Still in great shape just had to upgrade to a king when girlfriend moved in. Currently storing behind my couch but here are some pics: Mattress: http://imgur.com/6QP9CZd Box: http://imgur.com/i2UkvTz

Still in great shape just had to upgrade to a king when girlfriend moved in. Currently storing behind my couch but here are some pics: Mattress: http://imgur.com/6QP9CZd Box: http://imgur.com/i2UkvTz

My family started in a trailer in a poor part of my city. First my parents had my sister, and then me a year later. My parents never married, but they tried to make it work for me and my sister's sake. They made it into an apartment, and then eventually worked their way into beginning to pay on the house my mom still lives in today. Up until I was about 10 years old, my father and mom stayed together in this house, and it was the definition of hell. Screaming/fights almost every day. Sometimes my dad would start it, sometimes my mom would, sometimes me or my sister. My dad has thrown me across the room, slapped and punched my mom multiple times, (my mom is 5'2', my dad is 6'3'). He has issues, some from his own father dying while he was young, some from using/selling coke and weed and drinking. My mom told me when I was young (maybe 7-8 years old) she was raped by two men in her home state of Oklahoma, and I don't think I really processed it well as a kid. Her dad also died while she was young, he fell to his death on a construction site.
Me and my sister both have mental health issues nowadays, but she did make it through four years of college, which is more than either of my parents or me did. I personally have really bad anger issues and anxiety, PTSD from close range shoot outs and robberies. I struggle daily with depression and suicidal thoughts almost every day. I sold weed at a pretty decent level for a long time, 6-7 years. I started around 16 when I realized my parents didn't really have the money they were giving me for my weed/drug habit. 20 or so dollars every day was adding up and they would tell me. My mom was a manager at a Texas roadhouse around when I was 8-9-ish years old, and she ended up getting in between two drunk guys that were in a bar fight and she got punched in her neck. She ended up getting a $50,000ish settlement, but had to have multiple surgeries and will pretty much always be in pain and will always have metal in her neck to the point where she can feel it when its raining outside. My mom has never been great with finances, so that money after bills went by very fast. She did use probably 20-30 grand of it on a new truck. An brand new F-150. Remember she's 5'2" lol. That was definitely a mistake, and I think she knows it, but I've never been good with money either. My father has always been broke, to the point where he would ask my mother for money for his own weed and bills. I'm not sure where my dad lives now, last I heard it was in the mountains in North Carolina. He left the house when I was around 10 like I mentioned earlier. He went to his moms house for a while and then moved out. His mom took care of us a lot of nights that they couldn't because of work or other things. She's the sweetest most Christian grandmother you could imagine. She had four kids, and then as I mentioned her husband (my dads dad) died of a heart attack while they were all still young. I can't imagine the pain, I'm sure it messed my dad up pretty bad. I think these things are important to understand though, because they help me see why they were always so mad and upset always.
So in comes when it started getting hard. I had almost no friends in elementary school, I remember getting a "red card" in maybe second grade for punching a kid in the back, yes the back, lol. Because he was literally just talking to a girl I had a crush on. I never really talked to girls then, I would just decide I had a crush on them. In second grade. Lol. He didn't even hit me back, he was kind of just like "What the fuck?" And then I just walked away until a teacher came up to me that's all I remember. I've always been a kind of small and skinny dude, and I especially was back then. In middle school I started making some friends but I was always annoying them because I was always asking to hang out and to come over to their houses. I remember my bus route used to go through the nicest neighborhoods on my side of the city, I'm talking retired NFL player nice. they make my moms house look like a shack, and I don't know if I realized it back then, but it was making me jealous. The friends I ended up making in middle school were not very healthy friends, we were always the loud and obnoxious ones. I got into a lot of trouble starting around this time, 7th grade. I spent almost half of my 7th grade year in In School Suspension, just staring at wall while "doing" class work. It was also this year toward the end of the year that I got into my first real fight. I was always outspoken, and so was this other guy, but he lived in a super nice house and was from a rich ass family. We had a social studies class together, and one day, I'm not even sure how it started, he started making jokes about my mother working at chick fil a. She got that job after her neck was healed up just enough to get a job. She had to get a job, as she was my house's income. She loved and still loves that job, she's a manager now. But back then and how he made fun of her in front of my whole class while my teacher just didn't do anything about it, I was just so mad. So I told him I was going to beat his ass and after class (and more trolling me) we met next to the side of the school and a huge crowd gathered to watch. A lot of people, not the whole school, but most of my grade, because we all exited the same door if you rode on the bus. I threw the first punch, missed, he grabbed my neck and slammed my head into the brick wall, I tried to throw another punch, missed, and I just yelled "stop making fun of my mom" grabbed my backpack and got on the bus, Just cried the whole way home, my sister on the bus was just wondering what happened. I've never been good at explaining my thoughts or feelings to people, so most people think I'm even more dumb than I actually am. I didn't tell my family about that fight for years, even though my sister did. I just will never forget it. I even tried to tell people that I didn't lose that fight even though everyone heard about it. I just couldn't come to terms with it. 8th grade I don't have many memories of. I was a goofball, and my grades were really slipping now, even worse than the year before. Most people just saw me as that weird kid who got his ass beat. I think around this time I started to get very, very cynical with my worldview and my attitude. I was always on the internet when I could be, playing shitty games on our homes only computer; a dell desktop, and reading stupid conspiracy theories. Later I would start gaming pretty hard, and I loved watching streams all the way back to the justin.tv days. My dad had a PlayStation 1, and I loved watching him play Call of Duty. It might be my only good memory with my dad, honestly, and he never got to play a lot. The internet and my cynical world view pushed me away from religion, even though my family was heavily Christian. Even before this though, I hated going to church. From a young kid onward every single Sunday was a screaming match between me and my mom about not wanting to go to church. Sometimes she would end up getting me to go, but that was less and less, and before even middle school I just stopped going completely.
So in between middle and high-school I started smoking weed, it made me some new friends and got me into hanging out at a park near my moms house. This park would end up being where I spent most of my next 6-7 or so years. Most people knew it was a druggie park, would call us all "park rats" and make fun of us for wasting our time and money doing drugs. But I gained more memories here than I could ever write down, I probably could make a book out of those memories. There were all ages of people there, some young as me, some mid 30s-40s, a lot of weed smoking teens, a lot of acid tripping hippies, some Xanax/oxy fiends, and even some meth and heroine people. Most days it was just normal people getting fucked up to enjoy their time, but there was always plenty of drama. This park was known not just on my side of town but through the whole city. its kind of tucked away in woods, sits on a lake, and has a small disc-golf course, so you'd even have a bunch of random (probably) sober people show up to play some days, but they usually stayed on their course and away from us, minus a few of them. I started selling weed when my mom started telling me no to my almost daily asks of 20 dollars. I look back and realize she just didn't have the money to support my habits, and I understand now. But once I started selling weed, I realized I could start eating when I was hungry, I realized I could get and smoke weed almost whenever I wanted to. Being at the park always made it easier to sell it too, because people knew to come there to find some weed. I met a LOT of people selling, and I mean a LOT. I started moving up to QP's (quarter pounds) on the front (pay back later) and always found myself 100-200 short on my re-ups, usually just from smoking too much and cutting too many people deals, Like I said never been good with money.
Then the serious shit started happening. I was maybe 17-18 when I was at my weed guy's small apartment downtown one day. I always liked going over there, not only because I knew we'd be smoking a lot, but because me and my plug were close, I looked up to him, and we had a decently similar shitty upbringing. One day, I get a call to come chill downtown at his apartment, even had two of our friends come pick me up from the park and bring me there. Took fat dabs on the way (THC oil/wax) and when I got there he surprised us with sheets of Gel-Tabbed Acid. Strong shit. I took my usual 2 doses, I was known for tripping a lot back then, haven't tripped since this day. It was going to be a "No Traffic" day, meaning no sales in his apartment so we could just smoke and enjoy our time. His girlfriend at the time had arranged a deal between him and 3 people he did not know. A young (17 at the time) girl, a mid twenties white dude, and a mid twenties black dude. What we didn't know until after this, was they had set this up, and once inside (mind you we were tripping pretty hard at this point), the white dude and the black dude pulled a gun on my plug and my plug instantly pulled his and fired back and 20-30 shell casings later everyone ran to get out. This was a very small apartment. I mean very very small, 7 or so people all feet away from each other. I was literally sitting on the floor because there weren't enough chairs for everyone, even before the 3 robbers came in. I ducked behind the chair I was sitting next to. One of the people that drove me there got shot twice, once in the thigh and one through the side of his asscheek, no joke. The white guy who was robbing us took at least one to the chest, and was also crushed underneath us all as we all ran out and flooded the small staircase down, I could not describe to you how twisted and contorted his body was, and I had no doubt he was dead. I ran to find my plug, I'm not sure why, but I saw somehow he had made it all the way to the other side of the street already, and was on the ground. I ran up to him, not wanting to touch him, and told him an ambulance is coming and not to worry, he was laying there bleeding out of his mouth and chest with what I later found out were SEVEN BULLETS IN HIS CHEST. I watched him die, or so I thought. I yelled for someone to call an ambulance and when I saw some random student walking past was doing that I ran away and back to the two friends who had drove me there. They were freaking out, it was a dude and a girl, they were a couple at the time. The dude had just gotten shot two times. His girlfriend needed me to go back in and grab her purse and phone that were left in the chaos, I said no at first, but she begged me so I ran back to the staircase and over the white guy on the stairs who had robbed us, I definitely thought he was dead the way his body looked. I went back up the stairs and into the apartment and grabbed the phone and purse and all I could see was blood and holes everywhere, it was disgusting, and it makes me tear up while I type this. I got back into the car and they drove to the nearby hospital (The guy that got hit twice actually drove, believe it or not) and I got out of the car right before they pulled into the hospital.
I'm 23, and besides these last two years, I have been on probation/in legal trouble my whole life. When I was a juvenile, I was on Show-Cap probation, where a cop would most nights come check and make sure I was at home. A cop would wake my whole household up at anywhere from 10PM - 2AM just to make me show him a card I had and then would leave, almost every night. During the shooting I was talking about, I was on Show-Cap probation. That's why I got out of the car at the hospital. I wasn't supposed to be around certain people or things like guns, legally. I got out of my friends car and walked (still tripping balls) to a McDonalds a few blocks away, sat down, and called a friend, crying the whole time, and I just remember seeing black around the edges of my vision, like I was either dying or falling into a like dark area of some kind, definitely losing it to the drugs at this point. I got picked up and drove back to my moms house, I told the car full of people I was with what had happened and they couldn't offer much aside from positive words but I will never forget at least they came and got my ass quick. That was some real friend shit. I cried and cried the whole way back to my moms, got dropped off, and like clockwork a few minutes later my mom got home. I told her something had happened (but not the whole story yet) and I felt like I was going to be in a lot of trouble. About 30 minutes later, maybe in total 1-2 hours after the shooting, a black SUV pulled up to my moms house.
I had to go downtown, I will say my mom even made me one of the Sur-gel drinks I had been using to pass drug tests to drink during the car ride there. They weren't even trying to drug test me, I didn't ask her to, she was just that cool I guess. I rode an elevator up a huge building and they sat me down with two cops who were pretty convinced this was my doing in some way. They kept asking me why I had been talking to my plug that day and when I said I hadn't, they pulled up my phone logs and texts. So they not only knew about my outstanding legal issues, they also knew I was lying. I really was just lying because I thought just being there was going to violate my probation. They had me on camera every single step from leaving the car at the hospital to walking into the McDonalds. They really wanted to blame me, they even told me my friend (my plug) was dead and it made me cry and cry and cry and cry. In the end, they couldn't hold me there. They forced me to point at a picture line up of people but I told them over and over I didn't know what they looked like and that you shouldn't use what I say because I just didn't know. Whole time during all of this 3-4 hour interrogation, they yelled and screamed at me and at one point left me in the room for maybe 2 hours while I just cried and cried. They were probably just watching what I would do when alone. I was still tripping acid, hard, and just felt like death was all around me. All I could do was cry.
Like I said, they released me to my mother. They obviously had no evidence against me, but one thing that they asked me during the investigation was why was my plugs girlfriend outside talking to the 3 robbers (juvenile girl, white guy, black guy, the juvenile girl ended up getting some lesser felonies but she didn't have a gun or shoot anyone, she just tried to block the exit at first). That was enough for me to put together that she was behind this, set him up to have him robbed. She probably just expected my plug to just give up his shit without a fight, but no, no he would never just do that. Obviously this whole situation fucked me up pretty bad mentally. For weeks I thought my plug was dead. Until one day he literally just called me out of the blue. Told me to come see him at his moms house. I'm telling you, this was my brother. Got in my car and went to go see him. When I got there I tried to hug him but he said he couldn't hug anyone, he lifted up his shirt and it was like a Frankenstein stitching all across his whole chest. If I recall it was 8 bullets that hit him in total. He had to use crutches and a wheelchair to move around the little bit he could. He only has one lung now, and will never move the same. It was a miracle, but no one died during that shooting, not even the white guy robber, who was shot in the chest and trampled over on the staircase. The white guy (I keep saying white guy and black guy just because I'm not trying to give out names, I hate all people equally) ended up pleading guilty and sentenced to 30 something years in jail. The black-guy robber took it to trial and WON. No fingerprints on his taped up shitty little .22 caliber pistol. Jury found him not guilty, and he is a free man to this day. Plug's girlfriend that set it up was never even charged as an accessory, but she did violate her adult probation by being there. As if that's all she deserved. This is a true story, google Fort Sanders shooting, It'll come up. The only reason my name wasn't in the articles was because I was 17 years old at the time. Not even an adult yet.
They subpoena'd me after the shooting to make sure I'd show up to court or to trial. It wasn't until 4-5 years later the black-guy robber had his trial. By this time I had moved up a lot in the selling game, my plug (same plug) had moved out to the west coast to step up his game as well. Had my own house I was renting in my hometown, Knoxville, TN. Nice car, shitty (but real) diamond ring, bunch of shoes and clothes, 2 shitty cars. Tons of memories, good times and bad, important memories in between then and the trial. I've had a lot of friends die that I went to school/smoked with, especially when Fentanyl started coming around. From what I've heard that's a problem a lot of people share, fuck Fentanyl. I have done most drugs, but luckily I was just smart enough to stay away from shit like heroine and meth. (not to say Knoxville powder wasn't dirty, because it was) I just really liked weed, it has always calmed down my bad emotions from my childhood and from the events I've been through, I don't get to smoke a lot anymore, mostly because I am poor again now. Its still Illegal as fuck in my state too, but that's another story.
I declined to testify at the trial of the black guy robber, and they never asked me to testify at the white guys trial because he didn't have one, he plead guilty. I decided not to testify because of multiple reasons, one- I hate cops, and law enforcement. I understand some are actually decent people. But go through a day in jail without food, because they CO thinks you're lying about not getting a tray, and ask me how you feel about cops after. Go through getting kicked out of your high school during your SENIOR YEAR because someone told some teacher you had weed in your car. I got pulled out of class by cops and arrested, and my car wasn't even on school grounds. Cops used to roll through the park I grew up in and would get out and do pat downs on whoever couldn't run away in time. These things and many more have made me hate cops, and yes, I still to this day hate cops. Is me not testifying the reason one of the robbers walked free? Maybe. But I certainly had no new information to tell the jury they didn't already know. Especially if the no fingerprints on the weapon they recovered was the reason they acquitted him. Who knows, maybe me going in there and crying like a bitch or something would've made it the jury see the truth. Either way it does weigh heavy on my heart but even my plug didn't blame me for not testifying.
During and before and after the trial, me and my plug were still at work. This is when I had moved into my house I rented, after living in a shitty apartment. I fully furnished it and everything. Washer, dryer, Ps4, Xbox 1, queen sized bed, the works. Even the little shower floor mat, I loved that home.
Fast forward to early covid 2020, my plug was starting to get annoyed with me. I was always asking him about the next pack coming in, always wanting as much of it as he could get to me, and I was always on him about the quality of it, even though it was always above average and most of the time it was top shelf. He ran into some legal trouble driving through Texas, that and along with a few other things happening in his personal life, work for me started slowing down. I never was good at saving money, I knew I should, I'd always beat myself up for not having money when I needed it, but I just never could change my spending habits. I'm still not sold on the whole "trying to be something you're not" argument because I've never had to fake anything. Most of the people I was around have heard from others what I've been through. At one point people were driving 2-3 hours just to pick up from me. I've been robbed plenty of times and I've robbed others. One things for sure, if karma is real, then I've definitely paid my dues. I haven't been selling now or have been in any legal trouble for the longest stretch of time since I started it all almost 8 years ago. And yes, I am proud of that.
Almost all of the friends I've ever had have either robbed me or wronged me in some way, or I've cut contact for my own issues or reasons. As of today, I have one friend that lives in Ireland, and he's a great friend, but he's got his own life to live. I got evicted for giving a bad check to my landlord, 3 weeks before they did the eviction halting for covid, which is still active today. Unlucky for sure, but my fault nonetheless. Finding somewhere to live has always been a challenge for me because of my lack of provable income. Today I have decent credit, a credit card, and a few thousand dollars I have invested in my Robinhood account that I seem to keep losing and gaining back. I stream on Twitch, but my last stream I just sat and cried for like 2 and a half hours, its still the latest stream on my channel. No one wants to follow me or give me a chance, which I understand, I probably could make it work if I grinded harder and harder at it, its just depressing as fuck to sit there and talk to yourself for hours at the beginning.
Todays' (1/28/2021) events in the stock market made me write this. Me and my mom keep fighting and its BEEN PAST the time I move back out again. No one will lease to me. She wont even stay here until I leave, as of this last week. I'm waiting on my new debit card to get here in the mail, and whether I have somewhere to go or not, I told her I'd leave when it got here, I have been homeless a few times, lived in my car, extended stay hotels, other peoples' couches. Its hard, but I know that I can make it fine. Today I woke up and had $20,000 in my investments, up from $1,100 I started with at the beginning of January 2021. I finally felt a little bit positive about my future at least a little bit, after a very depressing Christmas and January. Then Robinhood and other brokers today cut off buying GME, AMC, and others. I was heavy into GME, having gotten in @ $69 (lol) dollars a share. It was $450+ per share this morning, after a week of mainstream media attention from every social media website, major TV news stations, and billionaires like Elon Musk, Mark Cuban, that Chamath guy (who seems awesome) and many more. Robinhood and a couple other brokers actually turned off the ability to buy the stock. Literally. All the stocks that were heavy volume "meme stocks" they cut off. I was in GME and AMC, but even Blackberry, Nokia, and others were cut off too. Needless to say, after the whole week of manufactured panic from all of these different sources, this straw broke the camels back. GME at this moment is trading @ 225, and I sold mine when I opened my app and saw it at 155, which was the lowest dip of the day. I came out in the green, I came out making a $1,500 or so dollars. But my portfolio by the time I cut AMC losses went from $20,000 this morning, down to $5,000 as I type this. I have never wanted to kill myself more than I do right now, mostly because this week it felt like I really earned this. I stayed diamond hands (held through the media pressure) through this whole week, only to give up at the end. It will hurt even more if GME recovers from this dip, but It's not because other people are making money without me, its because I could've used that money to move out, get some food to eat, get a new car that doesn't leak through the roof in case I'm living in it here in a couple days. And more importantly, I earned that money. I noticed the momentum before it even touched 40 a share. I've watch DFV's (roaring kitty on YouTube) 5-6 hour livestreams where he was going over the financials and spreadsheets of GameStop back in fucking 2019. I believed in this play and threw the money I had at it, and it should have worked out at least better than it did, I was planning to exit or at least hedge my earnings tomorrow, when shorts have to cover. But when I stepped away to eat lunch and take a shower because of how stressful this morning this morning was, I came back, opened my phone, and I was $15,000 down. So yes, my diamond hands failed. I sold. And while I still had a gain, its not at all what it should rightfully be. I can't even bitch and moan in the Wallstreetbets subreddit because apparently me being a lurker for a year isn't enough because of all of the newbies in there from all of the media attention.
So to finally wrap this up, I feel like I tried my best in this life. I haven't always been a good person, but not once have I thought to myself that I was evil. I'm too nice sometimes, and its gotten me fucked over, and I'd still go back and front friends weed or give them money/weed for free because I'm just not having fun unless people around me are too. Everyone's struggling in their own ways. I do not want to live on this earth any longer. I wrote this to at least explain to everyone what happened to me. And while I left out some very important parts in my life, this should give you a summary of what was going through my mind today. I really have been a good human being these last 2 years. Maybe I'm greedy for not selling earlier today. I was just so caught up in finally "sticking it to the man" and making the best play I've ever made I didn't want to feel like they would win by making us sell. I didn't even come out in the red, but goddamn it feels like I lost everything. I don't want you to feel sorry for me, just learn from my mistakes and take care of yourselves. You have to be stronger emotionally than I was. Move out of the U.S. if you can, its just greed and money that rule here. Maybe nowadays that's just everywhere.
Thank you to anyone that for some reason read all of this. To my dead friends Tad, Pmoney, Cierra, Raegan, Tina, I miss you guys and you better have a blunt for me when I see you all soon, I could really fucking use one about now. Much Love, - Bleezy

This is long, so grab a cup of coffee, tea, or whatever keeps you happy and reading.
I live in a senior housing community for people aged 55 and older. We all have identical 1-bedroom cottages that’s set up in groups of four or quads so that all of our front doors face inward toward each other. So, if I open my front door, I have a very clear view of the front doors of my 3 neighbors and because I am in the back of this quad, I also have a view of the parking area. I think the purpose of grouping the houses this way was to create a friendly and safe atmosphere; however, it’s just creepy in a “you have no privacy” kind of way.
I am F57, disabled, and have a 16-year-old pickup truck that gets me where I need to go most of the time. If you’ve ever owned a pickup truck, you’ll understand my frustration. If you haven’t owned one, talk to anyone who has and they will tell you that according to friends, family, acquaintances, neighbors, and even complete strangers, you have it so that you can help them move, haul furniture or a tree they cut down, and anything else they can’t fit in the trunk of their car. AND because it is a pickup truck, it can be mistreated, abused, dented, scratched, beaten up, and treated like a piece of heavy construction equipment and you shouldn’t care because well. . . it’s a truck.
I have a neighbor (F - about 65 years old) that has kind of made a pest of herself since the day I moved in. I’ve done my best to be neighborly, nice, and accommodating, but each time I interact with her, I’m left feeling used. The neighbor, let's call her Karen, has come over pretending to want to visit with me, which she does for about 2 minutes, and then asks me for something. In the 3 years that I’ve been here, she’s asked me to set up 2 TVs (at different times), take a new alarm clock out of its packaging and then teach her how to operate it. I’ve been asked to fill out her food stamp paperwork, fill out information for her lease renewal, read a piece of mail to her and explain it because she didn’t understand it, to take her places and to “loan” her money for the bus. That’s just a few.
Now that you get the idea of what I’ve dealt with before, it’s time for the story.
One Monday morning, Karen comes beating on my door (she does what I call a “cop knock” – loud, hard, and repeated) around 8 a.m., waking me up. (I am a night owl, by the way.) I go to the door and she is standing there holding her natural gas bill telling me how she needed a ride to the gas company's office to talk to them about paying the bill and hands me the bill. I look at it, hoping to find a phone number for her to call, but there isn't one, but I do see that her bill is for about $17. So, I take her across town with her providing the directions since I had never been to this building (the gas company did not have an office in town, so I guess this was maybe a payment center). I drop her at the front, park, and wait for her. Karen comes out saying that they can't help her there and asks me if she should just call them to make arrangements to make payments since she didn't have the money. I tell her that's what I would do and bring her back home. We basically made this trip for nothing.
Two days later, there is another loud, repeated banging on my door waking me up just before 9 a.m. Karen is back and seems to be a little frantic. She needs a ride again. This time she's very vague about why she wants to go, but left me with the impression that something was going to get turned off, repossessed, or turned over to collections if she didn't go. She's also vague as to where she wants to go. She keeps tell me that it's down by the casino, across the street from the gas station. I told her I'd take her but she would have to point me in the right direction since I've never been to the casino. She gives me turn by turn directions until she has me turn left onto the entrance road for the casino. I'm looking around for any other businesses or even the gas station and I'm not seeing anything other than the casino in front of us and open land on either side. So, I ask her where am I supposed to be dropping her. Karen points to an upcoming sign and says, "See the sign that says 'Valet'? Just follow that sign." Yep, you guessed it, Karen had me drop her at the front entrance to the casino. She'd lied to me by omission. She didn't ask me to take her to the casino (which I would probably have done since it's none of my business how she spends her money), she asked me to take her to a business near the casino. Yeah, well, I wasn't happy. On Monday she couldn't afford to pay her $17 gas bill and on Wednesday she's going to the casino by tricking me into taking her.
A week goes by and I am in the office paying my rent when Karen comes in.
Karen: Why didn’t you tell me you were coming here today. Girl, I just walked all the way here.
Me: Didn’t know you needed a ride. I can give you a ride back to the house if you would like.
I wait while Karen pays her rent and we walk out together. Now, I’m expecting to get in my truck and drive the 4 blocks back to my house. Karen had another idea.
Karen: Take me to Everything’s Cheap store.
Me: Where?
Karen: To Everything’s Cheap. Just turn here at the stop sign and I’ll show you. It’s not far.
Me: Karen, I’m going to take you there, but I’m not shopping and I’m not going to sit in the parking lot and wait for you. You’ll have to get another ride home or walk.
Karen: It’s fine. I won’t be long.
I drop her at the front door and I go home. A couple of hours later, she bangs on my door.
Karen: Where did my ride go?
Me: Home. I told you that I wasn’t going to wait for you.
Karen: I had all my stuff that I had to carry home. Now my back hurts.
Me: I’m sorry, but I warned you.
Karen walks away muttering things that I didn’t understand and slammed her door.
Skip ahead several months and I run into Karen again as I am paying my rent. She wants me to give her a ride to the Social Security office. I tell her that I can't as my truck is not running right and I can't get too far from home in it until I get it check out and fixed. My truck started having issues and it's been difficult trying to get it fixed with lock-down, a back issue that left me bedridden for several weeks, and 2 major hurricanes this year (there’s nothing major wrong with the truck - just needs a new starter and gaskets to fix an oil leak that's caused the starter to go bad).
Karen: But it's just a few blocks away and it's hot out here.
Me: I can't trust my truck not to leave me stranded with no way to get it home.
Karen: It will be fine.
Me: Maybe, but I'm not willing to risk it.
Karen slaps the side of my truck and continues on her walk and I go home in my truck.
Another 3 days go by and more banging on my door and again I am awakened (it's 7:15 a.m.). This time I'm angry and I snatched the door open.
Me: What?
Karen (standing there with her purse and house keys in her hand as if she knows I'll say yes): I need to go to the mattress store. I need to pick up my new queen size mattress.
Me: No. My truck still isn't running right.
Karen: But I need your truck to haul the mattress home.
Me: No.
Karen: It's not a heavy mattress.
Me: Oh, so who’s going to help you get it in and out of my truck and carry it into your house?
Karen: The two of us can do it.
Me: Karen, I have degenerative disk disease. The disks in my spine are disintegrating. I can't lift nor carry a mattress even with someone helping.
Karen: But I already bought it. How am I going to get it home?
Me: Call friends or family to help you.
Karen: They don't have a truck and you do!
Me: Yes, I have a truck, but there is no sign anywhere on it that says Free Moving Company.
I close the door on her and go back to bed. An hour later, more knocking. This time, it's an older man.
Man 1: Excuse me, but is that your truck? (He points at my truck in the parking lot.)
Me: Yes.
Man 1: I have an upright piano I need to move and was wondering if I could use your truck.
Me: No. (I glance over at the neighbor's house and I see her peeking through a crack in her door - I have a sneaking suspicion she has put this guy up to this to see if I would help him.)
Man 1: You can drive the truck. I just need to have the piano hauled to my storage unit.
Me: How are you going to get an upright piano into the bed of my truck?
Man 1: I'll just roll it up a ramp and into the back.
Me: Do you know how much an upright piano weighs? One person can't push it up a ramp. If you use a ramp on my tailgate, you will break the tailgate and probably lose the piano in the process. My truck is large, but the rear end is not made for hauling a piano and will cause the front end to lift off the ground preventing my front wheel drive truck from gaining traction and straining my 16-year-old engine.
Man 1: Well, could you call 4 or 5 of your male friends to help lift it into the back of the truck?
Me: No!
I close the door on this man, too. He didn’t come right out and say it, but I felt like he wanted to borrow my truck so he could go pick up the mattress for Karen. Yeah, I’m a little suspicious.
The following morning . . . *sigh* . . . I ignore the knocking that occurs every half hour or so over a 3-hour period until she finally gives up. Later that afternoon, I open my door to get the mail out of my box when a second man approaches me out of nowhere. It’s like he was hiding around the corner waiting for me to come out of my house.
Man 2 (points at my truck - it irritates me every time someone does this): Is that your truck?
Me (feeling very annoyed and snarky): What gave it away? Is it because it's parked in a space clearly labeled with my house number? Or is it because someone told you who the truck belonged to? (I point at Karen's house.)
Man 2: Does it run?
Me: Listen, I don't know what you're wanting me pick up, deliver, move, haul, transport, or tow, but I am not a moving company, taxi, uber, delivery service, or a tow truck. I won't be doing any of those things and before you ask, I won't be allowing you or anyone else to drive my truck either. Now, do you have any other questions?
Man 2: Uh, do you want to sell it?
Me: What?! Why would I want to sell it?
Man 2: Well, since it needs fixing, I thought maybe you would want to sell it to someone who could afford to fix it.
Me: How do you know it needs fixing?
Man 2 (turns bright red and can't take his eyes off ground): I just thought if you sold it, you could buy something else and I could fix the truck.
Me: Tell Karen that I'm not selling you my truck so that you can fix it to give to her.
Man 2: I wasn't going to give it to her.
Me (pointing at his huge truck parked in Karen's designated space): You want me to believe that you would rather have my 16-year-old truck that needs repair than your brand-new truck? How stupid do you think I am?
As the older man silently stares at the ground, Karen flings her door open and marches up to me.
Karen: Just sell him your truck so he can fix it. You clearly aren't going to do it any time soon. At least I will put it to good use. I need it and I need it more than you apparently do. Now, he’s willing to get it fixed for me, so just sell him the damn truck already!
Me: My truck is not for sale! When or if I get my truck fixed is absolutely none of your business.
Karen: I’m going to call the office and tell them that you have a broken-down truck sitting in the parking lot that needs to be hauled to the junk yard. They’ll make you get rid of it or fix it.
Man 2: Karen, they can’t do anything to her . . .
Karen cuts him off. She’s so angry, she’s crying, shaking, and spitting as she screams
Karen: SHUT UP! STAY OUT OF THIS. I WANT THAT TRUCK AND I’M GOING TO GET IT! I’LL CALL THE POLICE. THEY WILL MAKE HER GET RID OF IT.
Man 2: Karen, the police aren’t . . .
She cuts him off again.
Karen: YES, THEY WILL. THEY'LL LISTEN TO ME.
She storms off to call the police. In the meantime, I brought a chair outside along with a can of soda and a bowl of microwave popcorn. I figured this was going to be a good show. Karen and Man 2 have gone inside her house to wait. The neighbor to my left has come out to see what’s going on. Let’s call her Mary. Mary can’t stand Karen, so she drags a chair out and sits next to me and we share my popcorn.
Enter Cop 1 and Cop 2
The cops arrive in about 5-6 minutes and walk up to Karen’s door and knock while glancing around at Mary and me and grinning. She answers and tells them that I have created an eyesore in the neighborhood by having an old beat up, broken-down truck sitting in the parking lot and she wants it removed immediately.
Cop 1 (pointing at my truck - yep, he does it, too and I can't help but roll my eyes): That truck?
Karen: Yes.
Cop 1: That truck is clean, shiny, no dents, no scratches, new tires . . . are you sure that’s the eyesore?
Karen: Yes. It’s 10 years old and broken and she doesn’t want to fix it. It’s just sitting there doing nothing for months.
Me: It’s 16 years old.
Cop 2 (spins around, surprised): Seriously? That truck is that old? Wow! It’s in great shape. You’ve taken good care of her.
Me: Thank you.
Karen: I want that truck gone!
Cop 2 walks over to me to discuss my truck’s mechanical history. So, I explain to him that in the 16 years that I have owned her, I have changed her oil every 3-4 months, given her a bath once a month, got her a new set of tires 6 years ago, and when I first began having problems with her starting, I bought a new battery (the old one was the original battery from when I bought the truck off the showroom floor), and when the battery wasn’t the problem, I had a mechanic come and look at it. He determined that it was the starter and the gasket was leaking. All I was waiting on was my friend to come and help me start her (someone needs to get under the truck and tap the starter while someone else turns over the ignition) so that I can get it to the mechanic’s house for him to work on it.
Karen: She’s lying. That truck hasn’t moved in 3 months.
Me (offering popcorn to Cop 2 who took a handful): Wrong. It hasn’t moved in 4 days. It’s had problems for 3 or 4 months.
Cop 1: Ms. Karen, there really isn’t anything the police department can do for you. Her truck definitely isn’t an eyesore nor is it sitting there in pieces creating a safety hazard.
Karen: She’s driving down property values.
Cop 1 (starts chuckling): Ms. Karen, you are renting a house in government subsidized senior housing.
Cop 2: Why don’t you tell us the real reason why you want her truck removed.
Mary (who has been silent until now - stands up and turns on her best diva soul-sister voice and attitude and gives the cops the greatest Deep-South Beautiful Black Woman sermon I’ve ever heard – I’ll try to write as best I can): Ohh, Lawd Jesus, help us all! Dis here woman of the night, want everything she can’t have, Lawd! I think it’s cuz she pulls her hair back so tight, Lawd, she can only see what’s in the back o’ her mind! Uh huh! She wants her Old Saggy Boy Toy of the Day here to buy my friend’s pick’em up truck, so she can go and pick’em up, Lawd, mm-hmm, if ya gittin' what I’m sayin’. He buy it and trade it to her for a little roll on her nasty sheets! Lawd Jesus, help us! And she think she all hot and sexy so you believe her and take away my friend’s truck. She a fool, uh huh. She think she can fool you, too, uh huh! How da hell do ya think she got those 2 big ass TVs in there? Mmm-hmm!
Cop 1 is bent over laughing hysterically while Cop 2 is standing with his mouth open and his eyes wide.
Cop 2 (turns to Man 2): Is any of that true?
Man 2 (embarrassed, humiliated, and just looking tired): She wanted the truck and 50 bucks.
Karen and Man 2 are arrested. Not sure what the exact charges were but I heard words being thrown around like pandering, solicitation, scamming, and false complaint among others. A couple of days later, Mary told me that Karen returned home. I guess she found a way to get bailed out. I haven’t seen her and I am hoping that I don’t. As for my “pick’em up truck”, I’m still waiting to get her to the mechanic. My friend will be here on his next day off (he doesn't get them often) to help me. It’s a good thing I’m a patient person with a super diva as a friend and neighbor. It's also good to know that my truck is at least worth one 20-minute roll on the sheets and 50 bucks.
EDIT: Thanks for the awards everyone! And just a little side note for those of you rolling your eyes at the fact that I offered a cop popcorn and he took it - I live in the Deep South in a small-ish college town. The cops here are helpful, friendly (until provoked), and generally good guys. When construction workers stole from me after Hurricane Laura, two cops came to investigate and afterwards I offered them both a bottle of water and they accepted.

yall really thought your haul was done ;)
most of these have weidian reviews, so make sure to check em! stock isn't always available, so cop quick (or ask the seller if they'll restock)!
NOTE: There's no guarantee that you will get amazing quality shoes, check review pics and buy with caution. :)
Google Sheet here if you want to sort by price, colorways, or sizes! This list hasn't been sorted in any particular way, but the spreadsheet is already sorted by amount of reviews.

Budget Shoes:

¥135-210 AF1s | sizes 36-45 | 33 colorways | 1,263 reviews W2C
¥180 Nike Blazer '77 Mids | sizes 36-44 | 19 colorways | 136 reviews W2C
¥135-240 AF1s | sizes 36-45 | 35 colorways | 733 reviews W2C
¥217.6-248.2 Air Jordan 1 Lows | sizes 36-45 | 23 colorways | 686 reviews W2C
¥189 Alexander McQueens | sizes 36-44 | 20 colorways | 79 reviews W2C
¥169.2 Alexander McQueens | sizes 34-44 | 39 colorways | 101 reviews W2C
¥198 Nike SB Dunks | sizes 36-45 | 33 colorways | 645 reviews W2C
¥258-298 Nike SB Dunks | sizes 36-45 | 26+ colorways | 268 reviews: W2C
¥248 Air Jordan 32s | sizes 36-45 | 18 colorways | 530 reviews W2C
¥248-288 Lebron 16/17s | sizes 36-46 | 14+ colorways | 333 reviews W2C
¥89-230 AF1s | sizes 36-45 | 36 colorways | 400 reviews W2C
¥138 Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars | sizes 35-44 | 24 colorways | 199 reviews W2C
¥135-165 Air Jordan 11s | sizes 36-46 | 26 colorways | 215 reviews W2C
¥135 Converse All Stars | sizes 35-44 | 16 colorways | 356 reviews W2C
¥155-260 AJ1s | sizes 36-45 | 50 colorways | 152 reviews W2C
¥198 Nike Air Vapormax Flyknit 2 | sizes 36-45 | 17 colorways | 195 reviews W2C
¥168-199 Nike M2K Tekno | sizes 36.5-44 | 12 colorways | 268 reviews W2C
¥248 Nike PG3s | sizes 40-46 | 16 colorways | 115 reviews W2C
¥169 Givenchy Paris Shoes | sizes 34-44 | 8 colorways | 201 reviews W2C
¥139 Nike Joyride Run Flyknits | sizes 36-42 | 4 colorways | 721 reviews W2C
¥169 Yeezy 350 v2 Statics | sizes 36-47 | 2 colorways | 479 reviews W2C
¥169 Yeezy 700 'Salt' | sizes 36-46.5 | 1 colorway | 383 reviews W2C
¥169 Yeezy 700 'Mauve' | sizes 36-46.5 | 1 colorway | 349 reviews W2C
¥109 Adidas Alphabounce | sizes 39-45 | 4 colorways | 312 reviews W2C
¥139 Yeezy 700 v3 | sizes 36-48 | 2 colorways | 208 reviews W2C
¥232-265.6 Kobe 4s | sizes 40-46 | 15+ colorways | 227 reviews W2C
¥160 Nike Free RN 5.0s | sizes 36-45 | 20 colorways | 264 reviews W2C
¥169 Yeezy Boost 350 V2 'Clay' | sizes 40-46 | 1 colorway | 197 reviews W2C
¥189 Air Jordan 4 'Black Laser' | sizes 40-45 | 1 colorway | 162 reviews W2C
¥226.2 Bottega Veneta BV LUG BOOTS | sizes 34-40 | 6 colorways | 103 reviews W2C
¥149 Yeezy Boost 700 V2 'Static' | sizes 36-46.5 | 1 colorway | 80 reviews W2C
¥39 Balenciaga Speed Trainers | sizes 35-44 | 2 colorways | 13 reviews W2C
¥39.9 Nike Air Daybreak 1979 Waffle 40th Anniversary | sizes 37-39 | 1 colorway | 115 reviews W2C
¥119-258 AJ4s| sizes 36-46 | 30+ colorways | 239 reviews: W2C QC Pics (credit to my homie paps#7272)
¥170 AJ11s | sizes 36-46 | 21 colorways | 69 reviews: W2C QC Pics (credit to my homie paps#7272)
¥183-197 Nike SB Dunks | sizes 36-47.5| 23+ colorways | 108 reviews: W2C
¥159 Adidas Alphabounce Running Shoes | sizes 40-45 | 4 colorways | 119 reviews W2C
¥229 Air Jordan 11 'Vast Grey/Silver' | sizes 39-45 | 1 colorway | 109 reviews W2C
¥169 Yeezy Boost 700 'Analog' | sizes 36-46.5 | 1 colorway | 125 reviews W2C
¥208 Adidas Samba OG | sizes 36-45 | 11 colorways | 154 reviews W2C
¥119 Air Max 97 | sizes 36-45 | 12 colorways | 118 reviews W2C
¥156 Adidas Sam Smiths | sizes 36-44 | 10 colorways | 47 reviews W2C
¥278 Balenciaga Triple S | sizes 36-45 | 8+ colorways | 118 reviews W2C
¥175 Nike Free RN Flyknits | sizes 36-45 | 6 colorways | 62 reviews W2C
¥188 AJ1s | sizes 36-45 | 38+ colorways | 28 reviews: W2C
¥99-178 AJ1s | sizes 36-45 | 40+ colorways | 35 reviews: W2C
¥220 Kyrie 4s | sizes 40-46 | 26 colorways | 45 reviews W2C
¥268 Kyrie 5s | sizes 36-46 | 18 colorways | 63 reviews W2C
¥139 Kyrie 6s | sizes 40-46 | 3 colorways | 4 reviews W2C
¥109 Adidas Ozweego | sizes 36-45 | 4 colorways | 62 reviews W2C
¥129 Nike M2K Tekno | sizes 36-45 | 5 colorways | 59 reviews W2C
¥139 Stussy X Air Zoom Spiridon Caged 'Fossil' | sizes 36-45 | 1 colorway | 55 reviews W2C
¥149 Adidas 380 v3 | sizes 36-46 | 3 colorways | 46 reviews W2C
¥238 Air Jordan 12 "Indigo" | sizes 40-47.5 | 1 colorway | 26 reviews W2C
¥110 AF1s | sizes 36-45 | 3 colorways | 3 reviews W2C
¥158 Puma Smash Vulc Trainers | sizes 36-44 | 11 colorways | 36 reviews W2C
¥188 Bred 11s | sizes 36-44.5 | 1 colorway | 13 reviews W2C
¥188 Nike Air Monarch IVs | sizes 36-45 | 19 colorways | 23 reviews W2C
¥140 Nike Free 3.0 V2s | sizes 36-45 | 8 colorways | 20 reviews W2C
¥180 Nike Joyride Run Flyknit Racers | sizes 36-45 | 5 colorways | 10 reviews W2C
¥49.9 AF1 Highs | sizes 36-46 | 6 colorways | 55 reviews W2C
¥240 Adidas 3M Ozweegos | sizes 36-45 | 3 colorways | 1 review W2C
¥99 Adidas EQT Bask ADVs | sizes 36-44 | 3 colorways | 1 review W2C
¥99 Adidas Superstars | sizes 36-44 | 12 colorways | 11 reviews W2C
¥89 Adidas Superstars | sizes 36-44 | 6 colorways | 0 reviews W2C
¥99 Adidas Valentine's Day Superstars | sizes 36-44 | 1 colorway | 0 reviews W2C
¥99 Grey Adidas Superstars | sizes 38.5-43 | 1 colorway | 1 review W2C
¥99 Green + Red Adidas Superstars | sizes 36-44 | 1 colorway | 1 review W2C
¥99 Air Jordan 4 Retro "Tattoo" | sizes 40-46 | 1 colorway | 13 reviews W2C
¥39.9 Adidas Tubular Doom Sock PK | sizes 39-44.5 | 4 colorways | 22 reviews W2C
¥59 Adidas Spezial Trainers | sizes 40-45 | 1 colorway | 6 reviews W2C
¥168 Off White x Air Jordan 5 Black | sizes 40-42 | 1 colorway | 10 reviews W2C
¥238 Air Jordan 5 Retro Alternate Bel-Air | sizes 40-47.5 | 1 colorway | 4 reviews W2C
¥79.9 Nike Daybreak SP | sizes 36-44.5 | 5 colorways | 1 review W2C
¥159 Jordan 1 Retro High 'Sports Illustrated'| sizes 40-47.5 | 1 colorway | 2 reviews W2C
¥188 Air Jordan 4 Retro 'Metallic Red' | sizes 36-47.5 | 1 colorway | 3 reviews W2C
¥188 Air Jordan 4 Retro 'Pine Green' | sizes 42-44.5 | 1 colorway | 5 reviews W2C
¥149 Madness x New Balance 990 | sizes 44-45 | 2 colorways | 5 reviews W2C
¥99 Adidas Originals Campus 80s | sizes 40-44 | 1 colorway | 3 reviews W2C
¥159 Air Jordan 11 Platinum Tint | sizes 40-45 | 1 colorway | 0 review W2C
¥199 Air Jordan 5 "What The" Mandarin Duck | sizes 40-46 | 1 colorway | 6 reviews W2C
¥158 Air Jordan 1 x Fragment | sizes 40-46 | 1 colorway | 1 review W2C
¥169 Milk Tea Air Jordan 4 "Mushroom" | sizes 40-42.5 | 1 colorway | 1 review W2C
¥238 Air Jordan 12 Black University Gold | sizes 43-46 | 1 colorway | 4 reviews W2C
¥159 Off-White x Air Force 1 Low 'Black' | sizes 40-45 | 1 colorway | 3 reviews W2C
¥168 Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG 'Yellow Toe' | sizes 39-44.5 | 1 colorway | 0 reviews W2C
¥159 Off Whitex Air Force 1 Low 'White' | sizes 42-43 | 1 colorway | 2 reviews (solid color sole) W2C
¥168 Air Jordan 5 Retro 'Alternate Grape' | sizes 40-46 | 1 colorway | 0 reviews W2C
¥69 Wmns Air Jordan 4 Retro NRG 'Singles Day' | sizes 36.5-8 | 1 colorway | 1 review W2C
¥159 Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG 'Black Toe' | sizes 40-44 | 1 colorway | 0 reviews W2C
¥168 Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG 'Origin Story' | sizes 40-46 | 1 colorway | 1 review W2C
¥79 Adidas NMD-R1 | sizes 40-45 | 1 colorway | 0 reviews (Fishscale boost apparently) W2C
¥168 Air Jordan 1 Panda Fragment | sizes 44-45 | 1 colorway | 0 reviews W2C
¥149 Asics Onitsuka Tiger SERRANO | sizes 36-45 | 3 colorways | 0 reviews W2C
¥139 Yeezy 350 v2 | sizes 36-46 | 11 colorways | 0 reviews W2C
¥139 Yeezy 350 v2 Creams | sizes 38-45 | 1 colorway | 0 reviews W2C
¥139 Adidas 350 v2 'Cinder' | sizes 36-46 | 1 colorway | 24 reviews W2C
¥180 Skechers x Goodyear Shoes | sizes 40-44 | 2 colorways | 13 reviews W2C
¥218 Nike Air Force 1 React | sizes 36-45 | 5 colorways | 8 reviews W2C
¥226.2-235.7 Fendi Chelsea Boots | sizes 35-40 | 8 colorways | 102 reviews W2C
¥273.7 Stuart Weitzman THE 5050 BOOT| sizes 35-40 | 2 colorways | 101 reviews W2C
¥235.7 Alexander Boots (can't ID these) | sizes 35-40 | 4 colorways | 51 reviews W2C
¥273.7 Chanel Boots | sizes 35-40 | 6 colorways | 101 reviews W2C
¥254.7 Celine Boots | sizes 35-40 | 2 colorways | 51 reviews W2C
¥254.7 BOTH Paris Gao Chelsea Leather Boots | sizes 35-40 | 2 colorways | 51 reviews W2C
¥235.7 Ann Demeulemeester Boots | sizes 34-40 | 2 colorways | 102 reviews W2C
¥235.7 Balenciaga Boots | sizes 34-40 | 2 colorways | 103 reviews W2C
¥273.7 Fendi Boots | sizes 35-40 | 1 colorway | 51 reviews W2C
¥254.7 Ann Demeulemeester Buckle Boots | sizes 35-40 | 3 colorways | 102 reviews W2C
¥235.7 Isabel Marant Denvee Tall Boots | sizes 34-40 | 2 colorways | 101 reviews W2C
¥235.7 Balenciaga Strike Leather Boots | sizes 34-40 | 5 colorways | 0 reviews (but 580 sales) W2C
¥226.2 Guidi Front Zip Boots | sizes 34-40 | 13 colorways | 101 reviews W2C
¥235.7 Chanel Boots | sizes 34-40 | 2 colorways | 51 reviews W2C
¥207.2 Roger Vivier Viv Rangers Ankle Boots | sizes 35-40 | 2 colorways | 101 reviews W2C
¥150.2 Gucci Aces | sizes 34-44 | 20 colorways | 100 reviews W2C
¥226.2 Chanel Ankle Boots | sizes 35-40 | 2 colorways | 102 reviews W2C
¥226.2 Chanel Canvas Shoes | sizes 35-40 | 7 colorways | 0 reviews (451 sales) W2C
¥178.7 Chanel x Converse Shoes | sizes 35-40 | 2 colorways | 50 reviews W2C
¥178.7 Gucci Mickey Mouse White Shoes | sizes 34-40 | 2 colorways | 51 reviews W2C
¥159.7 Tod's Loafers | sizes 34-40 | 3 colorways | 0 reviews W2C
¥159.7 Chanel Low Canvas Shoes | sizes 34-40 | 5 colorways | 50 reviews W2C
¥226.2 Alexander McQueen Boots | sizes 34-40 | 2 colorways | 101 reviews W2C
¥159.7 Gucci Loafers | sizes 34-40 | 4 colorways | 0 reviews (195 sales) W2C
¥138 Dior Slides | sizes 34-42 |6 colorways | 0 reviews (58 sales) W2C
¥158 Christian Dior Paris Slides | sizes 34-40 | 17+ colorways | 0 reviews W2C 1 W2C 2
¥68-220 Skechers | W2C
¥178 Converse x Golf le Fleur Shoes | sizes 35-44 | 4 colorways | 1 review (613 sales) W2C
¥175 Off White x Air Jordan 1s | sizes 36-45 | 2 colorways | 8 reviews W2C
¥186 KAWS x Air Jordan 4 Retro 'Black' | sizes 40-46 | 1 colorway | 0 reviews W2C
Shoes for kids: W2C 1 W2C 2
A bunch of Nike Huaraches: W2C
¥168 Nike Air Max 97s | sizes 36-45 | 18 colorways | 32 reviews (1,102 sales) W2C
¥179 Nike Zoom Pegasus 35 Turbo | sizes 36-45 | 20 colorways | 5 reviews (2,687 sales) W2C
¥200 Nike Air Foamposite Ones | sizes 40-47 | 32 colorways | 5 reviews (5,147 sales) W2C
¥188 Nike Air More Uptempo | sizes 36-46 | 26 colorways | 14 reviews (3,585 sales) W2C
¥218-248 Nike Air Max 90 | sizes 36-45 | 20+ colorways | 88 reviews W2C
¥208 Nike Blazer Low | sizes 36-44 | 18 colorways | 57 reviews W2C
¥138-168 AJ1 Lows | sizes 36-45 | 34 colorways | 143 reviews W2C
¥150 Air Max 270s | sizes 36-45 | 33 colorways | 48 reviews W2C
¥159 Dunk Low SB 'J-Pack Shadow' | sizes 40-45 | 1 colorway | 10 reviews W2C
¥198 Air Jordan 1 Mids | sizes 36-45 | 7 colorways | 48 reviews W2C
¥198 Nike Killshot 2 | sizes 36-44 | 4 colorways | 53 reviews W2C
¥149 Kids' Bapestas | sizes 25-35 | 5 colorways | 0 reviews W2C
¥190 Adidas NMDs | sizes 36-45 | 7+ colorways | 19 reviews W2C
¥234 Ultraboosts | sizes 36-45 | 10+ colorways | 196 reviews W2C
¥190 Nike SB Blazer Zoom Low XT | sizes 36-44 | 11 colorways | 102 reviews W2C
¥100-208 Alexander McQueens | sizes 34-44 | 45 colorways | 2,503 reviews W2C
¥147 Adidas Stan Smiths | sizes 36-44 | 14 colorways | 127 reviews W2C
¥158 Converse 1970s | sizes 35-45 | 15 colorways | 359 reviews W2C
¥198-339 Vans | sizes 35-44 | 34 colorways | 1,377 reviews W2C
¥171-294.5 Vans Old Skool | sizes 35-44 | 14+ colorways | 1,435 reviews W2C
¥220 Converses | sizes 35-44 | 19+ colorways | 2,408 reviews W2C
¥128 Converses | sizes 35-44 | 24 colorways | 275 reviews W2C
¥158.8 Converses | sizes 35-44 | 25 colorways | 4,095 reviews W2C
¥188-398 Nike SB Dunks | sizes 36-45 | 14 colorways | 355 reviews W2C
Cheap Women's Shoes: W2C
¥268 Nike Blazer Mids | sizes 36-46 | 13 colorways | 268 reviews W2C
¥155 Sean Wotherspoon x Air Max 1/97 | sizes 40-45 | 1 colorway | 0 reviews W2C
¥199 Nike x sacai LDV Waffle | sizes 36-46 | 6 colorways | 70 reviews W2C
¥199 Ed Hardy Shoes | sizes 42-44 | 1 colorway | 0 reviews W2C
¥85 Travis Scott 1s (Highs + Lows) | sizes 37-44 | 2 colorways | 22 reviews W2C
¥168 Travis Scott x Air Jordan 6 | sizes 40.5-47 | 1 colorway | 32 reviews W2C
¥179 Travis Scott AJ1 Lows | sizes 36-45 | 1 colorway | 172 reviews W2C
¥57 Travis Scott AJ1s | sizes 36-44 | 1 colorways | 64 reviews (LOOK AT REVIEW PICS LMFAOOO) W2C
¥85 Travis Scott AJ1s | sizes 36-44 | 2 colorways | 116 reviews (shitiest batch I've seen in a while) W2C
¥59.99 Converses | sizes 35-46 | 20 colorways | 492 reviews W2C
¥78.99-99 AJ11s | sizes 36-45 | 11 colorways | 185 reviews W2C
¥59-79 Nike Air Force 1 Mids | sizes 36-44 | 18 colorways | 653 reviews W2C
¥99 Converses | sizes 35-44 | 8 colorways | 186 reviews W2C
¥89 Nike Running Shoes | sizes 36-40 | 4 colorways | 27 reviews W2C
¥68.99-119 AJ1s | sizes 36-44 | 27 colorways | 368 reviews W2C
¥89 Converse Lows | sizes 35-44 | 6 colorways | 20 reviews W2C
¥99 New Balance Men's 990v4 | sizes 36-44 | 12 colorways | 110 reviews W2C
¥69-79 Vans Old Skools | sizes 36-44 | 12 colorways | 159 reviews W2C
¥129 Timberland Boots | sizes 36-44 | 1 colorway | 189 reviews W2C
¥89 AJ1 Lows | sizes 36-44 | 11 colorways | 144 reviews W2C
¥59.99 Blazer Lows | sizes 36-40 | 3 colorways | 10 reviews W2C
¥65.88-89 Vans Old Skools | sizes 35-44 | 11 colorways | 144 reviews W2C
¥69 Adidas Nizza Shoes | sizes 36-44 | 2 colorways | 44 reviews W2C
¥70 Checkers Vans Lows | sizes 35-44 | 2 colorways | 86 reviews W2C
¥89 AF1 Split Swoosh | sizes 36-44 | 3 colorways | 14 reviews W2C
¥65 Adidas Superstars | sizes 36-44 | 11 colorways | 232 reviews W2C
¥89 3M Reflective AF1s | sizes 36-44 | 2 colorways | 3 reviews W2C
¥79 Air Force One Macaron | sizes 36-40 | 10 colorways | 76 reviews W2C
¥94.05-113.05 AF1s | sizes 36-45 | 8 colorways | 95 reviews W2C
¥89 New Balance MR530 | sizes 36-44 | 4 colorways | 115 reviews W2C
¥80 3M AF1s | sizes 36-44 | 1 colorway | 38 reviews W2C
¥65.99 Vans Old Skool Lows | sizes 35-44 | 1 colorway | 5 reviews W2C
¥69 PMO Converses | sizes 35-44 | 2 colorways | 35 reviews W2C
¥80-89 SB Dunks | sizes 36-44 | 14 colorways | 27 reviews W2C
¥70 Puma Court Point Vulc | sizes 35-44 | 4 colorways | 18 reviews W2C
¥75.99 Air Force 1 Day of the Dead | sizes 36-44 | 1 colorway | 10 reviews W2C
¥189 AJ11 Lows | sizes 36-44 | 3 colorways | 9 reviews W2C
¥99 Converse x GOLF le FLEUR* Colourblock One Star Low | sizes 36-44 | 4 colorways | 11 reviews W2C
¥90 Converse One Stars | sizes 36-44 | 2 colorways | 12 reviews W2C
¥69 Nike Classic Cortez Stranger Things | sizes 36-44 | 1 colorway | 34 reviews W2C
¥75 CDG Converses | sizes 35-44 | 4 colorways | 24 reviews W2C
¥89 Yeezy 700s | sizes 36-44 | 6 colorways | 2 reviews W2C
¥48 Nike Slides | sizes 36-45 | 14 colorways | 7 reviews W2C
¥78 Off White Dunks + Other Dunks | sizes 36-44 | 10 colorways | 78 reviews W2C
¥70 Gucci Bee Aces | sizes 36-44 | 1 colorway | 78 reviews W2C
¥19.9 Nike Swoosh Slides | sizes 36-45 | 4 colorways | 86 reviews W2C
¥108 Dior AJ1s | sizes 36-44 | 2 colorways | 43 reviews W2C
¥68 Nike Cortez Basic Shoes | sizes 36-44 | 6 colorways | 54 reviews W2C
¥87.22 Grateful Dead Dunks | sizes 36-44 | 3 colorways | 19 reviews W2C
¥110 Nike Black Blazers | sizes 36-44 | 1 colorway | 0 reviews W2C
¥90 Adidas ZX Flux 'XENO Reflective' | sizes 36-44 | 1 colorway | 37 reviews W2C
¥129 AJ1 Lows | sizes 36-45 | 7 colorways | 550 reviews W2C
¥139 Yeezy 350 V2 'Cream White / Triple White' | sizes 36-46 | 1 colorway | 577 reviews W2C
¥119 Black Pigeon Dunks | sizes 40-44 | 1 colorway | 179 reviews W2C
¥149 Nike Air Max 270 React Phantom | sizes 36-45 | 3 colorways | 128 reviews W2C
¥179 PMO AF1 | sizes 36-44 | 1 colorway | 86 reviews W2C
¥89 Doc Martin Boots | sizes 35-44 | 1 colorway | 146 reviews W2C
¥149 Nike x sacai LDV Waffle | sizes 36-44 | 4 colorways | 946 reviews W2C
¥69 Nike Epic React Flyknit | sizes 36-45 | 3 colorways | 963 reviews W2C
¥128 AJ1s | sizes 36-45 | 5 colorways | 606 reviews W2C
¥128 AJ1 Lows | sizes 36-45 | 4 colorways | 226 reviews W2C
¥158 AJ1 Mids | sizes 36-45 | 2 colorways | 113 reviews W2C
¥128 AJ1 Lows | sizes 36-45 | 2 colorways | 206 reviews W2C
¥108 Jordan 1 Mid SE Multi-Color | sizes 36-45 | 2 colorways | 87 reviews W2C
¥199 AJ1 Dark Mochas | sizes 36-46 | 1 colorway | 1 review W2C
¥138 White AF1 | sizes 36-45 | 1 colorway | 155 reviews W2C
¥109 League of Legends x Nike Blazer Mid '77 | sizes 36-45 | 1 colorway | 9 reviews W2C
¥149 AF1 Mid | sizes 36-45 | 2 colorways | 20 reviews W2C
¥148 Nike AF1 React | sizes 36-45 | 1 colorway | 0 reviews W2C
¥188 Dunk Low SB 'J-Pack Shadow' | sizes 36-45 | 1 colorway | 612 reviews W2C
¥118 Dunk Low Pro Sb 'dark Russet' | sizes 36-45 | 1 colorways | 409 reviews W2C
¥118 Nike SB Dunk Low Orange Label White | sizes 36-45 | 1 colorway | 346 reviews W2C
¥118 Nike SB Dunk Low Truck It | sizes 36-45 | 1 colorway | 237 reviews W2C
¥118 Syracuse + Kentucky Dunks | sizes 36-45 | 2 colorways | 200 reviews W2C
¥178 Grateful Dead x Nike SB Dunk Low | sizes 36-45 | 3 colorways | 149 reviews W2C
¥118 Nike Dunk Kasina Low | sizes 36-45 | 2 colorways | 65 reviews W2C
¥158 Gucci Stripes Shoes | sizes 34-44 | 3 colorways | 49 reviews W2C
¥29 Nike Swappable Swoosh Slides | sizes 36-44 | 2 colorways | 71 reviews W2C
¥69 Converse Breakstar | sizes 35-44 | 4 colorways | 216 reviews W2C
¥89 Simpson Vans | sizes 35-44 | 1 colorway | 34 reviews W2C
¥188 New Balance 993 | sizes 36-44 | 3 colorways | 91 reviews W2C
¥188 New Balance 992 | sizes 36-44 | 4 colorways | 62 reviews W2C
¥160 Off White Blazers | sizes 36-47.5 | 1 colorway | 2 reviews W2C
¥188 Off White 1s + More AJ1s | sizes 36-46 | 20 colorways | 45 reviews W2C
¥69-89 FOG 1s (158sir) | sizes 36-46 | 3 colorways | 1,404 reviews W2C
¥19.9 Converse Road to Peace Vulcanized | sizes 35-44 | 2 colorways | 521 reviews W2C
¥296 AJ13s | sizes 22-46 | 6 colorways | 0 reviews W2C
¥158 AJ1s | sizes 35.5-46 | 13 colorways | 674 reviews W2C
¥188 Vapormaxes | sizes 36-45 | 8 colorways | 41 reviews W2C
¥188 Mars Yards | sizes 36-45 | 1 colorways | 31 reviews W2C
¥149 Fragment AJ1 | sizes 40-47 | 1 colorway | 5 reviews W2C
¥99 Diamond Supply Co. x Dunk Low Pro SB 'Black Diamond' | sizes 36-44.5 | 1 colorway | 42 reviews W2C
¥119-129 Yeezy Boost 350 v2 | sizes 36-46 | 6 colorways | 342 reviews W2C
¥68 Adidas Originals Campus 80s | sizes 36-44 | 4 colorways | 53 reviews W2C
¥99-149 Adidas Yeezy Boost 700 Mauve | sizes 36-46 | 1 colorways | 36 reviews W2C
¥89 AF1s | sizes 36-46 | 2 colorways | 12 reviews W2C
¥91 Acronym Nike Prestos | sizes 40-45 | 2 colorways | 1 review W2C
¥119 Nike Lobster Dunks | sizes 36-46 | 5 colorways | 3 reviews W2C
¥126 Nike Air Zoom Pegasus | sizes 36-45 | 5 colorways | 0 reviews W2C
¥455 Supreme Air Mags | sizes 40-47 | 1 colorways | 0 reviews (Someone gotta GP these) W2C
Bonus: ¥2800 Air Mags | sizes 40-46 | 1 colorway | 5 reviews (With pics) W2C
Also bonus: ¥659 Air Mags | sizes 40-47 | 1 colorway | 0 reviews W2C
Another one: ¥455 Air Mags | sizes 40-47 | 1 colorway | 0 reviews W2C

FAQ:

• Where are the reviews? They're under "product review" or "商品评价", if you can't see that section, try scrolling down below the size/color selection area.
• Where are the sizes/colors? They're right below the title of the item, under "请选择型号" or "Please select model". If you can't find that section, try clicking/pressing the grey "加入购物车" button. For listings without sizes/colors, check the item description, usually above or below the pictures provided under reviews.
• How do I purchase these shoes? Check this part of Cedaz's video here, or follow the hundreds of guides written by this great community!
• Why is the size/color I want greyed out, and it isn't clickable? That means it's out of stock, and it isn't purchasable at the moment. Try contacting the seller to see if there will be a restock.
• Why can't my agent purchase the shoes? Usually, the case is that your agent might have returned too many pairs back to the seller, causing them to refuse to sell to them. This isn't rare, Ytaopal and WeGoBuy have several cases of this happening.
• Does more reviews = better quality? No. Reviews can be easily faked, I added them as a reference number. Always check the review pictures that are provided by users, and disregard the reviews with stock images instead of actual images of the product.
• Why is there a + sign after the colorways number? That means that the seller can be contacted for more colorways, and more options are available than the ones listed.
• Why wasn't (insert cheap seller here) listed? I wanted more of a variety, so I tried to stay away from sellers like 158sir and WTG.

rip wallets #budgetgang

So, this is gonna be a little long. When I was around 5 or 6 years old, I had a dream where I was sleeping in the attic of my old house. I woke up in that dream and felt chills, also had the urge to go and look out the attic window that was placed in the center of the wall. So I went and opened the window, pushed it up, and leaned forward with my head sticking out. Immediately surrounding my house was a barren cornfield, and beyond that a ring of trees. Probably about 200 meters to the left of my house was a neighbor's house, all black, just like the rest of my surroundings. The sky was blood red, but I can't remember if the stars were that icky Crayola yellow color or pitch black as well.
Looking to the left at my neighbor's house I saw what looked like a girl perched on the very end of their roof, hunched over so that her hands were between her feet as she rested there. I watched as she craned her neck and howled, but it didn't sound like any ordinary howl—it sounded like an Aztec death whistle (weird thing is, one thing that remains crystal clear in my memory is that, before that dream, I had never heard of an Aztec death whistle or the sounds it could make). Then, she whipped her head in my direction, her figure also pitch black, and I reeled back and slammed the window shut. I had grabbed a few knives from one of the dressers in my room and inched myself toward my bedroom door while still facing the window, which was directly across the room from the door. I managed to reach the knob, twist it, and speed into the hallway when my blind, deaf, and mute sister (I don't have a sister) was coming up the stairs to check up on me (the only thing in this dream that's the same as in real life is the outside structure of the house and the one portion of the attic room where the window is; everything else is different). Out of terror, I threw the knives at her without realizing right then that it was my sister instead of the girl...gory details aside, I killed her and heard her scream (which is odd since she was mute).
Another dream I had in particular a few years later had the same ghost girl. I "woke up" in the dream in a standing position, facing a beach with a lake so large you couldn't see land on the horizon. The sky was cloudy and gray, and directly ahead of me on this beach stood a house shaped like a square with a regular roof on top. The white paint on the outside was chipping especially toward the bottom of the house, which looked like a couple hightides managed to reach, flood, and ultimately rot. The same ghost girl from the first dream was standing to the left of the house and pointing at its front door, but instead of being pitch black I could see her wearing a nightgown while her hair was still black and covering her face (before anyone says I probably watched that one ring movie and saw her in my dream, no. This girl in my dreams is taller than my dad while hunched over). When I reached the front door and looked left, she was gone. I went inside the house and noticed the once beautiful dark green wallpaper that was now peeling off the walls due to flooding, and multiple chunks of wood from the floor had been scattered about.
The two separate staircases at one end of the room that both went up to the same indoor balcony were also rotting and nearly falling apart, but one was in better condition than the other, so I used that one to reach the balcony. This was where all the doors were lined up along the walls, but one all the way to the left caught my interest. When I opened this door I saw a stairwell made out of dark wood, and I climbed it till I reached a small space with just enough room to stand in front of another door. Upon opening this door I saw only the right wall of the room which was lined with a couple dressers and a plethora of stuffed animals on top; directly ahead of me was a window that showed the gray sky and seemingly endless lake.
As I stepped into the room and started looking to the left, I saw a queen-sized canopy bed with pink blankets, but...on the wall just to the left of that bed were streaks of blood that first started as one or two crimson handprints. I don't remember there being blood on the floor, but the streaks on the wall led me to the closet with its which was tucked just to the right of the bedroom door. An awful odor wafted from the slide doors of the closet while a pool of blood seeped from below. Trying my best to prepare for whatever was inside, I slid the doors open and was greeted with multiple severed body parts. Just like in the first dream, I inched backward in fear and made my way toward the door, but this time I saw a smaller version of the girl in the bedroom door. I could also see her face, but her eyes and mouth were stitched shut while she tried to tell me something. To this day I feel bad for the way I bolted for the window and burst through it, plummeting toward the water. Upon falling through the waves of the lake, the ground below seemed to utterly vanish while I was surrounded by bodies.
Then I had a few more dreams. One was about a vampire-ridden private academy where the same ghost girl hunted me down to the literal grave with an axe. Another dream was about my old house's basement serving as a mental facility where both the ghost girl and I were strapped down to some cots and she broke free and tore into my chest. Yet another dream was about a house where the rooms inside would switch around like a Rubik's cube, and I saw her in a yellow kitchen. Then one more dream (among many more) didn't show her, but my family and I were looking at houses for sale and a room that once belonged to a girl (the people selling the house said their daughter died and they didn't want to remove her belongings from the room so they just covered a lot of it with sheets) gave me the same exact feeling I would get from the ghost girl.
Now here's where things take an extremely eerie twist. It had been a while since I had these dreams about the girl, and life was pretty decent. One night, just as I was about to fall asleep, I was jolted wide awake with the feeling of sheer terror. I could literally feel a presence gathering in the space between the foot of my bed and my mirror that gave off unmistakable murderous vibes. It was one of those things where, as I laid there, there was zero doubt that not only was this the girl I had seen in my dreams but, in the waking world, the feeling was amplified and I could tell that this girl wasn't desperate to kill, but also not obligated to kill. It was almost like she was created to do so, but she did find pleasure(?) in it. You might think this is sleep paralysis, and I don't blame you, but here's the thing—I managed to move my hand to my forehead while hiding under my blanket and willed myself to sleep.
The next night a large shadow jumped out at me at the end of my hallway, but when I looked there was nothing. Then I literally saw her standing in the corner of a room, smiling at me, and I proceeded to walk away as if my feet had a mind of their own. I tried to do some research on whoever this person was, but the longer I looked for answers, the slower my internet connection became—every other wi-fi-reliant device in the home operated just fine besides my own. That night I took the picture, tore it in half, and burned one half and left the other to burn the next day, hoping that I had burned the half that had her face. Next morning I woke up nauseous and realized later that I still needed to burn the one portion of the picture I had left. Unfortunately for my eyes, I bent over and looked under the bed to see the very half of the picture I was desperately hoping I had burned.
Only once or twice after that day did I have a dream of a creature similar to her, and I keep getting the subtle feeling she'll be back again, and I need answers. What even is this creature? She easily stands at 6'2 or more hunched over. Her hands and feet, when I saw her irl, were coated in ashes while her nightgown (which only reached between her thighs or calves since it was so small on her) had gray splotches on it. I saw her face, too, and her nose looked like it had been cut off. Her eyelids looked as though they were burned off, and her lips were nowhere to be seen. She had razor sharp teeth that, when she smiled, revealed a pitch black space behind them.
One dream I had revealed a whole bunch of the same girl in the basement of a mansion. I also shared this dream with a friend (we were literally in the same dream the same night, but I can cover details on that later on I think). So I'm kind of scared...I may have "taken care" of one girl, but if that dream reveals multiple, couldn't there be more? I don't even know what I could have done at 5-6 years old to trigger a giant ghost girl with the howl of an Aztec death whistle. Answers are greatly welcomed.
P.S: I've also had a couple experiences besides this.

Hey guys,
​
I'm wondering if you can check my decisions and provide recommendations, I have no idea what I'm doing so I'd really appreciare the help.
​
I'm looking at getting a QueenBee Pro from Bulk Man 3D (https://bulkman3d.com/product/queenbee-pro-cnc-machine-full-kit-linear-rail-upgrade/). It will be primarily used to cut plywood, and carve into hardwood. The aim is to save man hours whilst making repetitive components, and put decorative touches onto pieces that I cannot do by hand. It will be used to assist me in my woodworking business to make a living. I don't intend to machine any metals in the near future.
​
- I've picked the 1.5m*1.5m size as this will allow me to work with half a sheet of plywood/MDF at a time.
- I've picked the High Torque GRBL controller, as it's the cheapest, honestly, I don't know anything about controllers, apart from needing a license for Mach3/4. I've heard the included GRBL controller is bad, if this is true, I'd replace it with something more reputable.
- I've picked the 2.2KW water-cooled spindle. This is probably overkill for my needs, but it's only ~£27 ($37) more than the cheapest alternative. If the 1.5KW spindle would be a better option, irregardless of cost, please let me know.
​
I'm in the UK, and the leading supplier here seems to be Ooznest. They sell the WorkBee, which uses a router instead of a spindle, which I don't think would last long whilst making wooden pieces for sale. I asked if the WorkBee could support a Spindle, and they informed me it wouldn't as they're too heavy. The QueenBee Pro is an upgraded WorkBee, and it costs less, including shipping and customs charges, than Ooznest's WorkBee.
​
So, I guess my questions are am I making sense, or am I doing something stupid? Is there a better machine for a similar price I should look at instead for woodworking? Am I wrong in ordering a full kit as a beginner, or should I order better components individually? Is there are parts of the queenbee that would definitely need to be swapped out (ie parts that a notoriously bad)?
​
Thank you all in advance!

Hi, welcome to my sale!
Things to Note:

• Comment to claim item(s)
• US ONLY
• $4.00 SHIPPING or FREE SHIPPING OVER $15 Items will be sent out as first class parcel mail with tracking. If you're buying multiple items or a heaviefragile single item that may be better off mailed priority padded envelope ($8.15 now due to recent postal price changes) or box, then shipping price will adjust accordingly.
• PayPal Goods and Services, fees paid by me
• I will mail out within 5-6 days of payment
• I will strike through sold items on my list when they are paid for.

SELLING (items listed in alphabetical order by brand):

• 3CE Stylenanda Matte Fit Foundation in #002, 35g Bought them thinking they would be a perfect match but it is too dark for me (for reference I am N18 in MAC, 2N1 in Estee Lauder, and 22N Light Neutral in Tarte) and this is definitely a medium-medium tan shade. I can provide a picture of this swatched on my arm if you like. Definitely look up swatches! Swatched only. Received 07/17. SOLD
  
• A’pieu Aqua Peeling Intensive Type Cotton Swab, 3 ml Brand new. 3 available, $1.00 each
  
• theBalm Bonnie-Lou Manizer, 0.32 oz Swatched only. SOLD
  
• theBalm Cindy-Lou Manizer, 0.32 oz Swatched only. SOLD
  
• theBalm Meet Matt(e) Ador eyeshadow palette Brand new. Some shadow seems to have stained a bit of the palette, but everything is untouched. $16.00
  
• theBalm Time Balm Shelter concealer in Lighter than Light, 7.5g/ 0.26 oz Used 1X. $6.00
  
• Belif The True Cream- Aqua Bomb , 10 ml/0.33 fl oz Brand new. $3.00 each, 2 available
  
• Chloe L’Eau EDT, 1.6 fl oz Used at most 4X. $34.00, shipping priority ($8.15)
  
• Clinique Even Better All-Over Concealer + Eraser, shade CN 08 Linen Used 1X. $15.00
  
• Clinique Moisture Surge 1.7 oz Brand new. Only selling because I already have two backups! $24.00
  
• ColourPop BFF Liquid Liner in Graceland Swatched only on back of hand. $5.00
  
• ColourPop BFF Liquid Liner in Make Luv Swatched only on back of hand. $5.00
  
• ColourPop BFF Liquid Liner in The Hills Swatched only on back of hand. $5.00
  
• ColourPop lip stick in Still Crazy Used 2X. SOLD
  
• ColourPop So Juicy Lip Gloss in Partly Rowdy Swatched and used 1X. Some wear on label from sitting in makeup drawer. $3.00
  
• ColourPop Super Shock Shadow in Amaze Brand new. SOLD
  
• ColourPop Super Shock Shadow in Drift Brand new, look at pic for crack in shadow (can be pressed). SOLD
  
• ColourPop Super Shock Shadow in Moonwalk Brand new. SOLD
  
• ColourPop Super Shock Shadow in Prickly Pear Brand new. SOLD
  
• ColourPop Super Shock Shadow in Set to Stun Brand new. SOLD
  
• ELF HD Powder in Soft Luminance, 0.28 oz BNIB, still sealed. $2.50
  
• ELF Mineral Pearls in Natural, 0.53 oz BNIB. $2.50
  
• Essence Kiss the Flamingo lipstick, 0.16 oz Brand new. $2.00
  
• Essence Kiss the Mermaid lipstick, 0.16 oz Brand new. $2.00
  
• Grande Cosmetics Conditioning Peptide Mascara in Rich Black, 6g/0.021 oz Brand new, sealed. $16.00
  
• Grande Cosmetics Lip Plumper in Spicy Mauve, travel size, 0.05 oz Brand new. $5.00
  
• Josie Maran Argan Daily Moisturizer SPF 47, 15 ml/ 0.5 fl oz Used one pump. EXP 08/2022. $6.00
  
• Josie Maran Surreal Skin Argan Finishing Balm, 15g/0.5 oz Swatched only. $20.00
  
• Juvia’s Place Lip Reflect Gloss in Kiss Me, 5ml/ 0.16 oz Swatched only. $7.00
  
• Lipstick Queen Frog Prince mini lipstick, 0.05 oz/ 1.5 g Brand new. $8.00
  
• Lipstick Queen Highway 66 mini lipstick, 0.05 oz/ 1.5 g Swatched only. $7.00
  
• LORAC California Dreaming palette All shades swatched, some used 2X, Kitty Cat used 4X. $11.00
  
• Missha Glow Skindation in Beige, 35 ml Swatched only. About shade 23, a little lighter than regular Missha shade 23. EXP 2022.12.23. $18.00
  
• Missha Wish Stone Tint Jelly in PK02 Swatched only. EXP 2023.03.26. $6.00
  
• NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Alaska, full size Brand new. Purchased in May. $25.00
  
• Pat McGrath Lip Fetish Lip Balm, full size, 3.5g/ .12 oz Brand new. $18.00
  
• Saucebox Cosmetics Goal Digger brush (short/medium length tapered) Used 1X (if that) and washed with Dr Bronner’s soap. $2.00
  
• Tony Moly I’m Rice Mask Sheet, 21 g, 1 sheet Brand new. EXP 2021.11.13. $2.00
  
• Tony Moly Pureness 100 Caviar Mask Sheet, 21 g, 1 sheet Brand new. MFG 2018 .11.12. $1.00
  
• Too Faced Hot Buttered Rum palette Brand new in box. $15.00
  
• Urban Decay Brow Blade in Dark Drapes Used 2X. Great product but too light for me. $15.00
  
• Urban Decay Inked Brow in Dark Drapes, 1.8 ml/ 0.06 fl oz Used 1X. Awesome product, too light for me. $15.00
  
• Urban Decay Face Primer Grip, 1.0 fl oz Used 2X. 20.00
  
• YSL Rouge Volupt Shine Oil-in-Stick in 44 Nude Lavalliere, 0.11 oz Swatched only. SOLD
  

Hey guys,
​
I'm wondering if you can check my decisions and provide recommendations, I have no idea what I'm doing so I'd really appreciare the help.
​
I'm looking at getting a QueenBee Pro from Bulk Man 3D (https://bulkman3d.com/product/queenbee-pro-cnc-machine-full-kit-linear-rail-upgrade/). It will be primarily used to cut plywood, and carve into hardwood. The aim is to save man hours whilst making repetitive components, and put decorative touches onto pieces that I cannot do by hand. It will be used to assist me in my woodworking business to make a living. I don't intend to machine any metals in the near future.
​
- I've picked the 1.5m*1.5m size as this will allow me to work with half a sheet of plywood/MDF at a time.
- I've picked the High Torque GRBL controller, as it's the cheapest, honestly, I don't know anything about controllers, apart from needing a license for Mach3/4. I've heard the included GRBL controller is bad, if this is true, I'd replace it with something more reputable.
- I've picked the 2.2KW water-cooled spindle. This is probably overkill for my needs, but it's only ~£27 ($37) more than the cheapest alternative. If the 1.5KW spindle would be a better option, irregardless of cost, please let me know.
​
I'm in the UK, and the leading supplier here seems to be Ooznest. They sell the WorkBee, which uses a router instead of a spindle, which I don't think would last long whilst making wooden pieces for sale. I asked if the WorkBee could support a Spindle, and they informed me it wouldn't as they're too heavy. The QueenBee Pro is an upgraded WorkBee, and it costs less, including shipping and customs charges, than Ooznest's WorkBee.
​
So, I guess my questions are am I making sense, or am I doing something stupid? Is there a better machine for a similar price I should look at instead for woodworking? Am I wrong in ordering a full kit as a beginner, or should I order better components individually? Is there are parts of the queenbee that would definitely need to be swapped out (ie parts that a notoriously bad)?
​
Thank you all in advance!

• BIG SALE
• FREE ITEMS: 1 for every $30 spent (items marked as free only)
• Paypal GS, FF or Venmo. For GS Please ADD THE FEE
• Shipping starts at $5 for USPS First Class Mail (up to 8 ounces) for all US zipcodes. anything over 1 lb must be sent priority.
• I ship within 7 days
• $20 minimum

-----------------------Makeup----------------------------------

• Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Gloss, Moon Jelly, mini BNIB FREE
• Aether Beauty Eye Shadow Single, Rose Quartz, Swatched, FREE
• Becca Bronzer, Bali Sands, light use (~10x) $6
• Becca Liquified Light Highlighter Mini BN FREE SOLD
• Bobbi Brown Lip Gloss, Petal FS BNIB $10
• Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Eye base 3ml BNIB $7
• Bobbi Brown Eye Shadow, Bone FS BNIB $15
• Bobbi Brown Luxe Encore Palette, Burgundy BNIB $25
• Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base FS BNIB $35
• Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Stick, Bare, used 3x $10
• Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara Mini BN FREE
• Bobbi Brown Bronzer, Golden Light, Mini BN $6 FREE PENDING
• Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara FS BN $6
• By Terry Sheer Expert Foundation Natural Beige, ~80% left (hard to tell) $10
• Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Pillow Talk BNIB $25
• Charlotte Tilbury Lip Lustre Pillow Talk BN $15
• Charlotte Tilbury Eye Power Pencil Black FS BN $14
• Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow mini BNIB $7
• Charlotte TIlbury Charlotte Darling Palette, Swatched $28 (has box not shown)
• Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Diamonds BNIB $20
• Charlotte Tilbury Brightening Youth Glow FS BNIB $34
• Charlotte Tilbury Palette of Pops, Pillow Talk BNIB $32 $25
• Charlotte TIlbury Beauty Light Wand, Spotlight BNIB $25
• Chantecaille Blush, Bee, BNIB SOLD
• Chantecaille Just Skin, Bliss, swatched $ 40(has box, not shown)
• Chantecaille Cheek Gelee, Happy, swatched $25 $20
• Chantecaille Cheek Gelee, Lively, used 1x $24 $20
• Chantecaille Eyeshadow, Lion, swatched $32
• Chantecaille Eye Shadow, Giraffe, Swatched $32
• Ciate Extraordinary Translucent Powder FS BN(has box) $10
• Clinique High Impact Mascara Mini BN FREE
• Clinique Bronzer Pop FS BNIB $15
• Clinique Lunar Pop Highlighter FS BNIB $15
• Clinique Quickliner for Eyes, Black, BN FS $6
• Colourpop Going Coconuts BNIB $12
• Colourpop Cream Gel Liners - swerve, joy ride, exit, overboard, all swatched once or BN $4 each
• Colourpop Supershock Cheek, Drop of a Hat, used 2x SOLD
• CoverFX Water Cloud Primer FS BN $ SOLD
• Dear Dahlia Celestial Glow Palette, Swatched $40 SOLD
• Dear Dahlia Eye brow pencil, Ash Brown, BNIB $15
• Dear Dahlia Senseous Matte Liquid Lipstick, Passionate BNIB $15
• Dear Dahlia Lip Gloss, Stardust, BNIB $20
• Dear Dahlia Blush Duo, Fair Lady, Cream side shown used 1x, powder side swatched $20
• Dear Dahlia Blooming Edition Pressed Powder BNIB $20 SOLF
• Dear Dahlia Blooming Edition Blossom Palace Blush Duo BNIB $20
• Dear Dahlia Paradise Lip Velvet Mousse, Marmalade, Swatched $15
• Dior Backstage Highlight Palette Copper Gold used 1x $30
• Dose of Colors Shadow Single, Caffiene Queen BNIB $ 8
• EM Cosmetics Heavens Glow Blush, Faded Clementine, used 1x SOLD
• EM Cosmetics Mascara BNIB $12 SOLD
• EM Cosmetics Makeup Bag FREE/PAY SHIPPING
• EM Cosmetics Infinite Lip Cloud Magic Hour swatched $12
• Em Cosmetics Illustrative Eyeliner Black BNIB $13
• Em Cosmetics Color Serum Drops Venetian Rose BNIB SOLD
• EM Cosmetics Flexibrow Clear Gel BNIB $13
• EM Cosmetics Infinite Lip Cloud, Vintage Rosewood, BNIB $13
• Eyeko Lash Alert Mascara Mini, BN FREE
• Farah Eye Brush Set BN - 5 brushes $10
• Farah Matte Liquid Lip, Tiffany BNIB FREE
• Farah Be the Boss Matte Liquid Lip, Farah BN FREE
• Fenty Matchstix Starstruck, BN $12 $10
• Fenty Cheeks Out Crush on Cupid used 2x $10
• Fenty Cheeks Out Blush, Daquiari Dip, Swatched SOLD
• Flower Beauty Blush Bomb, Bubbly, used 5x FREE
• Flower Beauty Blush Bomb, Pinched, used 3x FREE
• Glossier Cloud Paint Sampler, Dusk/ Dawn FREE
• Glossier Cloud Paint Sampler Puff/Storm FREE
• Glossier Cloud Paint, Spark BNIB $14
• Glossier Gen G, Cake used 3x $10
• Hourglass Scattered Light Shadow, Rapture FS BNIB $15 $13
• Hourglass Vanish Flash Stick, Champagne, FS Swatched has box$14
• Huda Mauve Obsessions Palette BN $15
• Ilia Liquid Light Highlighter, Nova, used 5x, $10
• Ilia Liquid Light, Astrid FS BNIB $15
• ILIA True Skin Serum Foundation, 1.5 Mallorca BNIB $35 $30
• Illuminati Palette, swatched FREE SOLD
• IT Bye Bye Undereye Warm Honey Shade 13.5 FS BNIB $9
• IT Superhero Mascara Mini BN FREE
• IWLT Cushion, 21 BNIB $20 $15
• Kaja Beno Poppy Champagne BNIB $12
• Lancome Hypnose Mascara, Black FS BNIB $15
• Lilah B B. Stunning Quad, BNIB $30 $25
• LIlah B Quad, B Alluring https://imgur.com/a/IOYlxwb BNIB $25
• MAC Lipstick FS BNIB LadyBug $7
• MAC Mineralize Blush, Dainty, used 1x $10
• Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Mascara Mini BNIB $5
• Marc Jacobs Coconut Primer 15ml BN $6
• Marc Jacobs Scandalust, used 2x $15
• Marc Jacobs Blush Lines and Last Night used 2x $20
• Milk Lip/ Cheek Tint, Rally, FS used 1x $15 PENDING
• NARS Bronzer, Laguna, used 2x $15
• Nars The After Glow Lip Balm, Orgasm, Used 1x FS $7
• Nomad Toscana Palette BNBI $12
• Nudestix Magnetic Eye Color, Marooned BN $8
• Nudestix Magnetic Luminious Eye Color, Rustic Grotto, used 1x $8
• Nudestix Gel Lip and Cheek Color, Secret Keeper BN FS $8
• PMG Blitz Astral Quad, Iconic Illumination, used 1x $30 SOLD
• Peripera All Take Mood Burnt Breeze Shadow Palette BNIB $12 SOLD
• Peripera InkBlack Cara Mascara FS BNIB $7
• Peripera Lip Tint Red on Red Set BN SOLD
• Pixi Honey Nectar Palette, swatched $10
• Pur Skin Perfecting 4:1 Palette FaiLight BNIB $14 $10
• REPHR #16 BN $15
• Ritual De Fille Color Pigment Balm, Lovesick, Swatched $24 20
• RMS Living Glow Face and Body Powder 4g travel size BN $6
• RMS Buriti Bronzer FS BNIB $18
• RMS Beauty Lip 2 Cheek, Demure BNIB (Box not shown) $20
• ROEN 11:11 Quad, used 1x $25
• Stila The Eyes are the Window to the Soul, Spirit, used 1x $10
• Sulwhasoo Cushion Highlighter swatched $25
• Tom Ford Soleil Glow Foundation, Shade 0.5 Porcelain, Swatched $30
• Tom Ford Badass Mascara Mini BNIB $10
• Urban Decay Naked Cherry, used 2x SOLD
• Violet Voss Glitter Eye Topper Mini Dream BN FREE
• Violet Voss Coral Pop Palette BNIB $10
• Westman Atelier Lit Highlighter, used 1x $34
• Westman Atelier Vital Skin Foundation Stick, Atelier 0, used 2x $45

SKINCARE

• 111 Skin Sub Zero Depuffing Mask $9 (retail $32) SOLD
• 111 Skin Rose Gold Illuminating Eye Mask x1 $7 SOLD
• Apieu Madescosside Gel 50ml used 2x exp 2023 $8
• Aurelia Miracle Cleanser 50ml BNIB $10
• Babor Reversive Overnight Mask FS BN $15
• Babor Multivitmin Ampoules, pack of 7 BNIB $20
• BeautyBio The Beholder Eye Cream used 2x FS $15
• Biore UV Watery Essence SPF 50 BN $10
• BITE Agave Lip Mask, OG Formula, Smashed BNIB $20
• Caudalie Vinoperfect Serum FS BNIB $40
• Caudalie Vinoperfect Night Cream 30ml BNIB $35
• Clarisonic Mia 2. Bought a few years ago. Used very very rarely. $30 (heavy)
• Chantecaille Jasmine and Lily Healing mask, BNIB $45 (heavy)
• Charlotte Tilbury Magic serum .27 ml BN $18
• CoverFx SPF 30 Booster Drops BNIB $25
• Dermalogica Stress Positive Eye Lift FS BNIB $35 $27
• Dermalogica Biolumin C Serum Opened, BN 30ml $40
• Dermalogica Antioxidant Mist FS used 1x $25
• SOLD
• Derma E Ultra Hydrating Overnight Alkaline Facial FS patch tested SOLD
• Dr Brant Mattifying Hydrator Gel FS BNIB $25
• Dr Brandt 3D Lip Plumper BN $20
• Dr Dennis Gross SOS Serum Mini BN $7
• Dr Dennis Gross Hylaruanic Marine Oil Free Moisture Cushion BNIB $35
• Dr Dennis Gross SOS Stress Repair Face Cream, FS, about 75% remains $20 15
• Dr Dennis Gross Dark Spot Defense 1.7 oz Exp 7/22 used 2x $14
• Dr Jart Every Sun Day Mineral SPF 50 FS used 1x expires 12/21 $24 (has box)
• Drunk Elephant Marula Oil 30ml BNIB $55
• Drunk Elephant Slaii Mini BN $5
• Drunk Elephant Marula Oil 3ml Mini BN $5
• Drunk Elephant Baby Facial Mini used 1x SOLD
• Drunk Elephant A Passoni FS BNIB SOLD
• Drunk Elephant Shaba Complex BN FS $40 $38
• Farmacy Daily Greens used 5x $15 FS (heavy)
• Farmacy Cheer Up Eye Cream 15ml BNIB $20 $12
• Fenty Skin Hydra Vizer, used 1x exp 6/22 $25
• Fresh Soy Face Cleanser 5.1 oz BNIB $22
• Fresh Sugar Advanced Lip Therapy FS BN $15
• Fresh Rose Hydration Toner 8.4 oz BNIB (heavy) $30
• Fresh Rose Hydration Toner used 3x $10
• Fresh Rose Hydration Cream 50ml BNIB $25
• Fresh Sugar Lip Mint Rush Mini BN $6
• Fresh Sugar Lips Velvet, Mini BN $6
• Fresh Advanced Sugar Lip Therapy Mini BN $6
• Fresh Rose Petal Lip Cream BNIB $10
• Fresh Rose Deep Hydration Sleeping Mask Mini BN $18 $15
• Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Mini 7ml BNIB $ 5
• GesGep Bare Cream (kbeauty) Used 1x expires 1/23 $20
• Glam Glow Brighteyes eye cream, 5ml BN $6
• Glossier Hand Cream, used 1x (got a bit dirty) $10
• Glossier Priming Moisturizer Balance BN $16
• Glossier Priming Moisturizer BN $15
• Glossier BDC Wild Fig, BNIB $9
• Glossier Super Glow BNIB $20
• Glow Recipe Watermelon Niacinamide Dew Drops BNIB $25
• Glow Recipe Banana Souffle Cream 10ml BN $4 SOLD
• Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Toner Mini 10 ml BN $4 SOLD
• Glow Recipe Avocado Retinol Mask BNIB $25
• Goop Glow 15 % glycolic Peel - one peel $5
• Guerlain Abielle Royale 5ml BNIB $10
• Indie Lee Resurfacing Mask 50ml used 1x $25 $20
• Innisfree Youth Enriched Essence 50ml used 1x Exp 6/22 $12
• Innisfree Green Seed Intensive Hydrating Cream BNIB exp 8/22 $15 $12
• IOPE Super Vital Creme Rich FS used 2x $20 exp 10/21
• IWLT Hydra Rose Oil BNIB $10 exp 2022
• IWLT Hydra Day and Night Cream used 1x $20 exp 11/22
• Josie Maran Argan Bright C Serum 7.5ml BN $13
• Kate Sommerville Exfolikate .25 oz BNIB $5
• Keep Cool Bamboo Toner 5.1 oz used 1x $12
• Keep Cool and Soothe Lotion 50ml BN $4
• keep cool and soothe sheet mask trio $8
• Kopari Lip Glossy BNIB $6
• Marc Jacobs Youthquake Retexturing Moisturizer, FS used 1x $15 $12
• Murad Essential C Cleanser Mini BN $4
• NIOD MMC 30ml used 1x (has box) $35
• Ole Hendriksen C Rush Gel Creme 15ml BN $8
• Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Eye Cream Mini 7.5ml $12 BN
• Omorovicza Daily Vitamin C 5ml BNIB $6
• Omorovicza Cleansing Foam Mini BN $6
• Omorovicza Gold Rescue Cream 5ml BNIB $16
• Omorovicza Deep Cleansing Mask 1.7 oz BNIB $45 (retail: $125)
• Origins Plantscription Anti Wrinkle Serum 15ml BN $6
• Oskia Liquid Peel Mask Mini BN $7
• Peach and Lily Super Reboot Mask 6ml BNBI $6
• Peach and Lily Glass Skin Serum BNIB $25
• Perricone MD Cold Plasma Serum 15ml BN $30
• Perrricone MD Smoothing Eye Cream 15ml BN $40
• Peter Thomas Roth Potent C Serum BN 5ml $7
• Real Barrier Extreme Cream Used 1x $14
• Saturday Skin Wide Awake Eye Crem 30ml BNIB $28
• Saturday Skin Press Pause Essence used 2x $20 $15
• Saturday Skin Glycolic Toner FS BNIB $10 (heavy)
• Sferangs Clearing T Zone Cream (K beauty) FS BNIB $6
• Skin House Wrinkle Supreme Serum (k beauty) FS used 1x $7
• Skyn Iceland Arctic Repair Cream 8oz BN $20
• Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Cream 5ml used 2x $5
• Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Crem 30ml used 1x $50
• Sulwhasoo First Care Activated Serum 2oz BN $50 (heavy)
• Sunday Riley ICE Cream 5ml BN $5
• Suzanne Kaufmann Moisture Mask 15ml BN $9
• Tata Harper Water Lock Moisturizer 10ml Mini BN $8
• Tata Harper Hydrating Floral Essence FS BNIB $35
• Tony Moly Panda Sleeping Pack used 1x FREE
• Tula So Polished Scrub FS BNIB $18
• Whal Myung Meltaway Cleansing Balm FS BNIB exp 5/22 $25
• Versed The Shortcut Overnight Peel 1 oz used 1x $8
• Versed The Skin Soak, used 3x $9
• Verso Hydration Serum with Niacinamide 10ml BN $15
• Verso Eye Cream 20ml FS BN $ 30
• Volition Snow Mushroom Serum BNIB $20

​
-

• ----------------------------------FRAGRANCE / HAIR CARE / NAILS---------------------------
• Alterna Caviar Anti Aging Spray .85oz BN FREE
• Amika Undone Matte Texture Spray FS BN $12
• Christophe Robin Cleansing Mask with Lemon FS BN$20
• Christophe Robin Cleansing Volume Paste Mini BN $8
• Deborah Lippman Can't stop the feeling mini BN FREE
• Oribe Invisible Defense Spray Mini 30ml BN $5

Welcome to my sale!

A few things to note:

• Must respond within 2 hours. I’ll try to get back to you asap, and will honor the time stamps!
  
• PayPal G&S only. I cover the fees.
  
• All pricing in USD. Bundle pricing available, but no lowballing please! MINIMUM PURCHASE IS $5!
  
• Shipping to US starts at $5, goes up by weight. Shipping internationally is usually $12+, I can give you an estimate. :)
  
• All items are full sized unless they have “DS”, “Sample”, and “Sample Foil” in the Product Description.
  
• Sanitizing will be up to the buyer. All items come from my virus-free, pet-free and smoke-free home. They have been carefully stored away from light & moisture! I pride myself in keeping my makeup in pristine condition.
  
• All packages will be mailed the next business day.
  

Happy shopping, and stay safe! ❤

VERIFICATION PHOTO ALBUM

	BRAND	PRODUCT	PRICE	CONDITION
1	Natasha Denona	Metropolis 28-pan Palette	$103	A few shades swatched. Queen shade came as duplicate Aqueous
2	Natasha Denona	Sunrise Palette	$48	BNIB
3	Natasha Denona	Love Palette	$40	Moderately Used, with box.
4	Huda Beauty	Coral Obsessions Palette	$10	Lightly Used
5	KVD Vegan Beauty	Shade + Light Eye Palette	$15	Moderately Used
6	Lime Crime	Prelude Chroma Palette	$20	Swatched
7	Urban Decay	Born To Run Palette	$15	Lightly Used
8	Dominique Cosmetics	Celestial Thunder Palette	$5	Swatched
9	City Color Cosmetics	City Chic Eyeshadow - SKINNY LATTE	$1	Lightly Used
10	XX Revolution	XXpress Quad in "XXtortion" Palette (Green)	$10	Swatched
11	XX Revolution	XXpress Quad in "XXperiment" Palette (Blue)	$10	Swatched
12	XX Revolution	CrystalXX in "Quartz" Palette	$12	Swatched
13	Marc Jacobs	Highliner Gel Eye Crayon Eyeliner in Blacquer	$10	70% Remaining
14	Essie	Expressie Quick Dry Nail Polish in Crop Top & Roll	$5	Used Once
15	Essie	Expressie Quick Dry Nail Polish in Air Dry	$6	BN
16	BH Cosmetics	Zodiac Eyeshadow Palette	$12	Lightly Used
17	Makeup Revolution	Soap Styler for brows	$8	Used Once
18	Essence	Extreme Lasting Eye Pencil - BLACKLOVE	FWP	Used Once
19	Essence	Lash Princess - VOLUME (coral packaging)	$2	Used Once
20	NYX	Pigment Primer	$2	Used Once, I'm allergic :(
21	Luxie	542 Flat Contour Brush	$5	Used Once, Washed
22	Perry Ellis	18 Sensual Eau De Parfum	$5	Spritzed Once
23	BoxyCharm	2 Pc Brush Set in Pouch - powder brush, foundation brush	$3	BNIP
24	Pat McGrath Labs	LuxeTrance lipstick in Sorry Not Sorry	$25	Used Once
25	Pat McGrath Labs	LuxeTrance lipstick in Realness	$25	Used Once
26	Urban Decay	Vice Lipstick in "Firebird"	$10	Lightly Used
27	Bite Beauty	Amuse Bouche lipstick in "Sake" (discontinued)	$15	Lightly Used
28	Bite Beauty	Matte Crème Lip Crayon in "Glacè" (DS)	$4	Lightly Used
29	CLE Cosmetics	Melting Lip Powder in "Nude Blush"	$16	Used Once
30	Revlon	Colorburst Lip Butter - 025 PEACH PARFAIT	$4	BN
31	Revlon	Colorburst Lip Butter - 050 BERRY SMOOTHIE	$4	BN
32	Revlon	Colorburst Lip Butter - 085 SUGAR PLUM	$4	BN
33	Kat Von D	Everlasting Liquid Lipstick - OUTLAW	$3	Lightly Used
34	The Balm	Meet Matt(e) Hughes - COMMITED	$3	Moderately Used
35	Fenty Beauty	Gloss Bomb in FU$$Y	$15	BN
36	Too Faced	Melted Latex Lip Gloss in Love You Long Time	$1	Swatched
37	Revlon	Super Lustrous The Gloss in Fatal Apple	$5	Used Once
38	Maybelline	Lifter Gloss in Silk	$6	Used Once
39	ISH	Lip Duo - Hydra Gloss, Lip Line	$5	BNIB
40	Lime Crime	Wet Cherry Gloss MINI in "Winter Cherry"	$2	BN
41	Kosas	Mini Wet Set Lip Oil Trio - Jellyfish, Dip, Jaws	$20	Swatched
42	Lime Crime	Wet Cherry Gloss in "Abstract"	$8	Lightly Used
43	Lime Crime	Wet Cherry Gloss in "Kick It"	$8	Lightly Used
44	Lime Crime	Wet Cherry Gloss in "Bitter Cherry"	$8	Lightly Used
45	Lime Crime	Wet Cherry Gloss in "Sweet Cherry	$8	Lightly Used
46	M.A.C.	Face & Body Foundation - C1	$15	Lightly Used - 90% remaining
47	Too Faced	Peach Perfect Comfort Matte Foundation - VANILLA	$20	Lightly Used - 90% remaining
48	Milani	Conceal + Perfect Shine-Proof Powder - 03 NATURAL LIGHT	$3	Lightly Used
49	COL-LAB	Set The Stage Ultra-Fine Loose Setting Powder - PORCELAIN/IVORY (01/02)	$5	Moderately Used - 75% remaining
50	Smashbox	Photo Finish Foundation Primer	$15	Lightly Used - 95% remaining
51	Glossier	Stretch Concealer in G9	$14	Lightly Used - 95% remaining
52	Dose of Colors	Desi x Katy FUEGO highlighter	$12	BNIB
53	Lime Crime	SoftWear (Cream to Powder) Blush - Gigabyte BB	$5	Moderately Used
54	BECCA	Shimmering Skin Perfector - LILAC GEODE	$20	Lightly Used
55	The Balm	Mary Lou-Manizer Highlighter & Shadow	$12	Lightly Used
56	ColourPop	Pressed Powder Blush - TO THE 10	$3	BNIP
57	Glossier	Super Pure	$22	BNIB
58	Glossier	Solution Exfoliating Skin Perfector (EXP NOV 2020)	$10	BN
59	Summer Fridays	Jet Lag Mask Mini	$20	Used Once
60	Summer Fridays	R+R Mask Mini	$20	BN
61	First Aid Beauty	Hello Fab Coconut Micellar Makeup Melter - (DS)	$3	BN
62	Kiehl’s	Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque	$10	BN
63	Purederm	Aloe Collagen Circle Sheet Mask	$1	BN
64	Vichy	Minéral 89 Hyaluronic Acid Serum (Sample Foil) 2x	FWP	BN
65	Lancer Skincare	The Method: Polish Normal-Combination Skin (Sample Foil)	FWP	BN
66	Origins	GinZing Refreshing Scrub Cleanser (DS)	$1	BN
67	Boscia	Cactus Water Moisturizer (Sample Foil)	FWP	BN
68	Purito	Snail All-In-One BB Cleanser (Sample Foil)	FWP	BN
69	Innisfree	Green Tea Seed Serum (Sample Foil)	FWP	BN
70	Philosophy	Clear Days Ahead Mattifying Clay Toner (DS)	FWP	BN
71	Philosophy	Purity Made Simple Ultra-Light Moisturizer (DS)	FWP	BN
72	Glossier	Priming Moisturizer Balance Foil Sample	FWP	BN
73	Glossier	Priming Moisturizer Foil Sample (x2)	FWP	BN
74	Glossier	Cloud Paint Foil Sample in Storm and Puff	FWP	BN
75	Glossier	Priming Moisturizer Rich Foil Sample (x2)	FWP	BN
76	M.A.C.	Red Lipstick Blister Card - RUBY WOO, M.A.C. RED, COCKNEY	FWP	BN
77	Sephora Collection	#Lipstories Blister Card - 6 TAN LINES, 9 LABRINTH CITY, 22 A LITTLE MAGIC, 32 BERRY-LICIOUS	FWP	BN w/o Packaging
78	Benefit	POREfessional Primer (Sample Foil)	FWP	BN
79	Urban Decay	Eyeshadow Primer Potion in "Original", and "Sin" (2 Sample Foils)	$1	BN
80	Hourglass	Veil Mineral Primer Broad Spectrum SPF 15 (Sample Foil)	FWP	BN
81	Smashbox	Photo Finish Smooth & Blur Primer (Sample Foil)	FWP	BN
82	Smashbox	Photo Finish Minimize Pores Primer (Sample Foil)	FWP	BN
83	Sephora Collection	Cleansing & Exfoliating Wipes - COCONUT WATER (Sample)	FWP	BN
84	Cake Beauty	Delectable Body Butter Cream - TRIPLE CITRUS BLEND (DS)	$1	BN
85	Beauty Blender	Liquid blendercleanser (DS)	$1	BN
86	M.A.C.	Shadescents - Crème D'Nude (Sample)	FWP	BN
87	KOSAS	Big Clean Volumizing + Lash Care Mascara	$1	Used Once, with box.
88	Shu Uemura	Silk Bloom Restorative Treatment (Sample)	FWP	BN
89	Tekkai	Technician Color Care Shampoo & Conditioner (Sample)	FWP	BN
90	Alterna Haircare	Caviar Anti-Aging Replentishing Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner (Sample)	FWP	BN
91	Oribe	Gold Lust Repair & Restore Shampoo & Conditioner (Sample)	FWP	BN
92	Pat Mcgrath Labs	Sublime Perfection Foundation Foils in shadeds L2, LM10, M18, MD27, D34.	FWP	1x BN, 1x only Med-Deep shades
93	Pat Mcgrath Labs	Sublime Perfection Concealer Foils in shadeds L2, LM10, M18, MD27, D34.	FWP	BN
94	Emme Cosmetics	9-well magnetic palette - fits 26mm standard eyeshadow pans.	$8	Perfect Condition
95	Nécessaire	The Body Wash - Unscented	$18	90% Remaining
96	Anastasia Beverly Hills	Luminous Foundation Blister Card in shades 150W, 345C, 450C, 500C.	FWP	BN
97	RMS Beauty	"Un" Cover Up Cream Foundation Blister Card in shades 00, 22, 33.5, 77.	FWP	BN
98	Jouer	Essential High Coverage Concealer Pen Blister Card in shades Amber, Dulce de Leche, Creme Brulee, Wheat.	FWP	BN
99	Maybelline	Lifter Gloss Limited Edition Set in shades Ice and Moon	$16	Swatched Once
100	Marc Jacobs	Perfect perfume sample	FWP	Spritzed Once
101	Replica by Maison Margiela	Whispers in the Library perfume sample	FWP	50% Remaining
102	Nudestix	Nudefix Concealer Sample Foil in shade Nude 3 (2x)	FWP	BN
103	Nudestix Nudeskin	Gentle Hydra-Gel Face Cleanser Foil Sample	FWP	BN
104	Biotherm	Life Plankton Elixir Deluxe Sample	FWP	BN
105	Anthony	Glycolic Facial Cleanser Foil Sample	FWP	BN

How many of you here have personally witnessed a total eclipse of the sun? To stand one day in the shadow of the moon is one of my humble goals in life. The closest I ever came was over thirty years ago. On February 26, 1979, a solar eclipse passed directly over the city of Portland. I bought my bus tickets and found a place to stay. But in the end, I couldn’t get the time off work. Well, anyone who lives in Portland can tell you that the chances of catching the sun in February are pretty slim. And sure enough, the skies over the city that day were completely overcast. I wouldn’t have seen a thing. That work I couldn’t get out of was my first job out of college: A sales clerk at an old Radio Shack store in beautiful downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. On my very first day behind the counter, a delivery truck pulled up to the front of the store. They carried in a big carton, upon which was printed the legend TRS-80. It was our floor sample of the world’s first mass-market microcomputer. The TRS-80 Model I had a Z80 processor clocked at 1.7 megahertz, 4,096 bytes of memory, and a 64-character black-and-white text display. The only storage was a cassette recorder. All this could be yours for the low, low price of $599. This store I was working in had seen better days. At one time, it had been near the center of a thriving commercial district. But like so many other New England cities, the advent of shopping malls had, by the early ‘70s, turned it into a ghost town. Worcester’s solution to this problem was decisive, to say the least. The city’s elders apparently decided that if they couldn’t beat them, they would join them. And so several square blocks at the heart of the city were bulldozed into oblivion, destroying dozens of family businesses, including the site of a pharmacy once operated by my great-grandfather. In their place was erected a vast three-level shopping complex, with cinemas and a food court. When the dust settled, only a few forlorn blocks of the old Worcester remained standing. My Radio Shack store was in one of those blocks. Then, to add insult to injury, Radio Shack opened a brand-new location inside the shopping center, less than 500 feet from my store. So now patrons has a choice between a clean, well-lighted establishment with uniformed security and acres of convenient parking, or a shadowy hole in a seedy old office building next to an adult movie theater. Consequently, I had plenty of time to fool around with the new computer. I taught myself BASIC programming. Then I learned Z80 assembly. Both, of course, so that I could write games. I also created self-running animated demos which ran all night in the store window for the edification of the winos who peed in our doorway. Strangely enough, the few customers we had didn’t seem to be interested in our new computer, even after the 16K memory upgrade. In fact, most of the people who set off the buzzer on their way through the front door weren’t there to buy anything at all. They were there to exploit a free promotion which was the bane of Radio Shack employees for over forty years: The Battery of the Month Club. The idea of this promotion was simple. Customers got a little red card upon which was printed a square for each month. Twelve times a year, the lucky sales clerk got to punch out a square and give the customer one brand new triple-A, double-A, C, D or 9-volt battery. Of course, customers weren’t allowed to choose just any grade of battery. At the time of my employment, Radio Shack offered three different levels of battery excellence. First were the alkalines, powerful, long-lasting and expensive, hanging behind the counter like prescription medication in gold-embossed blister packs. These were most certainly not available through the Battery of the Month Club. Next were the high-end lead batteries, sturdy, dependable batteries, moderately priced, and prominently displayed near the front of the store. These were also not available through the Battery of the Month Club. Finally, at the bottom of the barrel, were the standard lead batteries. These were literally piled in barrels, cunningly located way at the back of the store, in a dark corner near the TV antennas. Remember TV antennas? Customers who came in looking for their free Battery of the Month had to walk the entire length of the premises, past the CB radios and stereo headphones and remote-controlled racing cars. Nothing would stop them. On the first day of every month, like clockwork, those customers come in waving their little red cards. I would look up from my programming and wave them to the back of the store. It didn’t matter that the batteries were only worth twenty-nine cents. It didn’t matter that most of them were already half dead. They came. They grabbed. And, as far as I can remember, not one of them ever paid for a damned thing. I was such a crappy salesman. I was young and foolish. I thought my education in game design was happening at the keyboard. I almost missed the lesson coming through the front door. Fortunately, I wasn’t the only person fooling around with games on micros. All over the country, people like me were experimenting. Scott Adams was coding what would soon become the world’s first commercial adventure game. Remember adventure games? My future employer, Infocom, was being founded, along with other legendary companies like On-Line Systems, Sirius, Personal Software and SSI. Those were exciting times. Teenagers were making fortunes. Games were cheap and easy to build. The slate was clean. But in 1979, the biggest news in gaming had nothing to do with computers. § On the morning of the autumn equinox, September 20th, a new children’s picture book appeared in the stores of Great Britain. This picture book was rather peculiar. It consisted of 15 meticulously detailed color paintings, illustrating a slight, whimsical tale about a rabbit delivering a jewel to the moon. On the back jacket of the book was a color photograph of a real jewel shaped like a running rabbit, five inches long, fashioned of 18-karat gold, suspended with ornaments and bells, together with a sun and moon of blue quartz. According to the blurb underneath, this very jewel had been buried somewhere in England. Clues pointing to its location were concealed in the text and in the pictures of the book. The treasure would belong to whoever found it first. The book was called Masquerade. It was created by an eccentric little man with divergent eyes and a talent for mischief named Kit Williams. Within days, the first printing was sold out. And the Empire That Never Sleeps found itself in the grip of Rabbit Fever. Excited readers attacked the paintings with rulers, compasses and protractors. Magazine articles and TV specials dissected the clues, floated theories, and followed with keen delight the reckless exploits of the fanatics. One obscure park, unfortunately known by the nickname Rabbit Hill, was so riddled with holes excavated by misguided treasure seekers that the authorities had to erect signs assuring the public that no gold rabbits were to be found there. Some hunters ended up seeking psychological counseling for their obsession. The craze lept over the Atlantic Ocean and invaded America, France, Italy and Germany. It sold over a million copies in a few months, a record unrivalled by any children’s title until the advent of Harry Potter. Over 150,000 copies were sold in foreign translations, including 80,000 copies in Japanese, despite the fact that the puzzle was only solvable in English. It didn’t matter that the Masquerade jewel was only worth a few thousand dollars. Many seekers spent far more than that in their months of exploration and travel. It was the thrill of the chase. The possibility of being The One. Treasure hunts, secret messages and hidden things seem to exert an irresistible appeal. They’re fun to look for, and to talk about. And this fact of human psychology has been exploited in computer games since the earliest days. It finds expression in the hidden surprises we call Easter eggs. Atari’s Steven Wright is credited with coining this term in the first issue of Electronic Games magazine. The first Easter egg in a commercial computer game appeared in an early Atari 2600 cartridge called, simply enough, Adventure. By a sequence of unlikely movements and obscure manipulations, players could discover a secret room where the words “Created by Warren Robinet” appeared in flashing letters. Over the decades, Easter eggs and their evil twin, cheat codes, have become an industry within an industry. Entire magazines and Web sites are now devoted to their carefully orchestrated discovery and dissemination. They’re part of our toolkit, our basic vocabulary, the language of computer game design. Computer gamers may have been the first to refer to hidden surprises as Easter eggs, but we certainly weren’t the first to use them. Painters, composers and artists of every discipline have been hiding stuff in their works for centuries. The recent advent of VCRs and laserdisc players with freeze-frame capability exposed decades of secret Disney erotica. Thomas Kinkade, the self-appointed “Painter of Light,” amuses himself by hiding the letter N in his works. A number beside his signature indicates how many Ns are hidden in each painting. Picasso, Dali, Raphael, Poussin and dozens of other painters concealed all kinds of stuff in their paintings. A favorite trick was hiding portraits of themselves, their families, friends and fellow artists in crowd scenes. El Greco loved dogs. But the Catholic Church forbid him from including any in his sacred paintings. So he hid them, usually within the outlines of celestial clouds. Composer Dmitri Shostakovich chafed under the political censorship imposed by the Soviet Ministry of Culture. His symphonies and chamber works are loaded with hidden signatures and subversive subtexts which, had they been recognized, would have sent him to Siberia. Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute is filled with musical allusions to the rituals of the Freemasons, the ancient secret society of which he and his mentor Haydn were members. But the most famous purveyor of Easter eggs is that champion of the late Baroque, the ultimate musical nerd, Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach was a student of gematria, the art of assigning numeric values to letters of the alphabet: A=1, B=2, C=3, etc. By comparing, sequencing or otherwise manipulating these numbers, secret messages can be concealed. Bach took particular delight in the gematriacal numbers 14 and 41. 14 is the sum of the initials of his last name: B=2, A=1, C=3 and H=8. 41 is the sum of his expanded initials, J S BACH. These two numbers show up over and over again in Bach’s compositions. One of the better-known examples is his setting of the chorale “Vor deinen Thron.” The first line of the melody contains exactly 14 notes, and the entire melody from start to finish contains 41. Another of Bach’s favorite games was the puzzle canon. A canon is a melody that sounds good when you play it on top of itself, a little bit out of sync. “Freres Jacques” and “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” are familiar examples of simple, two-voice canons. But a canon can employ any number of voices. And you don’t have to play each voice the same way, either. You can change the octave, transpose the key, invert the pitch, play it backwards, or any combination. Finding melodies that make good multi-voice canons is a fussy and difficult art, of which Bach was an undisputed master. Now, in a puzzle canon, the composer specifies the basic melody and the number of voices, but not the relationship of the voices. The student has to figure out the position and key of each voice, and whether to perform them inverted and/or backwards. Bach wrote quite a number of puzzle canons. The most famous, BWV 1076, is part of a fascinating story. One of Bach’s students was a fellow by the name of Lorenz Mizler, founder of The Society of Musical Science. This elite, invitation-only institution devoted itself to the study of Pythagorean philosophy, and the union of music and mathematics. Its distinguished membership reads like a Who’s Who of German composers, including Handel, Telemann and eventually Mozart. Applicants for membership in the Society were required to submit an oil portrait of themselves, along with a specimen of original music. With nerdly efficiency, society member number 14 decided to combine these admission requirements into a single work. He sat for a portrait with Elias Haussmann, official artist at the court of Dresden. This portrait, which now hangs in the gallery of the Town Hall in Leipzig, is the only indisputably authentic image of Bach in existence. The Haussman portrait shows Bach dressed in a formal coat with exactly 14 buttons. In his hand is a sheet of music paper upon which is written a puzzle canon for six simultaneous voices. In 1974, a manuscript was discovered which proved that this canon was the thirteenth in a series of exactly 14 canons based on the ground theme of the famous Goldberg Variations. As if these musical gymnastics weren’t enough, Bach liked to hide messages in his compositions by assigning notes to the letters. His initials B-A-C-H correspond to the pitch sequence B-flat, A, C and B-natural in German letter notation. This theme makes its most memorable appearance in the last bars of his final composition, The Art of Fugue, published soon after his death in 1750. The word “fugue” comes from the Latin fuga, which means flight (as in running away). So the art of fugue is the art of flight, the art of taking a theme and running with it. Bach wrote hundreds of fugues, but none as sublime as this sequence of 14. In the last and most complicated fugue in the series, the first and second sections develop normally. This is followed by the B-A-C-H signature, and then suddenly, without any warning or structural justification, the fugue stops dead in its tracks. One of the composer’s 20 children, his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, claimed that Bach died moments after those last few notes were written. This story is probably apocryphal. The Easter eggs in Bach’s music are a pleasant obscurity, known chiefly to professors and students of Baroque music. But in March of 2002, when this lecture was first delivered, those Easter eggs were the talk of the entire classical music industry. Sitting near the top of the classical music charts that month was a compact disc on the ECM label called Morimur. It is performed by the Hilliard choral ensemble together with a talented but, until then, little-known violinist, Christoph Poppen. The music on Morimur is based on a gematriacal analysis of Bach’s Partita in D Minor for solo violin. This analysis, by German professor Helga Thoene, assigns numeric values to the duration of notes, the number of bars, and the German letter notation of the Partita. In doing so, she claims to have discovered the complete text of several liturgical ceremonies encoded in the notes. The CD presents these hidden texts, superimposed over the original music. The result was strangely melancholy, dark, haunting, and very, very popular. Quite a few music critics attacked this disc. They didn’t buy Professor Thoene’s analysis, dismissing it as a combination of numerology and canny marketing. Their caution was not without basis. Numerology is a slippery slope down which many a fine mind has slid to its doom. Allow me to offer an amusing anecdote from my own experience. Back in the early ‘90s, before the Internet took off, one of the more popular online bulletin board systems was a service called Prodigy. I bought an account on Prodigy so I could join a fraternal interest group, and gossip with fellow members around the country. One day, a stranger appeared on our bulletin board. Right away, I knew we were in trouble. This fellow, whose name was Gary, began spouting all kinds of apocalyptic nonsense about worldwide conspiracies, secret societies and devil worship. At first we tried to be polite. We questioned his sources, corrected his histories, logically refuted his claims, and tried to behave in a civilized manner. But instead of soothing him, our attention only made him worse. His conspiratorial warnings became urgent, approaching hysteria. He began to threaten people who disagreed with him. To coin a phrase, Gary went All Upper Case. But his most urgent warnings weren’t about the gays, the Jews, the Rockefellers or the Illuminati. According to Gary, the greatest enemy of mankind was Santa Claus. Gary claimed to possess a secret numerical formula that “proved” beyond a shadow of a doubt that Santa Claus was an avatar of the Antichrist. Intrigued, we pressed Gary to reveal his formula. In doing so, we walked right into his trap. We should have known he had a book to sell. I fell for it. I sent him the fifteen bucks. Less than a week later the book arrived. Above an ominous photograph of the Washington monument was emblazoned the title: 666: The Final Warning! Inside this privately printed 494-page monster, Gary reveals a simple gematriacal formula which he claims was developed by the ancient Sumerians. This formula assigns successive products of 6 to each letter of the alphabet: A=6, B=12, C=18, etc. Imagine my dismay when I applied this ancient formula to the name “Santa Claus,” and obtained the blasphemous sum of 666, the Biblical Number of the Beast! I went on Prodigy and reported to the stunned members of our interest group that Gary was right, after all. There could be no doubt that, according to the unimpeachable wisdom of ancient Sumeria, Santa Claus was the AntiChrist. I then went on to point out several other names which, when submitted to Gary’s formula, also produced the sum 666. Names like “Saint James,” “New York” and “New Mexico.” Soon the bulletin board was filled with discoveries like “computer,” “Boston tea” and, most sinister of all, “sing karaoke.” Gary left us alone after that. I got my $15 worth. But Gary is hardly the first person to connect secret codes to the Bible. People have been looking for Easter eggs in the Bible for hundreds of years. The Hebrew mystical tradition of kabbalah can be described as a gematriacal meditation on the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament. The advent of computers has made the application of numerology to the Bible fast and efficient. The latest spate of Bible-searching was instigated by a book published in 1998 by Michael Drosnin, a former Wall Street Journal reporter. His book, The Bible Code, applied a skip-cypher, in which every nth character in a text is combined to form a message. By applying his skip-cypher to the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, Drosnin claimed to have discovered predictions of World War II, the Holocaust, Hiroshima, the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and both Kennedys, the moon landing, Watergate, the Oklahoma City bombing, the election of Bill Clinton, the death of Princess Di and the comet that collided with Jupiter. He also found predictions of a giant earthquake in LA, a meteor hitting the earth, and nuclear armageddon, all scheduled to occur before the end of the last decade. The Bible Code spent many weeks on the bestseller lists, spawning several sequels and dozens of imitators. The Bible has certainly attracted its share of crackpots. But for the real hardcore egg hunters, nothing can rival the ingenuity, the tenacious scholarship, the stubborn zeal of those who seek the answer to the ultimate literary puzzle. A poisonous conundrum that has squandered fortunes, destroyed careers, and driven healthy, intelligent scholars to the brink of madness, and beyond. Who wrote Shakespeare?⁴ The essays and books devoted to the Shakespeare authorship problem are sufficient to fill a large library. Several such libraries actually exist. Not even a day-long tutorial, much less an hour lecture, can begin to do justice to this complex, bizarre and dangerously tantalizing story. Nevertheless, for the unacquainted, I will attempt to summarize the issue in a few paragraphs. The undisputed facts of Shakespeare’s life and career could be scribbled on the back of a cocktail napkin. We know for a fact that a man named William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in or around the village of Stratford-upon-Avon. We know that he had a wife and at least three children. We know he bought property in Stratford, was involved in several lawsuits with his neighbors, and died there in 1616, aged 52. We also know that during those same years, a man with a last name similar to Shakespeare worked as an actor on the London stage, eventually becoming co-owner of some of the theaters there. We also know that, about the same time, a number of most excellent poems and plays were published in London under the name Shakespeare. We do not know for a fact that the landowner in Stratford and the actor in London with a similar last name were one and the same man. We do not know for a fact that either man had anything to do with the poems and the plays. All we know is that those poems and plays have, in the four hundred years since their composition, come to be regarded as a pinnacle of Western culture. The works attributed to Shakespeare appear to have been written by a man or woman who knew something about just about everything. They’re filled with references to mythology and classic literature, games and sports, war and weapons of war, ships and sailing, the law and legal terminology, court etiquette, statesmanship, horticulture, music, astronomy, medicine, falconry and, of course, theater. Therein lies the problem. How could a farmer’s son of uncertain schooling from a mostly illiterate country village, a man of practically no account at all, wield such encyclopedic learning with so much eloquence and wit, so much wisdom and human understanding? For the first 150 years, nobody questioned the traditional history of the Bard. Then, in the late eighteenth century, Reverend James Wilmot, a distinguished scholar who lived just a few miles north of Stratford, decided to write a biography of the famous playwright. Dr. Wilmot believed that a man as well-educated as Shakespeare must have owned a fairly extensive library, despite the fact that not a single book or manuscript is mentioned in his will. Over the years, he speculated, some of those books must have found their way into local collections. And so the good Reverend Doctor scoured the British countryside, taking inventory of literally every bookshelf within 50 miles of Stratford. Not a single book from the library of William Shakespeare was discovered. Neither were there found any letters to, from or about Shakespeare. Furthermore, no references to the folklore, local sayings or distinctive dialect of the Stratford area could be found in any of Shakespeare’s writings. After four years of painstaking research, Dr. Wilmot concluded, to his own dismay, that only one person contemporary with Shakespeare of Stratford had ever demonstrated the wide-ranging education and expressive talent needed to compose those poems and plays. That man was the multilingual author, philosopher and statesman, inventor of the Scientific Method, Chancellor to the Courts of Queen Elizabeth and King James, Sir Francis Bacon. Dr. Wilmot never dared to publish his theory. But before he died he confided it to a friend, James Cowell, who, in 1805, repeated it to a meeting of the Ipswich Philosophical Society. The members of the society were suitably outraged, and the scandalous matter was quickly forgotten. Then in 1857, a lady from Stratford -- Stratford, Connecticut -- published a book called The Philosophy of the Plays of Shakespeare Unfolded. In this book, Miss Delia Bacon, no relation to Francis, claimed that the works of Shakespeare were written by a secret cabal of British nobility including Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Philip Sidney as well as Sir Francis Bacon. Delia Bacon’s book electrified the world of letters. Battle lines were drawn between the orthodox Stratfordians and the heretical Baconians. Literary societies and scholarly journals were formed to debate the evidence. Hundreds of pamphlets, newspaper articles and essays were published defending each side, and ridiculing the opposition with that self-aggrandizing viciousness peculiar to tenured academics. Armed with her explosive book, Delia Bacon journeyed to Stratford-upon-Avon and, unbelievably, obtained official permission to open Shakespeare’s grave. However, when the moment came to actually lift the stone, Delia’s self-doubt precipitated a catastrophic nervous breakdown. She later died penniless in a madhouse. Around 1888, things began to get a bit out of hand. U.S. Congressman Ignatius Donnelly of Minnesota became interested in the Shakespeare controversy. One day, browsing through his facsimile copy of the First Folio of 1623, he noted that the word “bacon” appeared on page 53 of the Histories and also on page 53 of the Comedies. He also noted that Sir Francis Bacon had written extensively on the subject of cryptography. Donnelly began counting line and page numbers, adding and subtracting letters, drawing lines over sentences, circling words and crossing them out. The result was a complex and virtually incomprehensible algorithm which he claimed was invented by Bacon to hide secret messages inside the First Folio. The greatest Easter egg hunt in the history of Western civilization had begun. Here are just a couple of the sillier highlights. A doctor named Orville Owen of Detroit constructed a bizarre research tool he called the Wheel of Fortune. This wheel consisted of two giant wooden spools wrapped with a strip of canvas two feet wide and a thousand feet long. Onto this canvas he glued the separate pages of the complete works of Bacon, Shakespeare, Marlowe, Greene, Peele and Spenser, together with Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy. By cranking the spools back and forth, Dr. Owen could quickly zip across the pages in search of clues and cross-references. Employing a large team of secretaries and stenographers, Owen claimed to have uncovered a complete alternative history of Elizabethan England, as well as several entirely new Shakespeare plays and sonnets. Listen to this hidden verse, supposedly penned by the mighty Bard himself, which inspired Dr. Owen to build his Wheel of Fortune. Take your knife and cut all our books asunder And set the leaves on a great firm wheel Which rolls and rolls, and turning the fickle rolling wheel Throw your eyes upon Fortune That goddess blind, that stands upon a spherical stone that, turning and inconstant, rolls in restless variation. After publishing five thick volumes of this rubbish, Owen announced the discovery of an anagram indicating that Bacon’s original manuscripts were buried near Chepstow Castle on the river Wye. Owen spent the next fifteen years and thousands of dollars excavating the bed of the river with boat crews and high explosives. He died before anything was found. A fellow named Arensberg wrote an entire book based on the analysis of the significance of a suspicious crack in the tomb of Bacon’s mother. A ray of sanity finally appeared in 1957. To those familiar with the science of cryptology, the name William Friedman needs little introduction. During World War II , Colonel Friedman was the head of the US Army’s cryptoanalytic bureau. He is credited with cracking the Japanese Empire’s most sensitive cipher. After the war, the Colonel decided to apply his expertise to the study of the Shakespeare ciphers. He interviewed several of the experts in the field, and prepared a detailed scientific analysis, which he published under the title The Shakespeare Ciphers Examined. His conclusion? In a word, bunk. According to the standards of cryptologic science, not one of the hidden messages purportedly discovered in Shakespeare’s works was plausible. The rules used to extract these messages from the texts were non-rigorous, wildly subjective, and unrepeatable by anyone except the original decypherer. The people involved were not being dishonest. They were channeling their preconceptions. They were trapped in a labyrinth of delusion, mining order from chaos. “Angler[s] in a lake of darkness.” Lear III.6. You would think that Friedman’s cold and ruthless exposure would be enough to silence the heretics once and for all. Not a chance. The books and TV specials and Web sites and conferences and doctoral dissertations keep right on coming. I should point out that the Shakespeare authorship issue is not only the preoccupation of cranks and weirdos. A substantial number of respected authors and Shakespeareans have expressed serious doubts about the traditional origin of the plays. The list includes Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Henry James, Sam Clemens, Sigmund Freud, Orson Welles and Sir John Gielgud. Living skeptics include the artistic director of the New Globe Theater, Mark Rylance; Michael York, Derek Jacobi, Kenneth Branagh, and even that most revered and scholarly of contemporary Shakespearean actors, Keanu Reeves. The current leading candidate for the authorship is Edward de Vere, the seventeenth Earl of Oxford, a theory first proposed in 1920 by an English schoolmaster with the unfortunate name J. Thomas Looney. What is it about Bach, the Bible and the works of Shakespeare that inspires this intense scrutiny? Nobody’s looking for acrostics in Chaucer or Keats. There are no hit CDs of the secret chorales of Wagner or Beethoven. For the answer, we need to recognize the unique roles which the Bible and Shakespeare have played in the development of Western culture. No other single work of literature has influenced Modern English more than the translation of the Holy Bible published in 1611 under the auspices of King James I. The King James Bible exemplifies the meaning of the word classic. It has been called the noblest monument of English prose, the very greatest achievement of the English language. It has served as an inspiration for generations of poets, dramatists, musicians, politicians and orators. Countless people have learned to read by repeating the phrases in this, the only book their family possessed. Our constitutions and our laws have been profoundly shaped by its cadences and imagery. But even the glory of the King James Bible, compiled by a committee of 46 editors over the course of a decade, pales before the dazzling legacy of the Swan of Avon. The lowest estimate of Shakespeare’s working vocabulary is 15,000 words, more than three times that of the King James Bible, and twice the size of his nearest competitor, John Milton. His poems and plays were written without the aid of a dictionary or a thesaurus. They didn’t exist yet. It was all in his head. When Shakespeare had a thought for which Elizabethan English had no word, he invented one. The Oxford English Dictionary lists hundreds of everyday words and phrases which made their first appearance in the pages of the Bard. Addiction. Alligator. Assasination. Bedroom. Critic. Dawn. Design. Dialogue. Employer. Film. Glow. Gloomy. Gossip. Hint. Hurry. Investment. Lonely. Luggage. Manager. Switch. Torture. Transcendence. Wormhole. Zany. Hamlet alone contains nearly forty of these neologisms. Who today would have this audacity, this giddy exuberance of invention? Only one other English author even approaches Shakespeare’s facility for coining new words: Sir Francis Bacon. In the modern era, the record holder is Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, who, interestingly, also happens to be the second most quoted author in English, after Shakespeare. Everyone has been profoundly molded by the influence of the King James Bible and Shakespeare. Like it or not, all of us peer at the world through the lenses of these great works. They are the primary source documents of modern English thought, the style guides of our minds. Contemplating these dazzling jewels of wisdom and eloquence gives rise to an extraordinary feeling. A potent, rare and precious emotion with the potential to completely upset your life. An emotion powerful enough to make a man abandon his wife and children, forfeit career and reputation, lay down his possessions and follow his heart without questioning. That sweet, sweet fusion of wonder and fear, irresistible attraction and soul-numbing dread known as awe. Awe is the Grail of artistic achievement. No other human emotion possesses such raw transformative power, and none is more difficult to evoke. Few and far between are the works of man that qualify as truly awesome. It is awe that convinces a rabbi to spend a lifetime decoding Yahweh from the Pentateuch. Awe that sends millions of visitors each year to the Pyramids of Giza, Guadalupe and Mecca. It was awe that drove poor Delia Bacon to her doom. Now, please don’t come away from this lecture thinking that the key to awesome game design is the installation of Easter eggs! Ordinary games, with their contrived Easter eggs and cheat codes, are like the Battery of the Month club. You have to trudge down to the back of the store to get what you really came for. If super power is what people really want, why not just give it to them? Is our imagination so impoverished that we have to resort to marketing gimmicks to keep players interested in our games? Awesome things don’t hold anything back. Awesome things are rich and generous. The treasure is right there. One afternoon, I was sitting alone behind the counter at that old Radio Shack store. My boss had stepped out for some reason. An elderly woman walked through the front door. Like most of our customers, she was shabbily dressed. Probably on a fixed income. I assumed she was there for her free battery. But instead, she placed a portable radio on the counter. This radio came from the days when they boasted about the number of transitors inside on the case. It was completely wrapped in dirty white medical tape. The woman looked at me, and asked, “Can you fix this?” Slowly I unwrapped the medical tape, peeling away the layers until the back cover of the radio fell off, accompanied by a cloud of red dust. The interior of the radio was half eaten away by battery leakage and corrosion. I looked at the radio. I looked at the old woman. I looked back at the radio. I reached behind me, where the expensive alkaline batteries were hanging like prescription medication, and removed a gleaming nine-volt cell from its gold blister pack. Then I pulled a brand-new transistor radio from a box, installed the alkaline and helped the lady find her favorite station. No money changed hands. She left the store without saying a word. Awesome things are kind of like that. Bach offered his students very specific insight into the source of awe. In addition to B-A-C-H, two other sets of initials are also associated with Bach’s music. These initials are not hidden in the notes. Instead, they’re scrawled right across the top of his manuscripts for the whole world to see. The initials are SDG and JJ. SDG stands for the Latin phrase Soli Deo Gloria, “To the glory of God alone.” JJ stands for Jesu Juva, “Help me, Jesus.” Bach wrote all of his great masterpieces sub specie aeternitatis, “under the aspect of eternity.” He did not compose only to please his sponsors, or to win the approval of an audience. His work was his worship. Bach once wrote, “Music should have no other end and aim than the glory of God and the recreation of the soul. Where this is not kept in mind there is no true music, but only an infernal clamour and ranting.” The name of the power that moves you is not important. What is important is that you are moved. Awe is the foundation of religion. No other motivation can free you from the limits of personal achievement. Nothing else can teach you the Art of Flight. Computer games are barely forty years old. Only a few words in our basic vocabulary have been established. A whole dictionary is waiting to be coined. The slate is clean. Someday soon, perhaps even in our lifetime, a game design will appear that will flash across our culture like lightning. It will be easy to recognize. It will be generous, giddy with exuberant inventiveness. Scholars will pick it apart for decades, perhaps centuries. It will be something wonderful. Something terrifying. Something awe-full. A few years ago I was invited to speak at a conference in London. My wife joined me, and we took a day off for some sightseeing. We decided to visit England’s second-biggest tourist attraction, Stratford-upon-Avon. It was cold and rainy when our train arrived. Luckily, most of the attractions are just a short walk from the station. We visited Shakespeare’s birthplace, a charming old house along the main street which attracts millions of pilgrims every year, despite the complete lack of any evidence of Shakespeare ever having lived there. We went past the school where Shakespeare learned to read and write, although no documents exist to prove his attendance. We visited Anne Hathaway’s cottage, the rustic country farm where his wife spent her childhood, although no record shows anyone by that name ever having living there. Finally we came to the one location undeniably associated with Shakespeare: Trinity Parish church, on the banks of the river Avon, where a man by that name is buried. This beautiful church is approached by a long walkway, between rows of ancient gravestones, shaded by tall trees. The entrance door is surprisingly tiny. No cameras are allowed inside. The interior is dark and quiet. Despite the presence of busloads of tourists, the atmosphere is hushed and respectful. A few people are seated in the pews, deep in prayer. An aisle leads up the center of the church. The left side of the altar is brightly illuminated. On the wall above is a famous bust of the Bard, quill in hand, gazing serenely at the crowd of pilgrims. On the floor beneath, surrounded by bouquets of flowers, at the very spot where Delia Bacon lost her mind, the gravestone of William Shakespeare bears this dire warning: Good friend for Jesus’ sake forbear To dig the dust enclosed here Blest be the man who spares these stones And curst be he that moves my bones. Every year, three million pilgrims arrive from every nation on Earth to approach this stone and consider the likeness of a man whose body of work can only be described as awesome. By contrast, the right side of the altar is dark and featureless. Nobody of any consequence is buried there. The only point of interest is a wooden case, of simple design, carved of dark oak. Inside the case, sealed beneath a thick sheet of glass, lies a large open book. A plaque on the case identifies this book as a first edition of the King James Bible, published in 1611, when Shakespeare was forty-six. Not many pilgrims visit this side of the altar. Most of those that do simply glance at the book, read the plaque and move along. A few, more observant, note that the Bible happens to be opened to a page in the Old Testament: the Book of Psalms, chapter 46. No explanation is given for this particular choice of pages. For the initiated, none is necessary. If you are of inquisitive bent, if you are intrigued by English history and literature, if you value your peace of mind, cover your ears, now. In the year 1900, a scholar noticed something about the King James translation of Psalm 46. Something terrifying. Something wonderful. The 46th word from the beginning of Psalm 46 is “shake.” The 46th word from the end is “spear.” There are only two possibilities here. Either this is the finest coincidence ever recorded in the history of world literature. Or, it is not.