impulse purchase

I am not one to buy things on impulse, I usually research whatever the item is. Ok, I'll admit sometimes I'm sucked into buying something hanging on the rack while waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store but not often.  Anyway, as I was saying I usually spend a lot of time researching whatever it is I'm going to buy. For example when I needed to buy a new car it took me months to decide on which car then several more months to figure out what I wanted on the car and where to make my purchase. When I bought my new bike it was three months of research before I even went to test ride them.  With that said, let me tell you about my new lawn mower. Last Sunday I'm at work thinking about what I'm going to have for dinner.  MMMMMM salmon on the grill.  The game plan is to get home, spark up the charcoal and while that is heating I will get the rice started and then cut the grass in the front yard.  It only takes about 1/2 hour to cut the grass so the charcoal should be hot and the rice nearly done.  I fill the gas tank, and push the lawn mower out to the front yard, attach the sparkplug, prime the engine and pull the cord; nothing!  A weird sound comes from the mower, hmmm it usually only takes one pull to start the engine.  I prime it a little more and pull the cord, nothing, same weird noise. Ok, one more time...oil starts splooging everywhere, nasty!  I quickly bring the mower back to the backyard so I can see what it happening.  What a mess. I clean up the oil and take a look, the dipstick has come apart from the mower. What the hell! So I think, I have another lawn mower, I will get that one and see if I can get one mower out of two.  One has a bad wheel and the other is leaking oil.  Well by this time the coals are hot so I put on the Salmon.  I have been thinking about dinner all day and I'm not going to let this lawn mower issue ruin my dinner.  I putz around with the two mowers until my salmon is done.  Enough of this, I'm going to check the Sunday ads online and see if anyone has mowers on sale, but not before I eat my dinner.  

Fantastic!  Dinner is great and I made enough so that I can bring some to work the next day for lunch.  Too bad I don't have a girlfriend to share it with.  I will admit that is one thing I miss, having someone to share dinner with. Maybe next  year.

Ok, so dinner is done, the dishes are put away and I have checked the Internet for deals on mowers.  I have my list of stores and prices, the only one I could not get a price listing for was Menards and there is one just down the street so I plan to hit them first.  I pull into the parking lot and score a spot right next to the door.  I walk into the store ask the man behind the counter where to find the lawn mowers, he points me in the right direction and I'm off.  I get to the lawn mower aisle where I'm greeted by one of their friendly service people.  I tell him I need a new mower, mine just went to hell and I'm tired of messing with it.  I take a look at the electric mowers, they are right in front of me.  I really did not plan to buy an electric mower, they were just the first ones I saw.  He tells me that they have not had any complaints about the electric mowers, people seem to really like them.  The only down side is you have to drag the cord around with you.  I take a closer look $148.00, 18 IN electric mower. Hmmmmm, it takes me about two seconds, gas/oil mower gas prices nearly $4 a gallon vs electric mower.  Electric wins!  No fuss, no muss and I can carry it myself.  I put the mower on a cart, get to the checkout lane and I am out the door in 15 minutes, back home in another 15 and cutting the grass in 10.  Within one hour, I went to the store, purchased my mower, drove home unpacked it, assembled it and was cutting the grass.  It took a little getting used to, I felt like I was vacuuming the lawn.  It cut like a dream and it is nice and quiet, no worry about disturbing the neighbors. Now I have a fancy new lawn mower.

A guy from work came over yesterday and picked up the two old mowers so now I don't even have to worry about what to do with them. 

Life is good...