racist & sexually explicit at times, but a joy to read otherwise! Just don't say I didn't warn you!
From: Kevin
To: Ashley
Reason: I've been slippin and stressed out
1st letter my bad i should have been wrote
waz up wit you ashely thank you for writing me i really needed that you been onlin huh me too them bitches done marked up my charge you heard so now its lie a sitting thing now so ou know my heard fucked up but i been good streong you heard they done put a attempt murder on me now huh i aint trippin though my faith & trust in God so im straight he gon work this lil situation out for me i go to court on January 27, supposed to be ima try to get out on house arrest until they try these charges this pen pussing out in shit when you gon get everyon on the phone so we can talk i was really lookin forward to come in home i cryed in everything in the phone wit my mama but she stayed strong for me in didnt ory but she said she wanted to i beeen chillin reading my bible and praying everynite and yeah I would of called you on yours birthday but I didn't have no way but happy birthday how yoors family been wen you get this tell that bitch geezy put evercome back on this phone for me how you been doing in school this bitches trying to make me cut my hair but i aint fucking wit it so they took my visits i can't get a visit until i cut my shit i was bout to put you in my writing list but i thought i was bougt to get wit pite then and there but now i get to wait ima be cut soon the no evidence no witness no case
i aint trippin ima sit it out one they dont want put me around everybody because i was getting into to many fights they got me in some type of crackdown thing ane naw i don't know why all these niggas at my top they must think because i dont look like them all tugly in shit i cant fight i aint gon lye one nigga gave me a black eye a big ass nigga name big son that boy hitting hard wen you gon send me some more pictures you most not miss me hell i miss the tymez we used to have together chill together kiss eachother i miss all that shit i need some pussy for real this shit blows my dick I bethinks wet dreams waking wit nut on me these lil four mouths ive noticed with here for me with my tan friends is in everything those bitches trying lose me but got cut the last weed i love you yeah ashley but I aint trying to stop you from living for lyfe aint no tellin when ima gonna git out here well look its your turn to write back......
love you
(Commentary: Don't feel bad at all for the dude, because he's in prison on an attempted murder charge-- but at least he loves his woman! There were a few sweet moments in there... No idea what happened to this guy.)
**Disclaimer: VERY obscene, bad words, racist & sexually explicit at times, but a joy to read otherwise! Just don't say I didn't warn you!
From: Kevin
To: Ashley
Reason: I've been slippin and stressed out
1st letter my bad i should have been wrote
waz up wit you ashely thank you for writing me i really needed that you been onlin huh me too them bitches done marked up my charge you heard so now its lie a sitting thing now so ou know my heard fucked up but i been good streong you heard they done put a attempt murder on me now huh i aint trippin though my faith & trust in God so im straight he gon work this lil situation out for me i go to court on January 27, supposed to be ima try to get out on house arrest until they try these charges this pen pussing out in shit when you gon get everyon on the phone so we can talk i was really lookin forward to come in home i cryed in everything in the phone wit my mama but she stayed strong for me in didnt ory but she said she wanted to i beeen chillin reading my bible and praying everynite and yeah I would of called you on yours birthday but I didn't have no way but happy birthday how yoors family been wen you get this tell that bitch geezy put evercome back on this phone for me how you been doing in school this bitches trying to make me cut my hair but i aint fucking wit it so they took my visits i can't get a visit until i cut my shit i was bout to put you in my writing list but i thought i was bougt to get wit pite then and there but now i get to wait ima be cut soon the no evidence no witness no case
i aint trippin ima sit it out one they dont want put me around everybody because i was getting into to many fights they got me in some type of crackdown thing ane naw i don't know why all these niggas at my top they must think because i dont look like them all tugly in shit i cant fight i aint gon lye one nigga gave me a black eye a big ass nigga name big son that boy hitting hard wen you gon send me some more pictures you most not miss me hell i miss the tymez we used to have together chill together kiss eachother i miss all that shit i need some pussy for real this shit blows my dick I bethinks wet dreams waking wit nut on me these lil four mouths ive noticed with here for me with my tan friends is in everything those bitches trying lose me but got cut the last weed i love you yeah ashley but I aint trying to stop you from living for lyfe aint no tellin when ima gonna git out here well look its your turn to write back......
love you
(Commentary: Don't feel bad at all for the dude, because he's in prison on an attempted murder charge-- but at least he loves his woman! There were a few sweet moments in there... No idea what happened to this guy.)
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Update: $50 dollar unit
Remember that Atari we found in the $50 unit awhile back? It's an Atari flashback, which basically means you plug it into the TV and play games already installed on it (not the old school, real Atari). But, that's actually much cooler because it comes with 40 games.
I did some research, found out it sells for about $60 in stores... offered it on Facebook for $40, no one wanted it, offered it at a garage sale for $20, no one wanted it for that price, so Brian was like "Seriously? We're taking that home and playing it!"
I am pleased to say that we have been playing Atari games non-stop for about 3 days now. And it is so much fun! I present to you, exhibit A:
So... on our $50 unit, we got a gold bracelet worth $75, a Wii game we sold for $40, several board games we sold for $25, a hair dryer we sold for $10, about $960 worth of baby clothes we sold for $40 (to a dear friend), a toy we sold for $5, caution tape/miscellaneous we sold for $20 and a few other fun gadgets. And we still have the collector's clock! Haven't even listed it yet.
Total profit: $185+ plus Atari
Total fun had with Atari: priceless
Total times Rebecca has won at Tank Battle versus Brian: too many to count!
I did some research, found out it sells for about $60 in stores... offered it on Facebook for $40, no one wanted it, offered it at a garage sale for $20, no one wanted it for that price, so Brian was like "Seriously? We're taking that home and playing it!"
I am pleased to say that we have been playing Atari games non-stop for about 3 days now. And it is so much fun! I present to you, exhibit A:
So... on our $50 unit, we got a gold bracelet worth $75, a Wii game we sold for $40, several board games we sold for $25, a hair dryer we sold for $10, about $960 worth of baby clothes we sold for $40 (to a dear friend), a toy we sold for $5, caution tape/miscellaneous we sold for $20 and a few other fun gadgets. And we still have the collector's clock! Haven't even listed it yet.
Total profit: $185+ plus Atari
Total fun had with Atari: priceless
Total times Rebecca has won at Tank Battle versus Brian: too many to count!
Letters from a Storage Locker #1
From time to time we find letters in storage lockers. Actually, we usually find at least one letter in every locker, with very few exceptions. A while back we had a unit with over 1000 love letters, one for each day over a period of several years (I'm still trying to read through those!) We return them when we can or when we know the people are reachable, but many times the people have moved, no forwarding address, and the storage company tells us just to throw them away or do whatever we want with them. It is then that we keep them, read through them for the best ones (it is my privilege to do that for you, dear reader) and share the best ones here. As Brian says, "it is our duty as mandated from the heavens to share them with the world around us!" So, without further delay, here is the first letter-- actually, a series of 2 letters.
(Disclaimer: Letters are not scanned and uploaded to protect the privacy of the individuals... I change the last names and addresses where mentioned to protect the innocent. They are typed EXACTLY as written, not to make fun of bad spelling/grammar, but because, sometimes, that's what makes the letter that much better!)
Enjoy!
Letter 1 (written from a prison)
From: Nortel
To: Cassandra
Hi,
Hey,
Hello,
Love...
How are you doing? I hope fine. Me, myself. I doing Good. I just have some things on my mind I need to get off of. I really do hope & pray that you read this with an open mind & understanding. What I'm soidin here is real. This is how I feel. Please don't hurt me, thats all I ask of you. I also wunt you to write me back & send me some pictures of ya'll. It's like this. When you're not here to share my day & night's, my life is so incomplete for you are my heart; my soul. The oneness I had know to see without you I merely exist from day to day. With you I know that I will fine all that I have been searching for. My complete-ness, my eternal peace of mind. You are the my keeper of my denom's. The woman who hold's my heart in her heon's. The one I wunt to spend my life with. The one with whom I will always stond, stond beside through think & thin. Through all that life will throw our way. Know that this special love we have & share will guid us; each & every day. This journey was started long ago. Before this time & place. The journey of complete-ness as turo hearts & soul enbrace. For-ever is what I wunt with you. For the search is at on end. Our heart's have found each other. Us, Lover's, us soul-mate's, us friend's. If there's one face I wunt to see, so beautiful; so true, one smile that make's a difference, To everything I do. If there's one touch I long to feel, one voice I long to hear'; whenever I am happy; or just need-ing someone near. If there's one joy, one love, from which I never wunt to part, it's you. My very special Love. My world, my Life, my Heart. For you I would climb the highest peak, swim the deepest ocean your love I seek. For you I would cross the rivers most wide, walk the hottest desert sand; to have you by my side. For you are the one who make me whole; you've captured my heart & touched my soul. For you are the one that stepped out of my dream's; gave me new hope. Showed me what love mean's. For you alone are the reason to live, you come into my life & mode me complete each time I see you. My heart skips a beat. For you are the one God sent from above. The angel I needed for Whom I do love. I love you deeply, I love you so much, I love the sound of your voice & the way that we touch. I love your warm smile your kind, thoughtful ways The joy that you bring to my life ever day. I love you today as I have from the start. I'll love forever with all my Heart. I hope you can feel me on this. I miss you, I Love you, I wunt to see you soon... You just be good for me out there; Love. Know one thing. I'll be home on the 8-24-07. If not before. So I hope that you are here to pick me up this time. I wunt to come home to you; Love. you are all that Iwunt want in my life That Real. But if you can't wait for me I understand. But I'll always have you in my Heart on Mind. Ya'll always have a place in my Heart & life. Now I'm gone to bed on think of you some more, Love. You be sweet as always.
I Love You; Bebe!!!
Your soon To Be Mon
Nortel (he wrote his full name), AKA Dookie.
Letter 2
From: Nortel
To: Cassandra
(no exact date, but it's the very next letter that was sent after the one typed above)
Hello...
How's everything on your end? It's the some old shit on my end, just onother day. I know you may not belive what I was teling you I in the other letter that I sand to you. But its' REAL. That's just how I feel about you, Love. I would love to come home to you. I'm ready to have that some one in my life that I can call my on. I feel that some one is you; Love. I pass it up once time, I wont do it this time. I don't care what I've to do, Im come to you this time. I have asked God to bring you back in my life for a life time. I pray for you & your's every night. I ask God to look over ya'll every day. I tell him (God) how much I wunt to have a life with you & your's. I do have feeling for you & care for you all alot. Love, I just hope & pray that you give me that chance to be the mon that you wunt in ya'll life. I might can't give you the world. But I'll give you a Big peaice of it. All I'm trying to say is that. I wunt you. Not just some time or now & then. I wunt for all time. I wunt to see you when I open my eye's. I wunt to see you before I close them. Your my all. This is what I wunt. You; Love, I would like for you to come see me. I understand that you've a life out ther. But I don't feel that I'm askin to much; but if you feel that I am please let me know. There not aday that go's by that I don't think of you. You really mean alot to me. Don't get me worng. I love our lil friendship. But I need & want more. I wunt you to be apart of my life for altime. Less take a change on see what we can make of this relation-ship. I'm willing to give it my all; me. What about you? I'm not trying to play a game with you, Love. If you want to get with me or think ya'll like to get at me; let me nkow. I come home on the 8-24-07. What go's on in your life now tell them, I respect that. I just don't wunt you to play me, cause I wunt play you; Love. Right now I'm listing to this song By Dru Hill. These Are The Time. You know that put me right where I wunt to be. I know that we would have a sweet life together. I love every thing about you. The way you talk, The way you look; your smile; your eye's, just you your self. I would neve Hurt you; Love. I always be true to you. All I wunt to do for you is ; work come home an spend time with you & your's. Thats Real... Well, The have my phone now so I can't call you like I wunt to. I have try afew time this week, but didnt reach you. But I'll gife my letter's time to reach you. I hpe that you can fine the time to write me or just send me some pictures of you all. Well, I have to go now. I hoep that you write me back. If not; come on see me this weekend. Its from 9:00AM to 12:00pm 1:00pm to 5:00pm. I really would like to see you Love. Well; put it like this. I need to see you. This is not a game. Love. I really wunt you. For you thas all...
Well, Besweet as always.
Take care of you & The Kid's.
&
Give me a thought from
time to time
Loving you... Love
Dookie... Your mon
SEE YOU SOON!
(No word about whether Dookie was ever released from prison or whatever ever happened to this happy couple. I will tell you that she was seeing 3 other men while he was in prison, it appears, and collecting child support from yet another man... he really sounded like he loved her though, so I hope it worked out for him!)
(Disclaimer: Letters are not scanned and uploaded to protect the privacy of the individuals... I change the last names and addresses where mentioned to protect the innocent. They are typed EXACTLY as written, not to make fun of bad spelling/grammar, but because, sometimes, that's what makes the letter that much better!)
Enjoy!
Letter 1 (written from a prison)
From: Nortel
To: Cassandra
Hi,
Hey,
Hello,
Love...
How are you doing? I hope fine. Me, myself. I doing Good. I just have some things on my mind I need to get off of. I really do hope & pray that you read this with an open mind & understanding. What I'm soidin here is real. This is how I feel. Please don't hurt me, thats all I ask of you. I also wunt you to write me back & send me some pictures of ya'll. It's like this. When you're not here to share my day & night's, my life is so incomplete for you are my heart; my soul. The oneness I had know to see without you I merely exist from day to day. With you I know that I will fine all that I have been searching for. My complete-ness, my eternal peace of mind. You are the my keeper of my denom's. The woman who hold's my heart in her heon's. The one I wunt to spend my life with. The one with whom I will always stond, stond beside through think & thin. Through all that life will throw our way. Know that this special love we have & share will guid us; each & every day. This journey was started long ago. Before this time & place. The journey of complete-ness as turo hearts & soul enbrace. For-ever is what I wunt with you. For the search is at on end. Our heart's have found each other. Us, Lover's, us soul-mate's, us friend's. If there's one face I wunt to see, so beautiful; so true, one smile that make's a difference, To everything I do. If there's one touch I long to feel, one voice I long to hear'; whenever I am happy; or just need-ing someone near. If there's one joy, one love, from which I never wunt to part, it's you. My very special Love. My world, my Life, my Heart. For you I would climb the highest peak, swim the deepest ocean your love I seek. For you I would cross the rivers most wide, walk the hottest desert sand; to have you by my side. For you are the one who make me whole; you've captured my heart & touched my soul. For you are the one that stepped out of my dream's; gave me new hope. Showed me what love mean's. For you alone are the reason to live, you come into my life & mode me complete each time I see you. My heart skips a beat. For you are the one God sent from above. The angel I needed for Whom I do love. I love you deeply, I love you so much, I love the sound of your voice & the way that we touch. I love your warm smile your kind, thoughtful ways The joy that you bring to my life ever day. I love you today as I have from the start. I'll love forever with all my Heart. I hope you can feel me on this. I miss you, I Love you, I wunt to see you soon... You just be good for me out there; Love. Know one thing. I'll be home on the 8-24-07. If not before. So I hope that you are here to pick me up this time. I wunt to come home to you; Love. you are all that I
I Love You; Bebe!!!
Your soon To Be Mon
Nortel (he wrote his full name), AKA Dookie.
Letter 2
From: Nortel
To: Cassandra
(no exact date, but it's the very next letter that was sent after the one typed above)
Hello...
How's everything on your end? It's the some old shit on my end, just onother day. I know you may not belive what I was teling you I in the other letter that I sand to you. But its' REAL. That's just how I feel about you, Love. I would love to come home to you. I'm ready to have that some one in my life that I can call my on. I feel that some one is you; Love. I pass it up once time, I wont do it this time. I don't care what I've to do, Im come to you this time. I have asked God to bring you back in my life for a life time. I pray for you & your's every night. I ask God to look over ya'll every day. I tell him (God) how much I wunt to have a life with you & your's. I do have feeling for you & care for you all alot. Love, I just hope & pray that you give me that chance to be the mon that you wunt in ya'll life. I might can't give you the world. But I'll give you a Big peaice of it. All I'm trying to say is that. I wunt you. Not just some time or now & then. I wunt for all time. I wunt to see you when I open my eye's. I wunt to see you before I close them. Your my all. This is what I wunt. You; Love, I would like for you to come see me. I understand that you've a life out ther. But I don't feel that I'm askin to much; but if you feel that I am please let me know. There not aday that go's by that I don't think of you. You really mean alot to me. Don't get me worng. I love our lil friendship. But I need & want more. I wunt you to be apart of my life for altime. Less take a change on see what we can make of this relation-ship. I'm willing to give it my all; me. What about you? I'm not trying to play a game with you, Love. If you want to get with me or think ya'll like to get at me; let me nkow. I come home on the 8-24-07. What go's on in your life now tell them, I respect that. I just don't wunt you to play me, cause I wunt play you; Love. Right now I'm listing to this song By Dru Hill. These Are The Time. You know that put me right where I wunt to be. I know that we would have a sweet life together. I love every thing about you. The way you talk, The way you look; your smile; your eye's, just you your self. I would neve Hurt you; Love. I always be true to you. All I wunt to do for you is ; work come home an spend time with you & your's. Thats Real... Well, The have my phone now so I can't call you like I wunt to. I have try afew time this week, but didnt reach you. But I'll gife my letter's time to reach you. I hpe that you can fine the time to write me or just send me some pictures of you all. Well, I have to go now. I hoep that you write me back. If not; come on see me this weekend. Its from 9:00AM to 12:00pm 1:00pm to 5:00pm. I really would like to see you Love. Well; put it like this. I need to see you. This is not a game. Love. I really wunt you. For you thas all...
Well, Besweet as always.
Take care of you & The Kid's.
&
Give me a thought from
time to time
Loving you... Love
Dookie... Your mon
SEE YOU SOON!
(No word about whether Dookie was ever released from prison or whatever ever happened to this happy couple. I will tell you that she was seeing 3 other men while he was in prison, it appears, and collecting child support from yet another man... he really sounded like he loved her though, so I hope it worked out for him!)
Monday, July 11, 2011
For your entertainment... the saddest, most miserable man ever!
I present to you a portion of an ad that a person took out about us on Craigslist. Here's the back story:
We advertised a 22 family garage sale (which was totally true, as we had 20 units plus our own stuff), that was from 8-12. Early Birds were welcome (meaning people usually show up at 6am). This jerk shows up at 12:20 and proceeds to go through things. I was cleaning up, but we stopped and kind of let him look around. He brings me a shrink wrapped cd (brand new, never opened) and asks me how much. I tell him $1. He asks if I have a stereo where he can test it out and if he can open it. I tell him no, he can't open it, because it's shrink-wrapped, of course it works. He tells me "well... lady... it's $1. Either someone's going to buy it or not!" -- which I think makes MY point, not his... so I'm slightly confused for a second. .. and finally regain my composure enough to repeat that $1 is a good deal, and he should just buy the cd and move on. In his defense I may have giggled at him, but he was being ridiculous. He grunts at me and says "this cd sucks, and this garage sale sucks. You false advertised. There's nothing here at all much less 17 family's worth" -- at this point, fortunately Brian comes to my rescue and tells him "we've been having this sale since 6am... all the good stuff is gone... you want good stuff, show up earlier like everyone else." I meant to also chime in that it was technically over by the time he showed up and if he wanted to be all technical about the numbers in the ad he should have noticed that, but he left before I had the chance.
Then I see (courtesy of Amy, one of our favorite regular customers) THIS little gem on Craigslist:
You sir, need a reality check. You wasted my time (and others I'm sure) by falsely advertising a massive, 22 family/I'm the king of the storage unit sale/awesome treasures extravaganza, blah, blah, blah....I've seen more stuff come out of single shotguns in New Orleans than you were offering. Your claim of 'Hundreds of brand new CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes', for example, was complete B.S. And it still is as I see you're offering your junk again today.
This man is not telling the truth. There may be some good stuff out there that someone could use. But, his claims are completely false. Don't waste your time going out there to see all of the things he is describing because they just aren't there.
http://neworleans.craigslist.org/gms/2449625167.html
To this I have a couple of questions:
1) Sir? What about me? Didn't I make an impression? Screw you, cd shrink wrap guy
2) "I'm the King of the Storage Unit Sale" - I guess he's making fun of Brian, who never said that... way to give him ideas, buddy!
3) CDs, DVDs, are the first things to go. If that's your main product you buy- show up super early. Big dummy.
4) Finally, and most importantly... how sad and pathetic do you have to be to write a public REVIEW of a GARAGE SALE? I mean... where does he have to go from here? He could be an elementary school art-critic... or maybe a garbage dump health-inspector. It's totally hilarious!
We advertised a 22 family garage sale (which was totally true, as we had 20 units plus our own stuff), that was from 8-12. Early Birds were welcome (meaning people usually show up at 6am). This jerk shows up at 12:20 and proceeds to go through things. I was cleaning up, but we stopped and kind of let him look around. He brings me a shrink wrapped cd (brand new, never opened) and asks me how much. I tell him $1. He asks if I have a stereo where he can test it out and if he can open it. I tell him no, he can't open it, because it's shrink-wrapped, of course it works. He tells me "well... lady... it's $1. Either someone's going to buy it or not!" -- which I think makes MY point, not his... so I'm slightly confused for a second. .. and finally regain my composure enough to repeat that $1 is a good deal, and he should just buy the cd and move on. In his defense I may have giggled at him, but he was being ridiculous. He grunts at me and says "this cd sucks, and this garage sale sucks. You false advertised. There's nothing here at all much less 17 family's worth" -- at this point, fortunately Brian comes to my rescue and tells him "we've been having this sale since 6am... all the good stuff is gone... you want good stuff, show up earlier like everyone else." I meant to also chime in that it was technically over by the time he showed up and if he wanted to be all technical about the numbers in the ad he should have noticed that, but he left before I had the chance.
Then I see (courtesy of Amy, one of our favorite regular customers) THIS little gem on Craigslist:
You sir, need a reality check. You wasted my time (and others I'm sure) by falsely advertising a massive, 22 family/I'm the king of the storage unit sale/awesome treasures extravaganza, blah, blah, blah....I've seen more stuff come out of single shotguns in New Orleans than you were offering. Your claim of 'Hundreds of brand new CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes', for example, was complete B.S. And it still is as I see you're offering your junk again today.
This man is not telling the truth. There may be some good stuff out there that someone could use. But, his claims are completely false. Don't waste your time going out there to see all of the things he is describing because they just aren't there.
http://neworleans.craigslist.org/gms/2449625167.html
To this I have a couple of questions:
1) Sir? What about me? Didn't I make an impression? Screw you, cd shrink wrap guy
2) "I'm the King of the Storage Unit Sale" - I guess he's making fun of Brian, who never said that... way to give him ideas, buddy!
3) CDs, DVDs, are the first things to go. If that's your main product you buy- show up super early. Big dummy.
4) Finally, and most importantly... how sad and pathetic do you have to be to write a public REVIEW of a GARAGE SALE? I mean... where does he have to go from here? He could be an elementary school art-critic... or maybe a garbage dump health-inspector. It's totally hilarious!
Monday, July 11th -- Happy 7/11 Day!
A quiet day today on the Storage Front...
We've not had auction since last Thursday (phew!) ... Although I miss it, it's nice to actually have some time not running around frantically-- and we've still been plenty busy. Between picking up what we bought on Friday, having a garage sale Saturday, and spending all day yesterday and today trying to organize our "Teacher Unit" to prepare to sell it to a local public school... it's been crazy! But, it could always be crazier, and I'm thankful that it's been at least a little peaceful!
I haven't even gotten a chance to check if there are auctions this week or not, but I'll get on that in just a few minutes. I'm sure there are-- it's just a matter of if we want to buy anything or not! We have enough materials right now to have Garage Sales every day for the next 10 days and still have stuff left over! Don't forget also, we are having a MEGA-Garage Sale this upcoming Saturday. Definitely stop by if you're local and available.
Peace out!
We've not had auction since last Thursday (phew!) ... Although I miss it, it's nice to actually have some time not running around frantically-- and we've still been plenty busy. Between picking up what we bought on Friday, having a garage sale Saturday, and spending all day yesterday and today trying to organize our "Teacher Unit" to prepare to sell it to a local public school... it's been crazy! But, it could always be crazier, and I'm thankful that it's been at least a little peaceful!
I haven't even gotten a chance to check if there are auctions this week or not, but I'll get on that in just a few minutes. I'm sure there are-- it's just a matter of if we want to buy anything or not! We have enough materials right now to have Garage Sales every day for the next 10 days and still have stuff left over! Don't forget also, we are having a MEGA-Garage Sale this upcoming Saturday. Definitely stop by if you're local and available.
Peace out!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Weird shit I found today
From our "pink scooter" unit:
I stuck my hand in a little boy's pants pocket and felt what I was pretty sure was a condom. I was VERY relieved when it was just an overstretched yellow balloon. Still not sure why the kid had it, but that's a kid for you! I stuck my hand in a little girl's pants pocket and found three rings-- costume, but pretty cute - stackable purple/green/gold gem princess rings. The little boy needs to start carrying more useful things!
From our "Atari/Jared" unit:
I found a Walmart bag inside a Walmart bag with a huge ball of foil inside. I unwrapped all 8 layers of foil VERY cautiously and found a very very tiny portion (think smaller than a pencil eraser) of a leafy green substance. Verdict: either weed, or part of a very old salad-- judging by the layers of foil and layers of bag, I'm thinking the former. I should have known after cigarette lighter #5 and no cigarettes!
Here's a picture:
Don't be disappointed:
I've found all 3 of our most common items today... any guesses what they are? Condoms, fake hair, and tampons!
I stuck my hand in a little boy's pants pocket and felt what I was pretty sure was a condom. I was VERY relieved when it was just an overstretched yellow balloon. Still not sure why the kid had it, but that's a kid for you! I stuck my hand in a little girl's pants pocket and found three rings-- costume, but pretty cute - stackable purple/green/gold gem princess rings. The little boy needs to start carrying more useful things!
From our "Atari/Jared" unit:
I found a Walmart bag inside a Walmart bag with a huge ball of foil inside. I unwrapped all 8 layers of foil VERY cautiously and found a very very tiny portion (think smaller than a pencil eraser) of a leafy green substance. Verdict: either weed, or part of a very old salad-- judging by the layers of foil and layers of bag, I'm thinking the former. I should have known after cigarette lighter #5 and no cigarettes!
Here's a picture:
Don't be disappointed:
I've found all 3 of our most common items today... any guesses what they are? Condoms, fake hair, and tampons!
Wednesday, July 6th -- DAILY BREAKDOWN
Breakdown: We went to one of the smaller facilities in town, a stand-alone (not chain) with the owner actually conducting the auction. Serious pros and cons to this: the cons are that there are less units and usually less items (because fewer customers) -- pros are that most of the so called "established" bidders stay away from these types of auctions, so there's more to go around for us!
Competition: 2 of the regular guys (who we actually happen to like, which is pretty rare ;)) -- and about 5 or 6 new people we've never seen before. The 2 regulars are the only ones who dared bid against us.
Reader's Digest Version: Unit #1 was downstairs and easy to get to, it had a few bicycles and some random toys. It seemed like a lot of chaos and trash but some good items. We figured $250 was the most we could get for it so we set our limit at $100. Because it was between us and one other bidder we actually went to $125 on a whim, but let it go at $150. It wouldn't have been worth more than that. Unit #2 was upstairs and didn't have much in it at all, but it had a pretty nifty collector's clock and a few well organized crates (crates are awesome... they're not generic like boxes -- they just have a mystery to them)... it also didn't hurt that I saw a "Jared Gallery of Jewelry" bag and something that I swore read "ATARI"... We got it for $50 and I was right on both counts! The Jared bag didn't necessarily mean the jewelry was in there but it did mean that they at one point had it-- which is a sign of wealth. And, the gold actually was in there-- a shiny little 10 karat number. With the price of gold it was easily $50-$60, paying for our unit. The Atari was there (albeit a modern one, still cool) and several other video games and board games barely used. And the nifty clock!
Bottom line: We got to bring some out of town friends with us to auction, make our competition get the bike unit for $140 more than he would have paid for it if we weren't there, and got lots of amazing toys and games for a little hard work. Not a bad day!
Competition: 2 of the regular guys (who we actually happen to like, which is pretty rare ;)) -- and about 5 or 6 new people we've never seen before. The 2 regulars are the only ones who dared bid against us.
Reader's Digest Version: Unit #1 was downstairs and easy to get to, it had a few bicycles and some random toys. It seemed like a lot of chaos and trash but some good items. We figured $250 was the most we could get for it so we set our limit at $100. Because it was between us and one other bidder we actually went to $125 on a whim, but let it go at $150. It wouldn't have been worth more than that. Unit #2 was upstairs and didn't have much in it at all, but it had a pretty nifty collector's clock and a few well organized crates (crates are awesome... they're not generic like boxes -- they just have a mystery to them)... it also didn't hurt that I saw a "Jared Gallery of Jewelry" bag and something that I swore read "ATARI"... We got it for $50 and I was right on both counts! The Jared bag didn't necessarily mean the jewelry was in there but it did mean that they at one point had it-- which is a sign of wealth. And, the gold actually was in there-- a shiny little 10 karat number. With the price of gold it was easily $50-$60, paying for our unit. The Atari was there (albeit a modern one, still cool) and several other video games and board games barely used. And the nifty clock!
Bottom line: We got to bring some out of town friends with us to auction, make our competition get the bike unit for $140 more than he would have paid for it if we weren't there, and got lots of amazing toys and games for a little hard work. Not a bad day!
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