Often, great deals are too good to last.

 

Woot.com is one of those sites that offers deals that are too good to last.  But it illustrates why one should be able to spot a good deal when it is available and pounce on it if it fits your needs.

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Over the years, I have learned that really good deals do not last long. For example, near the end of 2021, I found a great deal on a cruise from NYC to the Bahamas and back. It was one of the first cruises to take place after the Covid-19 Suspension, and had a price that could not be beat.  There was no single supplement, and I snagged a mini-suite for $1,400.  How could I beat that?

Now that I am comfortable going out in the world as Marian, I will occasionally buy a "Mystery Box" from Universal Standard.  It is like buying a pig in a poke, as you never know what you're going to get until you get it.  There are some items I am comfortable wearing, and others that I don't have the occasion to wear.  On the whole, I have broken even on my mystery purchases from Universal Standard, and will consider buying more mystery boxes in the future.

Years ago, I was hunting for a dress I could wear to a wedding and found a dress that looked good on me. I found it listed on Roamans.com for $140.  The same dress found be found on Amazon.com for $120.  But, on another onestopcom's site, it sold for $50 as long as you purchased a total of garments whose price totaled $75 or more.  That was a great deal on a dress which I've only had the occasion to wear only once.   

Bargain hunting can be fun, as well as addictive.  Now that I'm retired, it pays for me to search for bargains, but not always jump on them.  Luckily, I have the option to buy (or not buy).  And I'm glad I can enjoy bargain shopping to its fullest.

Cruising to New England and the Maritimes

 

RQS and I were looking at this itinerary, and we decided to take a Summer/Autumn cruise. We normally would follow the advice of Gary Bembridge and use a travel agent to book our cruise.  However, we encountered a situation where the travel agent we selected couldn't provide us the option we could get by booking directly with the cruise line.  

But first....

Last night, we planned to book this cruise when I got home from dinner with DPV .  However, Vacations to Go (VTG) closes its lines at 10 pm, so we figured we'd book the cruise tonight. Well, things didn't work out as planned.

RQS was visiting her cousin in Philadelphia, and brought her new Chromebook along for the ride.  Around 9 pm, RQS called me and tried to connect me in for a 3 way call with VTG. We couldn't get that working.  Unfortunately, VTG couldn't give us the booking we wanted - they could only do an all or nothing regarding the "Free at Sea" offering.  We wanted everything but the "Free" booze package (we don't drink enough to make the $200/pp gratuity charge worth the price), and VTG couldn't or wouldn't do what was needed to uncheck this option.  So RQS and I decided to contact the cruise line directly and see what we could do.  And we had more success here, as the cruise line's agent had no problem making this happen.  Sadly, we couldn't get the room I found online, but we got a good room for the same price.  (The agent made a mistake at first, not realizing what we would accept a cabin in the aft part of the ship, and thinking we wanted an aft balcony.  He corrected this quickly, when I told RQS what I think happened.)  

Would I do the booking this way again?  Maybe/Maybe Not.  I have found a local travel agent specializing in cruises that I may try out for our next cruise together.  Hopefully, I can get better results from someone local than from an organization which may be experiencing Covid-19 related personnel churn.

So, now we are committed - we will be spending time with each other where we have to see each other for 10 straight days.  This will tell us a lot about how we get along together.  Keep your fingers crossed.

 

PS: This is a cruise I'll be doing as Mario.  It won't be as much fun, but.....

Cancer Sucks!

 

As I was parking in my usual parking spot, I saw a neighbor walking with a cane.  Normally, he's in the best of health and able to take on an army without showing any stress.  So what gives?  Since he was having trouble getting out of his friend's car, I couldn't help but ask him "What happened?"  And the answer surprised me - he has lymphoma.  Since I don't want to give out any information which can identify him further, I will say nothing about the type of work he does, save that it requires him to be in the best of health.

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This development explains why his car hasn't moved in days.  Luckily, this form of cancer has a 92% cure rate.  But he is worried.  He wants to make it to retirement age, sell his apartment, and move to where his money can go a lot further than it does here.  While we chatted, he mentioned the board member who had been treated for cancer, then died of Covid-19 at the beginning of the pandemic.  I mentioned that my late wife died of cancer.  But I stopped short of volunteering any help.  There is not much I could do for him, save to drive him back and forth between his apartment and medical appointments.  Given that I have little energy these days, I'd be a lousy person to give him much help.

Obviously, this man has at least one friend nearby that can help him.  TCL and I have the same problem - we don't have the friends who could help us if something like this happened to us.  There is no way that I could call on FCP or an ex-girlfriend for assistance, and I don't think I'd want to even consider them even if we were still friends.  (The ex-girlfriend showed her true colors when we had our kerfuffle, and FCP would use it as a cudgel to get what she wants in one way or another.  It's better that I remember all the help I gave her with getting to hospitals, etc. than to let her say it was a one way deal in my favor.)

I'm rooting for this neighbor.  Hopefully, he'll be one of the 92% who live more than 5 years after diagnosis.