The Verdict Is Still Out on eBay.

While I sell all of my useless (to me) clutter on eBay, I am still skeptical about purchasing certain items thru this method. Designer purses are best purchased thru a store. A REAL store, not an on-line one. My sister bought a Gucci purse thru an on-line store claiming it was authentic, and it looked exactly like my Chinatown version - FAKE. While I've sold some authentic purses on eBay, they were used ones at good prices. What I mean by this is that they sold for around the same price I'd pay for a very good fake one in Chinatown, but they were real. I don't mind buying knock-offs, after all, that was the whole point of my Hong Kong lay over last summer.

I recently bought a Coach sling pak from someone on eBay with over 1,000 positive feedbacks. It came with the box, tags attached, and Coach literature. Yet I still have a niggling, nagging suspicion that it may not be real. I should have learned my lesson from the Kooba fiasco. The woman claimed to be a flight attendant who was sick and stuck in another country. A month passed and she had never mailed me the bag that I had paid several hundred for. Luckily it was Paypal to the rescue and she refunded my money.

Moral of the story - Do not expect designer items to be real on eBay. If they make knock-offs of whatever it is you're trying to buy, chances are it's fake if it's on eBay. If you get it at a cheap price, enjoy it in all of it's unauthenticity. But, if you're paying a lot anyway, go to a real store.

Confessions on a Dance Floor

In late June I went with my sister and some friends to Madonna's "Confessions on a Dance Floor" concert at Madison Square Garden. While the show itself was a feast for the eyes and ears, we didn't enjoy ourselves. Besides the fact that Madonna was FAR away (okay, we could've bought better seats, but I don't know how we would've got tickets as they sold out within minutes), she demanded that air conditioning not be put on to protect her voice. Everyone was SWEATY and it wasn't from dancing, singing and enjoying the show. Also, exiting MSG was a nightmare and people were sweating on you (due to the close quarters) and arguing with each other. If I knew how, I'd request a refund from Ticketmaster, Madison Square Garden or Madonna, because I would've enjoyed watching this on the TV special that I'm sure will be out in a few months from the comfort of my own home.

On a positive side, MSG now sells Ranch 1 and you can get the complete menu for the same price it's usually sold for. No more over priced popcorn and hotdogs for me.

Nantucket

For my birthday we went to Nantucket, MA. If you don't already know this, Nantucket is an island off of Massachusetts. You have to take a ferry there ($60 for the high speed from Hyannis), and it's about $400 if you want to take your car too. Needless to say, Nantucket is no bargain. We rented a moped and had fun riding to the beaches, visiting the lighthouses and walking thru the quaint neighborhood. We saw Kathy Lee Gifford doing the same. There are tons of seafood restaurants, many on the water & all claiming to have the "best" clam chowder. The harbor boasts scores of boats, each bigger and badder than the next.

Mr. Chow

Also in July I went to dinner with one of my best friends to the new Mr. Chow in Tribeca. A couple of years ago we ate at Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills, and that's when we ate next to Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson. This time we saw Betsy Johnson.

All of the food is delicious, but you HAVE to try the squab and lettuce wraps. Make sure to try just a lil' of the hot sauce, as a little goes a long way. While the meal was great, it came out to $260 for just the two of us, so I won't be visiting Mr. Chow's again anytime soon. We justified it as we usually go on a Summer trip together, so in a weird way we actually saved money.

Rollerskating @ the Roxy

July was BUSY so I wasn't blogging. You'd think as a teacher and having all Summer off that I'd have a lot of free time, but that hasn't been the case. As usual I've been working on some projects, classes etc. More importantly I moved, and am still busy selling so many things that I found in storage on eBay. Our grand total is up to $2,500. Ireland here we come.

Luckily I still found time to celebrate my birthday. My sister's birthday is the day after mine so we did a joint thing. For $225 we got a table at the Roxy nightclub on a Wednesday night for Rollerskating @ the Roxy. You give them a list of 15 people that you have then paid for their admission. Normal admission is between $15-$20 per person. They have skate rentals or you can bring your own.

We all had a lot of fun taking a spin around the rink even if it's been years since we were last on skates. There are a lot of great skaters there, so if you want to take a rest you won't be bored watching their moves. There are also a bunch of people in funny skater outfits and plenty of girls in rollergirl ones. I already made a photobook on Shutterfly.