Monday, Lindsay (Luke's mum) was up from Southam to help me work on the bathroom, what had previously been christened by myself as 'the cave' or 'the hole'. Seriously, it was one of the most depressingly dingy bathrooms I have seen. Between scraping the pealing paint off perfectly good white tiles we were having a good chin-wag (gossip session) which had me laughing in hysterics.
Apparently Lindsay has been using a website called Freecycle, in which you post up things that are cluttering your garage and you just want to get rid of (it all must be free). You know the whole "one man's trash is another man's treasure" philosophy. Lindsay had put up Luke's wind-surfs (basically surfboards with a sail attached to them), which he has had since his mid-teens and used maybe three times. She got a bite almost immediately in the form of a early to mid-twenties young man. He came over took one look at the wind surfs and had Ian help him put them in the car. End of story.
... Or at least it was supposed to be. About a week later Lindsay receives a text from him asking if she knows how to put the wind surfs together. Of course she didn't know so she decided to wait a day until she saw Luke to ask him. Before 24 hours had passed she received another text: "Are you ignoring me? :-(" While she thought it was odd, she still didn't expect anything amiss with it. Luke told her he didn't know how to explain the windsurfs via text but he thought there was a manual somewhere about the house she could try and find. So Lindsay sent windsurf man a text telling him she would try to find the manual.
Another 24 hours go by, another text from him once again: "Are you ignoring me now? :-( xx" For those not in the know, kisses (x's) at the end of texts, emails, etc. in England are very popular but are ONLY done between friends. To do so to an acquaintance here, is in some ways seen as a complete disregard for a person's privacy or respect. Now Lindsay is a little creeped out by windsurf man but she finds the manual and asks for his address so she may post it. His reply: "So you don't want to ever see me again? xx ;-(" To which Lindsay promptly posts the manual, doesn't respond to his text, and is now hoping and praying that she will be left well alone.
What's worse is this man knows where she lives and knows she has a husband because when he met Lindsay it was with Ian! Lindsay says she is also grossed out by the fact that a man her own son's age is trying to "see her again". The icing on the cake is a week previous, while getting a key copied for our house she was propositioned by the locksmith.
The sad fact of the matter is, Lindsay was just trying to do a good deed by giving the windsurfs away. She could have sold them on eBay or a garage sale and made some money, but she wanted to give them away to someone who wanted them but maybe couldn't afford to buy them. She felt so good after the initial fact of giving them away and wanted to try and give more away. But now after seeing what kind of people Freecycle brings her in contact with she will think twice before using it ever again. Damn and I was going to use it to try a find a free washing machine, not now!
... Or at least it was supposed to be. About a week later Lindsay receives a text from him asking if she knows how to put the wind surfs together. Of course she didn't know so she decided to wait a day until she saw Luke to ask him. Before 24 hours had passed she received another text: "Are you ignoring me? :-(" While she thought it was odd, she still didn't expect anything amiss with it. Luke told her he didn't know how to explain the windsurfs via text but he thought there was a manual somewhere about the house she could try and find. So Lindsay sent windsurf man a text telling him she would try to find the manual.
Another 24 hours go by, another text from him once again: "Are you ignoring me now? :-( xx" For those not in the know, kisses (x's) at the end of texts, emails, etc. in England are very popular but are ONLY done between friends. To do so to an acquaintance here, is in some ways seen as a complete disregard for a person's privacy or respect. Now Lindsay is a little creeped out by windsurf man but she finds the manual and asks for his address so she may post it. His reply: "So you don't want to ever see me again? xx ;-(" To which Lindsay promptly posts the manual, doesn't respond to his text, and is now hoping and praying that she will be left well alone.
What's worse is this man knows where she lives and knows she has a husband because when he met Lindsay it was with Ian! Lindsay says she is also grossed out by the fact that a man her own son's age is trying to "see her again". The icing on the cake is a week previous, while getting a key copied for our house she was propositioned by the locksmith.
The sad fact of the matter is, Lindsay was just trying to do a good deed by giving the windsurfs away. She could have sold them on eBay or a garage sale and made some money, but she wanted to give them away to someone who wanted them but maybe couldn't afford to buy them. She felt so good after the initial fact of giving them away and wanted to try and give more away. But now after seeing what kind of people Freecycle brings her in contact with she will think twice before using it ever again. Damn and I was going to use it to try a find a free washing machine, not now!
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