#I've got a lot of thrift store CDs

[worlds-most-confused-butch]

Organized my room a bit so my journals and notebooks are easier to access. And my CDs are in a better spot.

[putschki1969]

Hello dear Sarah, I hope you are well, I want to ask you a question since you are very expert on the subject, When kalafina existed (it hurts to say that😭) I was a teenager I couldn't buy their merchandise now that I can I want to know if I buy something from them, do they still make a profit or not?My friend says not anymore, if I want to support them, I better buy their materials as soloists. Please give me some advice.

Hello there!

I am so, so sorry! This reply is long overdue. I had this in my drafts for way too long. These days, I've really been struggling with summer fatigue and can't get motivated to do anything except the bare minimum. As a result, lots of asks have remained unanswered in my inbox/drafts.

Without further ado, let's get to your question〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→

Disclaimer: Take everything you read here with a grain of salt. Even though I would consider myself to be quite knowledgeable on the matter, I don't have all the facts.

I think your friend is correct. If you are buying Kalafina releases (CDs, DVDs/BDs/etc) or merchandise (live goods etc) right now, it is very unlikely that the girls will profit from it.

The way the Japanese entertainment industry works, idols/singers often don't have any rights to their music (especially in a case like this where they don't have an active part in the creative process). From what we know, the members of Kalafina were most likely managed in a very common and traditional "employment dynamic" with their talent agency "Space Craft" , meaning that after the label (Sony/SACRA MUSIC) got its sizeable share, the agency basically pocketed all remaining earnings from Kalafina's activities and then distributed a contractually agreed upon percentage to the members in the form of a monthly salary. As the creative force behind everything, I would assume that Yuki Kajiura probably had a more favourable arrangement with Space Craft along the lines of a client <=> management relationship and therefore received earnings directly with a certain percentage going to the agency but I'm only speculating here. Considering the amounts of money that went to the label, the agency and Yuki Kajiura, it is likely that the girls received a quite meager share compared to everyone else involved. Not saying they weren't paid decently, it was obviously more than enough to allow all three of them to live comfortably (or luxuriously in Keiko's case - keep in mind tho that her family is well-off) but certainly nothing too crazy.

After leaving Space Craft, I very much doubt that Keiko and Hikaru would have financial gains from any Kalafina-related sales. Wakana on the other hand might profit indirectly from such purchases because she's still signed up with Space Craft. Some official Kalafina merch is still available in the Space Craft online store so if you buy anything from there, the money would obviously go to the agency. All other merchandise items that are floating around online or in stores are almost certainly second-hand goods so no profit is made except by the seller/thrift shop. As for music releases from official shops or distribution partners, I'm actually not sure if Space Craft would still receive a cut from that. I guess it depends on their arrangement with the label. I definitely wouldn't rule it out. (YK is probably getting something).

Long story short, if you want to support the girls, the best option currently is to buy their solo stuff. However, that doesn't mean that you should give up on your dream to buy Kalafina releases and merch. Even if the group is disbanded, it is a good thing to signal that there is still demand for them. Also, if you ask me, nothing feels better than to own physical merch/releases. My Kalafina shrine is one of my biggest sources of happiness and pride.

[arctic-hands]

Thirty minutes and 9 paragraphs into an excited list of alternatives to Spotify's monopoly re: music, videos, podcasts, audiobooks, for weenies like me who are nervous about pirating, and my app crashes.

Well now I'm on a laptop and I swear to god if this crashes too I'm calling it a conspiracy.

LEGAL ALTERNATIVES TO SPOTIFY:

Music: There are virtually limitless options here. Buy music directly from the musicians/band! If they don't sell mp3s directly from their site, they almost certainly have CDs for sale, so buy those and rip the mp3s to your computer (if your computer doesn't have a CD slot, you can buy an external one for fairly cheap). Go to a new/used music store, they still exist!, and buy albums there. Buy old albums from ebay! Go to goodwill or other thrift stores and browse there collection of cast-off music for cheap, you never know what you'll find. Hell, browse their cheap vinyl if you prefer their sound and get a vinyl-to-MP3 conversion device if you like. They even have conversion devices for cassette tapes, if you find a treasure that was only ever released on tape. Once upon a time I would have said Bandcamp for MP3 or even physical albums (I once upon a time got an AUTOGRAPHED TO MY NAME CD of Lauren Ruth Ward's Well Hell album), but they recently union busted and a lot of artists pulled their stuff from them. I don't really know anything about 7Digital's business practices, but they are another seller of MP3 music, as well as MP4, FLAC, and WAV.

Music DEVICES: If you just want to manage everything on one device, your phone, get the free VLC app! It's open source and is absolutely wonderful. I only ever used it for music, but it's capable of much more than I realized, and it's open source and ad-free! And the audio files are tiny, even when I was running out of room on my sixteen gig old phone, I still had a substantial music library on it before before I got a dedicated music player.

Which brings me to my next point: MP3 PLAYERS STILL EXIST! I own two! My first one is a twenty-dollar SanDisk Clip Jam (an established and sturdy brand), my current is a thirty-dollar Phinistec Z6 (that just came out of nowhere it seems). Each have their pros and cons, and there are so so so many options out there. Some are smart, some don't even have wifi (neither of mine do). Some have expandable card slots for even more music. Some are extremely basic, some have a plethora of features. Some are cheap but still decent in sound, some are high-end for that true audiophile experience. Some have touch screens, some have buttons, some have no screens at all. Some only use wired earphones, some only use bluetooth, some (like the Z6) can use both! There are so many brands out there even in Twenty Twenty-four. Even the random brands cropping up online are some really good shit, and I bought both of mine used bc I have concerns about the lithium industry. Oh, and some are regular battery powered. And you don't need iTunes or anything, I just use the basic Windows Media Player to rip my CDs or put mp3s music on my player. In fact I've been avoiding Apple players because I'm worried they'd brick older devices, especially ones with wifi. But there are so many options out there, it's impossible to name them all.

Audiobooks: YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE AUDIBLE! Libro.fm has a similar business model (an optional subscription fee with a free credit every month, or the option to buy book without a subscription for a little bit extra price), and you can direct the profits to the indie bookseller of your choice! I have mine set to go to Baltimore's anarcho-feminist bookstore, Red Emma's. How to listen to the audiobooks you buy? Libro has an app you can listen to directly from! AND they have the option to directly download from the site (meaning no program you have to install) the book in non-proprietary mp3/mp4 files so you can listen to it on any device that can use those files! THAT INCLUDES MP3 PLAYERS! Almost every music player on the market now not only plays audiobooks, but has sections on the device specifically for them! Some, like the Clip Jam, are even proprietary audible-compatible if you still use or already have books there (check audible's site, and you'll have to go thru a registration process). I was listening to audiobooks on both my CJ and the Z6 (the Z6 doesn't have a section for them, but still played them), but I recently bought an e-ink/e-paper (meaning no backlit LED screen causing eye strain or insomnia) ereader, a Pocketbook Touch HD 3, and that is mp3/mp4 capable for audiobooks, and is easier to maneuver books with since it's meant for books. ALSO: the library apps Hoopla and Libby also have audiobooks you can listen to via phone or computer/browser, depending on your library's catalog. Some ereaders can even have the apps for them, and if they have audiocapabilities you can use the ereader for that too.

Podcasts: There are so many apps for this. I have Podcast Addict (I don't remember off the top of my head if it's on apple, I use android, but there are still so many apps). Literally I only had to sacrifice one podcast when I stopped using spotify, PodcastAddict has everything else I've ever listened to or want to listen to in the future. You can download them for offline use on your phone, and, you guessed it, MOST MP3 PLAYERS HAVE PODCAST SECTIONS TOO. MINE DO! There are still ads at the beginning and end, but I usually skip over them without care.

Video: This one is a bit trickier as YouTube is also a monopoly, but what I do is just watch yt on my phone's Firefox browser with UBlock Origins adblocker installed. Sometimes yt gets into a hissy fit with adblocker, but UBlock usually gets ahead pretty quickly thus far. And if in the periods Origins is losing, I just find something else to do. I'm sure someone else has recommendations for videos, they're just not a big part of my life right now.

Anyway, don't let the horrid beast that is spotify monopoloize the audio industry OR your time! There are options, and even if you're not a luddite like me that hates having everything on my smartphone bc I'm worried about privacy or companies yoinking their stuff off my devices via wifi (like Amazon did once with their copies of, of all things, Nineteen Eighty-four about a decade ago) at the whim of corporations. You HAVE OPTIONS! YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CONTROL YOUR MEDIA AND REJECT MONOPOLIES!

[sixty-silver-wishes]

19. 29. 44. For the ask game

19. Okay, as much as I like vampires, I think we're really sleeping on zombies as a concept. I feel a need to point out that I'm referring to pop culture zombies and not zombies in Vodoun/Voodoo, which are an entirely different thing, as the concept of a zombie has been considerably changed in the public consciousness and I want to acknowledge that. Anyway, it's always been gross to me how in pop culture, zombies are sort of there to fulfill this fantasy of being able to kill scores of people and get away with it, as they're not exactly conscious, but they're like, still sort of alive, right? And so I think I have some sympathy for them. I guess vampires and zombies are both undead, but vampires are typically afforded more sentience and sympathy than zombies are. I mean, vampires get to be tragic and multifaceted and complex, but we don't typically see the same concepts afforded to zombies. But what if we could? Do we have to kill zombies once they turn into zombies? What if they're our loved ones? Both of these monsters are so interesting because the fact that they're undead means that they used to be people whom we could have once formed relationships with, and I think there's a dialogue to be had about what that means for zombies. What are zombies analogies for? Disease? Disability? Ideological control? And as zombies exist in pop culture primarily to make more zombies until they're killed, what does that say about the people they may represent? I think we're cruel to zombies in a way that we're not cruel to vampires, and I'd be interested in a story that explores that.

29. A frozen pizza lol. I was planning to eat quickly and then go to the library, but it just closed for today :/

44. Yeah; I collect classical music CDs, but I haven't actually gotten any in a while. I have most of the Mahler symphonies and all of the Shostakovich symphonies; those are my favorites. I've got a bunch of others too, which I like, but I'm not as interested in completing the sets. The fun thing is, most of my CDs are thrifted, with only a few of them being gifts. For a while, I really liked going to the thrift store and seeing if I could find my favorite music; it's a lot more gratifying that way.

[bloodcoveredgf]

hi Luna!! just dropping by to say that I second the love for your new theme! and thank you for continuing to give us nothing but excellent and 100% correct takes on horror, your love for the genre really shines and it always makes me appreciate it more when I see your enthusiasm and all your quality horrorposting. I've also entered my reading era so I'm heading to a medieval fortress now with a backpack of books to read. if you wanna tell me about any fun things you've found, please do <3

hi!!! edith omg this is such a sweet message like so sweet thank You so much for always being so kind when we talk <3 im always so glad to hear that my mutuals get horror and appreciate it so much and enjoy that i talk so much about it.. and even watch more of it because of me and appreciate it more thats literally my lifes purpose i feel :) it truly brings me so much joy and having a community here that loves horror just as much as me and supports me loving it so much and so passionately is so so fun and beautiful especially for my autism... i feel so free coming on here to talk about horror with you guys im glad it brings us all together and we all have so much love in our hearts for it even if that love is just blossoming or growing <3

also!! hell yes reading era i hope you have so much fun and enjoy your books ^_^ if you wanna tell me about the books youre reading id love to hear <3 also!!! some fun things ive found other than going to the library and get a lot of free books hmm... i got this new little rug for my room its like movie themed its got popcorn and movie reels and stars all over it and on my last trip to the thrift store i got simon and garfunkel best hits + abba best hits on cd ^_^ oh and my mom got us a little halloween rug for the door it says welcome to our haunted house and has a haunted house with cute little ghosts all around it on it which i thought was cute and silly because i love halloween and haunted houses and ghosts :] im hoping i can go thrifting again soon and pick up some horror dvds its been too long since ive found good ones.. let me know if youve found any fun things too <3

[haunted-artist]

Going through my cd collection rn (well, got my stack of cds here and 1 cd ripped so far) so uhhh going very slowly rn lol got the feeling im gonna have to track down a bunch of the album covers myself orz why does that always seem to be a problem for these things? not even an obscure band or album! its paramore!! hmm what else... guess its neat to go through my collection and see what i have, though a lot of it feels dated in my head for some reason. probs cause i bought quite a lot of what i own back in highschool or college. still like a lot of it, though some are definitely going buh-bye

also just kinda miss when physical media was more available. a lot of my local stores cd sections have been trimmed down significantly, or done away with entirely. not even just cds, but also stuff like dvds and even more recently video games. my towns on the like, medium size i guess? its not small but its not the largest either. so idk if that's says much at all, but its something im thinking about i guess. at the very least, there is a music store over at the local art center i try and peruse now that i know about it, but its kinda hard to cause their stuff isn't alphabetized ^-^; isn't to say i haven't found anything, just takes a while. and they've got a lot of cds! mostly on the older side as i've noticed with thrift stores and other places i've been to, so a lot of it doesnt tend to be my tastes unfortunately (and a whole lot of christian religious music cause well. tis the south baby)

still wish there as an easier way to get cds around here (and also offload ones i don't want anymore. FYI doesnt take em anymore caues i think they did away with their cd section, or at least their used ones. and the local place i found that took em only would take em for 25 cents per cd, regardless of what it was specifically so uh. no thanks lol. it went under a while ago) but, probably won't be anything soon i imagine.

anyway, probably should stop procrastinating and typing and get to actually doing what i planned lol

[borrelia]

trying cds from my parents' collection is pretty low-risk low-reward. like it's free, but most of the stuff I'd really like is the stuff they listened to enough that i already know it (so i don't try out the cd). cds from the thrift store are low-risk high-reward, but it can be hard to find anything that isn't country or christmas music (there are a LOT of christmas cds clogging up thrift stores) and sometimes they are criminally overpriced (one booth i wentto sold them for FIVE BUCKS APIECE??? i got some good shit from there including a two-disk best-of ELO set, but FIVE DOLLARS/?? INCLUDING FOR SCRATCHED CDS???). and finally, buying cds from the comic shop in my hometown tends to be high-risk high-reward, bc while some of those used cds are only like $2-5, anything new is like TWENTY. twenty dollars!! that's the price of a bluray!

well i got lucky this time bc of the five i got, so far i've listened to one used REM cd (ofc i like rem), one dark electronic cd that RUUUULESS ill have to share it online if i can find it, and one french rap album that seems good? i would probably appreciate it a lot more if i knew french, bc it all seems like very emotionally-charged music, but oh well.

[kodachromism]

2, 35, 55 :)

Thank you for these!!

2. Do you still buy CDs (or other physical media)?

Ab-so-lute-ly!! I started collecting records, cassettes and even 8-tracks(!) back in 2nd grade, so a lot of my music taste growing up was influenced by whatever I could find at Garage sales and Thrift stores. In University I started a Mixtape club where people could learn to make their own cassette mixtapes, so I got much more into them at that point. And now the nearest thrift shop to me sels CD's for 10 cents a piece, so I've started collecting them too (esspecially peoples old mix-cds!)

35. A song you like in a language you don’t speak:

"No Sé Por Qué" by Band a Part:

55. An album you learned to love after listening to it again and again:

"Divers" By Joanna Newsom:

I first listened to it on an old ipod nano I found at a moving sale—it took a while to get it but once I did it has been a steadfast companion!

Thanks again for the questions! If anyone else wans to ask some more, here's the link!

[semusepsu]

I have a large collection of CDs, many of which I have bought at thrift stores or library sales. Many of them I bought for the sake of one song, and the CD still cost about as much as a song on iTunes, and sometimes less. Others I took a gamble on because they were so cheap or because they were by an artist I am familiar with. Some were gifts from friends that were getting rid of their CDs.

I've downloaded them all, and have my collection playing while I work. Some of the albums that I don't usually come back to:

Fallout Boy's Evening Out With Your Girlfriend: the title of this amuses me more than any of the songs. Not good.

Led Zeppelin II and III: kind of a mixed bag tbh. I like a few of them a lot but there's a lot of dreck, although maybe it is just that LZ influenced musicians to the point that I've heard a lot of songs that came out afterwards which are essentially "What if this Led Zeppelin song was better?"

III by Mike Snow: this is the one with Genghis Khan on it. Many of the other songs are about a character that struggles to find a genuine emotional connection with their romantic and sexual partner(s). This one is good.

Mail on Sunday by Flo Rida: shorty had them apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur. A lot of late 00s rap that is very that. If you like songs about being a rapper who has a lot of money and sex with a lot of women, you'll like pretty much every song. The better ones on this album are mainly determined by having better beats. Try Priceless and In the Ayer.

Best of Eyes Set To Kill: this album fascinates me. The main female vocalist has some songs where she does tons of screaming vocals, and others which are just sung, and others that do both. Worth a look if that sounds like it would interest you.

Children of Bodom: Blooddrunk: I can appreciate heavy metal instrumentation on these tracks, but the screaming vocals don't add anything good and detract from the compositions imo.

Buckcherry 15: you know how old rock bands would have skeevy songs about fucking teenage girls? This album has songs that sound like if one of those guys got divorced.

Let Go by Avril Levigne: coming back to these songs as an adult feels weird.

Jefferson's Tree of Liberty by Jefferson Starship: you know how when rock bands get old they make a folk album? This is that. They add some spacey stuff to a few of the songs but it's mainly just American folk songs. Seek out their version of Follow the Drinking Gourd, a song that contains a hidden code for meeting up with the underground railroad, and Santy Ano, which they do an interesting spacey version of.

There's a lot more but I'll discuss them later maybe.

[psychicdragoncoffee]

3/31/24

tl;dr Been going to lots of different places since Thurday. So I've been either busy or tired. Thursday involved getting goldfish crackers and chocolate. Friday getting a toilet. Yesterday I saw a move and got coloring books after eating at a BBQ place. Eating out for lunch today.

So, I've been a bit inactive during most of the weekend since I've been kept busy most of the time. Then whenever I wasn't too busy I've mostly just been sitting and listening to music.

Thursday [28] Today was something I've been looking forward to for over a month. It's a trip to a town that is a bit far from home so we could visit a few stores we don't have closer. I worked by budget so where I was able to get a decent amount from these stores. Luckily, I didn't need as much as I thought since Mom covered some of what I got.

The stores, the first being a Pepperidge Farm outlet shop where you could get things from that brand for super cheap. I had gotten 11 items there for less than $20. [Four flavors blasted, four regular cheddar, one pouch of cookies, and two backs full of tiny cheddar boxes. Each back has 6 mini boxes.]

[I had gotten candy and soda from another location before we reached the place but I didn't count it. But I also wanted to mention it since the stuff was unique. A fruit punch soda and Shirly Temple soda. The candy includes Dr Pepper jelly beans, Regal Crown sour cherry, and strawberry Milka bar.]

There was a bit of a sidetrack to a thrift store because Aunt wanted to want a watch. She wasn't able to find one but I did happen to find a tiny fridge I was thinking of buying. It was the exact same type and color I've been wanting to buy. It was much cheaper than I would have paid normally. I just need a replacement plus, but that won't be hard. In fact, if I really want to use it now I could use the plug from my CD player.

The second main shop we were planning on doing was a Lindt store. The main goal is their truffle balls. They had a deal in which I was able to get 100 for around 30. On top of someone else paying for the chocolate, the order included a free tote. It was cute.

Had bubble tea after that. I had matcha with strawberry bubbles.

Though it wasn't part of the original plan we stopped by a Target and I was able to find the exfoliating cleanser I like. I used to get it from Ulta, but Target was cheaper.

Friday [29]

Today I was quite tired. I went along with my aunt in her quest to find a watch. She also wanted to find colored pencils while there. I think there was a place we went to before that. But for some reason, I don't remember it. [Though I did remember it was a Sketchers store because she wanted new shoes. I went along to see if I could find something I liked to buy later. I have a single pair that is getting old and worn. Though I don't need a new pair I thought it would be nice for the sake of having a selection.] Del Taco after for fries.

The one thing I wasn't looking for was assisting in getting a toilet. While there I ended up getting pencils I didn't need.

Saturday [30] Yesterday as of writing this.

I wasn't as tired yesterday. But was still out of the house most of the day. We started the day by seeing a movie. It was Ghost Busters. Had a cherry vanilla cola with a bit of creme soda added in.

Went for dinner at a BBQ place after that. After a trip to 5 Below Mom wanted to get some coloring books. I thought I'd check that they had. I got some surprise keychains. Two there were a My Melody Kuromi set and the other two were Five Nights at Freddy's. With the My Melody Kuromi set I got two of the same Kuromi. Though I had been hoping for Kuromi it sucked they were both the same. Aunt got the extra. For FNAF I got a one of Monty and one of Roxy.

For a coloring book, I found one themed after Astoigy. Mom got me two more. Succulents and nature.

Sunday [31]

Since it's still morning we have quite a bit planned. Not as much but still might be out of the house for a good portion of the day.

The first would be Easer lunch. Mom got reservations at a banquet hall. Later we would pick up Grandma. [The trip on Thursday also involved dropping her off to spend time with another aunt. We're probably picking her up later today or tomorrow. Most likely today. I don't know for sure.]

[beef-strokinoff]

CD offerings in thrift stores consist mostly of church music, christmas or other holiday (usually halloween) songs and classical. i like classical music but i don't really want to listen to it while driving

theres also a lot of like boring love song albums. or those nature sound albums. both are undesirable

also i swear to god i've seen the exact same andrew lloyd webber compilation in every thrift store i've been to this week. i'm fine with ALW but i want the full album soundtrack. i don't wanna hear phantom of the opera and then cats and then w/e randomly. this CD only got one song from cats too, memories, whose lyrics don't really sound like it comes from a musical where everyone is feline'd up. coward move. at least put rum tum tugger on there

i'm pro-shoplifting except when it comes to discs in a thrift store. today i tried to purchase some old CDs and every single one i was interested in had the disc stolen right out of the jewel case!! the ones that weren't were so scratched up (or the case was broken, or the booklet was missing; i'm only buying complete) they weren't worth what the store was asking!!

i can't stream music and the aux port is broke in my car so all i can do for music is CDs. the only CDs i have right now are nirvana, outkast, meatloaf. and i am SICK of all these guys i want something else!!

[thebraingremlinsaremad]

Daily Blog #15: August 22, 2021

Dollar Tree is honestly pretty fucking awesome 👌👌👌

I set my alarm for like 6:25 this morning, but it took 6 minutes for the "Horsin' Around" theme song instrumental to wake me up. I was pretty tired lol. I just dismissed it and went back to sleep.

I only went back to sleep because I knew I had another alarm set for 7:00. That got me up.

I should mention that this was still in the RV over an hour away from the house.

After I got up, I went to go get a shower, and did so successfully.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten my brush this time and had to do it afterwards after my hair had a bit of time to dry, which did make it a little more difficult lol.

I got dressed and grabbed my stuff, putting it into my car.

I made it a point to see and say "see you later" to my grandparents before I left for the flea market.

My dad insisted that I stayed to say goodbye to my mom, so I left.

I did NOT have cell service up there, as was mentioned in my previous 2 blogs of which I could only post today, so finding my way was a tiny bit difficult until I got some service to ask Google to take me to "...".

It worked and I got there.

On my drive, I listened to 1 by Simple Kid, a CD I had previously purchased at a Dollar Tree location.

I got a call from the guy at the flea market saying that I had some people there waiting for me. He asked how far away I was, to which I said "about 10 minutes." Ironically, that call made me miss my exit, as Google couldn't talk during the call, and added about 3 minutes to my arrival time lmao.

I did sell the Xbox that he said someone was interested in. I got $40 for it. I spent 27¢ on it. Pretty good return if you ask me.

I couldn't sell it with anything other than a power cord because the controller and AV cables I had been using to play it there were for my personal console. I'm just glad I can actually hook my Xbox up and stop having to drag them to the flea market along with a small library of games.

Not too long after I sold the Xbox, someone came in and asked if I wanted to see some electronics he had in his car. I went out with him. It was a pair of 3ft speakers and a Pioneer audio system with dual cassette decks (although neither of them works) and a 25 Disc CD-changer, as well as the standard AM/FM tuner. Additionally, there was a Fisher amplifier and AM/FM tuner as well as a Fisher Direct Drive turntable. He said he wanted $60 for em, but before that he casually, and probably accidentally, dropped that he was just gonna take em to the thrift store.

Big mistake.

I got em for $35 lmao. THERE GOES MOST OF MY PROFIT.

Oh well.

I tested everything. As I mentioned, the cassette decks don't work, but everything else does apart from the turntable needing a new stylus.

I posted some new photos of the shop to Facebook, and someone soon DMed me about a stereo system.

I priced everything, and it turns out I have about $300 worth of equipment from that deal, the Fisher amp and tuner being worth about $150.

The buyer will hopefully show up next weekend, for he wants to buy the Fisher stuff ($185 with the turntable), the 3ft speakers, an 8-track deck, and a Kenwood deck we've had for a week or two.

The speakers are listed for $50 (and are worth around $100-150), the Kenwood Deck for $50 as well, and the 8-track for $35. That makes it about $320 in equipment. Since he's buying so much, I'll knock it down to $270 and essentially give him the speakers or cassette deck for free lol.

Apart from that stuff, not much happened at the flea market. I sold some records, cassettes, CDs and I think 2 DVDs. One person bought a VHS tape? That money was the other guy's though. Oh well xD.

I can't say that I didn't miss my wonderful partner while on the trip. I actually brought along the stuffed animal they gave me (who's name is Greg) and snuggled with him both nights.

I was very happy to hear from them UwU.

They let me rant and I let them rant.

I honestly give them too much responsibility over me xD. I'm like, "Okay, I'm gonna do this. HOLD ME TO IT."

I know I can't hold myself to anything I personally say (this blog being the only exception apparently), but I listen to them pretty well I think 🤔. If they tell me, "No, you don't need that VCR," so long as it's not some weird specialty thing, like a worldwide VCR 🥵, I'll be like "Yeah, you rite bro."

I love you man xD. You control my craziness pretty well. I'm so thankful for you UwU.

#relationshipgoals

So part way through the flea market day, I went over to Dollar Tree to buy some snack, but ended up looking through the CDs to see if there was anything good. I took photos of about 18 CDs and flipped through them online for the remainder of the flea market day.

I deleted the photos of the ones I didn't want and kept those that I liked. Surprisingly, I ended up buying 13 CDs there, but not before dropping them on the floor like the dumbass I am.

Also, sorry for all the nerd shit I spilled on your lap earlier. No one cares about amps and tuners xD.

I'M LISTENING TO ONE OF THE DOLLAR TREE CDS RIGHT NOW THO.

I already transferred over to my online library on iBroadcast and put the disc into my CD changer, which is now holding 164 CDs.

Its max capacity is 300 discs 🥵

WHY AM I NERD

Oh well

I like being a nerd gurl

Also maybe a technosexual 👀

I get really excited over some electronics. Like. REALLY excited.

Some editing VCRs are like "Holy shit that is SEXY. Look at those goddamn VU meters 🥵. And hhhh there are like 7 inputs on this thing and individual controls for left and right audio gain, not to mention Hi-Fi S-VHS recording. Hhhhhhhhhhh please gimme 😭. Why are you so expensive?"

I uh, mean, uh, *cough* look, pretty lights.

Oh yeah, I was gonna say the album I was listening to xD. MAN I GOT SIDETRACKED.

It's 37 Everywhere by Punchline. Def give it a listen; it's pretty heccin good.

Another notable album I picked up was Page One by Steven Page. I very much like the first track, "A New Shore." It's quite catchy and he has a great voice imo.

Also at dollar tree, I bought a regular bag of Fieras and 2 bags of Fieras Sticks, which were marked down to 75¢/bag because they're expiring soon.

I honestly like the generic Dollar Tree version of Takis more than actual Takis. They're a lot more flavorful when it comes to the lime, but also hotter at the same time.

Don't get the hot nacho ones tho. Hot nacho? More like hot pile of shit.

HAH

Goteem.

They're not that good xD.

THE REGULAR ONES ARE FIRE THO

"How do you do fellow kids?"

I got home and started working on putting the CDs onto my computer, and then onto iBroadcast, but not without first adding The Music Man to my digital library, something I had neglected for a month or two. The CD had just been sitting there lol.

I also switched my digital file for "The Black Parade" to that of the uncensored CD, which I had purchased before I event started working over 2 months ago.

MAN I'M LAZY

I eventually get around to shit tho lol. I guess it's just a matter of priority.

What usually takes priority is digging through everything to find something that I forgot about but then remembered, making a mess in the process that I would then have to clean up, at least partially.

I think the album just ended. I've been writing for a while xD. I'ma start "I Made You Something" by The Island of the Misfit Toys.

I'll tell you where that album came from in a minute.

In the meantime, where was I?

I kinda lost my train of thought despite reading up to see where I was. Oh well. On I go.

I ate dinner and kept working on those CDs, eventually putting my clothes from the week into the washer.

I FORGOT TO PUT MY SHAPING UNDERWEAR IN. FUCKING HELL MAN.

I wanted to wash em for this week 😭

No tight pants for Leonna I guess qwq.

Meanwhile, the box of my CD album cases is overflowing. I need another box.

I keep all of the album artworks in a big CD folder. That's almost full.

I wanna fill my entire CD changer. That's one of my big goals in life. Idk why, but I just wanna legitimately fill the entire thing.

My clothes are in the dryer now. I don't think I have the time (or energy) to fold them tonight. I'll leave that for tomorrow morning before work.

And God. Fucking. Damnit. I start school again on Wednesday. NOT looking forward to that, and neither are my 2 coworkers. We already have low enough staff, but only the two of them working is gonna be a pain in the ass.

I'll still work Saturdays.

I need to contact my guidance counselor to get out of the gym class I signed up for. I scheduled this shit before I found out I was trans, and I don't wanna deal with the fucking locker room situation 🙄 I have far more important matters.

Okay so anyway, the album I'm listening to came from a cassette. I bought this cassette a few months ago at the flea market along with a few others. The reason I bought them? They were all newer cassette releases from the 2010's, and they're all actually pretty good music from very indie bands.

Currently getting mad at iBroadcast's compression algorithm. It's unnaturally fucking anything over -10db up. Oh well, there's not really anything I can do about it.

I have like 13GB of music on my phone btw. That's about 3.5k songs on 268 albums.

I'm kind of an audiophile, but I'm too cheap to pay for a lossless service. Oh well.

They do actually have a lossless service on iBroadcast, but once again, too cheap.

Someone just sent me a friend request who legitimately posted that BLM and the democratic party are hate groups.

BLOCK.

Goodbye ho.

I don't get that. They call the democratic party a hate group when they hate people like me, and I, being more of a democrat although not fully because the 2-party system is fucked, think nothing more of them than they're very wrong about certain things, especially, as shown, that black people, as well as asian, Indian, native, and people of all ethnicities and backgrounds, are not equal to white people.

Yeh.

Totally.

You go buddy.

Anyway, yeah, I can, and do, convert music and video from analog formats to digital files in order for me to archive and listen to whenever and wherever I please. I've actually made a bit of a business out of it, but I don't get too much work from it. At least I'm not overloading myself xD.

I honestly have so much more to say, but I should probably go to sleep soon.

A few final shoutouts to the following people and companies:

-Dollar Tree

-Steven Page

-Broken World Media

-The Island of Misfit Toys

-Simple Kid

-Punchline

-My incredible partner QwQ I love you so much. Thanks for being the best all the time. I hope I can give you the best life ever.

Anyway I suppose this is goodnight. Lmk if you want a full list of the CDs I bought today! I'll link that song by Steven Page here.

And here's a good song from Simple Kid

I really like music lol. Enjoy these pieces.

Anyway, goodnight lol.

Lots of love,

-Leonna.

[kunaigirl]

aaa do you collect cds too? I love cds, i have this one i got in a thrift store thats just a bunch of italian love songs and its so lively and i love it. I like to pick out cds based solely on the cover art, so I've got a really weird collection of genres

I do collect CDs! I have been for a few years now. (Like the past 5 years or so?) I get a lot of them form thrift stores and yard sales actually. Las I checked I have about 150-155 now I think! I haven’t counted in a while though. I have shelves and cases for them in my room! CDs are some of my favorite things to collect! ;u;

[visualmemoryunit]

for the date thing: I'm a 17 year old dude, I'm about 5'4' and I've got dark brown eyes and hair, i dress like an ugly punk with a lot of ripped denim and buttons and shit, my ideal date is watching movies and talking about everything or maybe going to a thrift store and buying cds

omg thatd b rly niiice i love movies n chattin

[from-zero-and-quit-to-hero-fit]

EBAY LOCAL AND CRAIGSLIST! Especially for appliances can save you hundreds! I live in a university town so there are always tons of textbooks on sale. I've bought my Wii U there for 150€ new shortly after christmas when market value was still 350€+

Compare €/kg or $/lbs prices between two sizes, often the bigger one is cheaper. Buy own-brand.

If you're a TV show or movie junkie and appreciate physical copies: Buy CDs/DVDs/Blu Rays over the second hand option on Amazon. Bundle them so you save shipping costs.

Hygiene Products: buy in bulk when on sale. use coupons!

Showering: Often the off-brands are produced by the same company that brings the brands to your store (Henkel, P&G, Johnson & Johnson all do this - my dad used to audit them so that's how I know). Use body wash instead of shaving cream if your skin can take it. Razor blades for men and women have different price points: compare the two and see if it makes a difference (please do yourself the favor and buy brand razors, cutting yourself to save a few euros is pretty dumb).

Coffee, JUST TAKE A FUCKING TO GO MUG! Get a pretty one, feel free to splurge on it so it'll stay warm longer. Also, take a bottle of water with you and if you're downtown and thirsty - pop into a convenience or grocery store instead of a starbucks or such.

Clothes: Especially as you intern clothes are important and expensive. To keep the latter down I suggest you get acquainted with the clearance rack at stores such as Kohl's, Dillard's, JC Penny, Sears, Target and even Walmart. If you have a bit of breathing room: TJ Maxx and Marshall's. If you're like me and need a lot of clothes: Thrift stores, go for a rough fit and tailor the pants and jacket to your need, hem from the inside (obviously) so it can't be seen. Other than that, you'd be surprised at the stuff your parents might still have that they don't use and still fit (my lucky suit is an old pantsuit of my mom's from the 90s with a really flattering flare, you can't find pants like those anymore so I always got a ton of compliments from my female coworkers). Ask grandma for her pearl necklace, ladies - or don a high quality fake.

Turn off heating when the window is open, should be a no brainer but makes a huge difference.

Government jobs and agencies pay students better, especially if you already have an undergrad degree (at least in Europe). You'll be doing a lot of research, but the office has AC and benefits, plus usually your supervisors are a lot cooler about leaving early. Your chances are pretty good if you speak multiple languages.

Other worthwhile tips

1) Learn to write a thank-you note, send it after job interviews (be sure to ask for a business card!). Get those blank cards they sell online or at TJ Maxx

2) Don't immediately move in with your SO to save costs

3) BICYCLES are fast, cost no parking, and are good for you (especially if it's not too hilly!)

4) Buy good shoes, just get then resoled

5) A simple black dress looks amazingly different with every hairstyle and jewelery, also trade dresses with friends if you have a specific event

Money Saving Tips for your Studies

Let’s be real, life is expensive, and while learning things doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive sometimes it feels like it has to be due to class lists and requirements, as well as external pressures. I mean I see so many studyblrs and langblrs showing off pretty desks with muji pens and then I stare at my messy notebooks and pen I’ve been using since high school and feel bad.

These advice will apply to different people in different ways, take what works and leave what doesn’t, this is all just things I do and have seen people do and by no means are they a gold standard of what you should do nor am I saying that you just have to do these things and you’ll never struggle affording food again. Like no that’s just not how the world works. These are just tips for saving a little money here and there that may be helpful to varying extents. Also even if money isn’t an issue for you there’s still some good tips here for reducing waste and spending anyway. And I guess if I had to put like a range on it, I would definitely say these tips will probably work best for people in the middle ground where not having enough for food is rarely a problem but you still struggle with other things and could use a little extra help on getting the most out of your money.

1. Reuse, reuse, reuse… So notebooks aren’t actually that expensive but I’m using them as an example, but anyway at the end of each term rather than buy new notebooks for the next term I would just tear out the pages I used and then keep using the rest of the mostly blank notebook for another class. In this way it kind of felt like I still had a new notebook for the class. If you need to or like to save old notes you can always staple the pages you tore out and store them away somewhere else. It’s also good to do this from the perspective of having less waste. Some people use the same notebook for all their classes which is another cost cutting method but it was easier for me to keep things straight in different notebooks so do what works for you. I just remember that in high school it was like “new notebooks every year!” and then getting into college I kept doing that and then I wound up with so many barely used notebooks it was getting ridiculous so that had to change. But just think about ways to reuse things that you already have, and don’t be afraid to let out your inner MacGuyver to make things work.

2. Make wise investments… Unfortunately some things are just going to be expensive, period. So when you come to these items, and you can afford it, it’s actually better to buy a slightly more expensive item of good quality than a crappier but cheaper item. The reason is the cheap item probably won’t have too long of a life span, and you may be forced to replace it, and those replacement costs can add up as well as the waste being generated. But only do this for things you’ll actually keep using regularly, if you just need it for like one class and never again then totally get the cheapest one. For example I had to buy a pair of fabric scissors once (I was an art major in the fibers department) and let me tell you even cheap fabric scissors aren’t cheap. I wound up with a $30 pair classic Fiskars, which is a lot more than I’d ever thought I’d spend on a pair of scissors in my life. But later I was posting about these expensive ass scissors on facebook and I had several people comment that they had the exact same pair and they’d been using them for the last 30 years. Another example is I would always pay extra for proper weaving yarns rather than using the classroom stock because things like color choice and material were very important to me. Meanwhile other students in my class would just use what we had in the cabinet because material mattered less to them. And this works for small things as well, if you want a nice set of muji pens think of them as your investment in yourself. And also you know it’s okay to buy a crappy thing because you need it now and don’t have the money for something pricier but later put some money aside and plan and buy the better quality item you want another time. It’s a personal choice on what’s important and what to invest in and there is no wrong answer.

NOTE: For extra expensive things like electronics, READ THE REVIEWS. I cannot stress this enough, I know so many people buy their laptop because the guy at best buy recommended it and no offense to the guy at best buy but that’s not a super great way to buy things. Take your time and really find the best item for you in your price range, and don’t discount ordering things online. Listen to what the guy at best buy recommends and then go home and google it. Avoid brand loyalty, good brands can make bad products and vice versa, I know Macbooks are popular but they are not that great for the price tag (and this is coming from me an apple fan by the way). My current laptop is 5 years old, going strong, and it only cost me $520, despite being an $800 value. I mean in general reading reviews is smart but sometimes you’re at the store and you need it now in which case use your judgement. But for really expensive things do not skip this step.

3. Take care of your investment… (God I’m starting to sound like a finance advisor, lol). If you’ve spent a lot of money on something, treat it well. In some cases this goes without saying, who wouldn’t treat a $400 phone well? (*cough cough* my friends in high school). But in others it might not seem as obvious. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Basically for the things you buy, cheap or expensive but especially expensive, do your best to take care of them. Like in college a pencil case was invaluable to me. I had exactly 5 writing utensils, I was emotionally attached to all of them, and I never lost a single one thanks to that pencil case. And they weren’t even expensive or rare writing utensils or anything, I just hated replacing lost things (as I had to do all to frequently I was honestly a mess in college but hey I kept all my pens safe). For something like a smart phone it might be good to invest in one of those seriously beefy cases. They may not be as cute or come in as many options but I once dropped my iPhone from six feet up onto concrete and then watched it skip across the ground another 6 feet and let me tell in that moment every penny of the $50 I spent on that case was worth it.

4. Fix don’t replace… This only applies to certain things, but a lot of times I feel like things that could be fixed are just thrown away unnecessarily. If a pen runs out of ink, buy a refill, if your laptop screen cracks, take it in and get it replaced, if your knives dull have them sharpened. Fixing things isn’t always cheap and you may have to deal with a cracked screen for awhile until you can figure out how to afford it but it’s better than replacing the whole laptop. My brother even replaced his laptop screen entirely on his own over the break (he ordered the part, watched the youtube video, and then did it). Though DIY isn’t always recommended (it can void warranties and you could mess up your item even worse if done wrong), but it is an option. But do it wisely, because there are times when a replacement is the better option than fixing the original, for example if your laptop is really old (5 years is generally considered an old laptop) and it’s been buggy in other ways it might be time to call it quits on that particular machine. But if it’s been running just fine otherwise, it’s probably a good idea to at least get a quote on what it would take to fix it. And if you’re not sure if it’s fixable or not, ask. Even if you think it’s totaled, that doesn’t always mean it is.

5. Sharing really is caring… If you have a friend in the same class that requires the same expensive item, share. If you’re hungry split a meal with a friend (I do this ALL the time, restaurants sell more than I can eat). If you’re extra close with someone (and you trust them), even things like sharing an amazon prime account or netflix subscription are possible. For smaller things you can share even with just classmates, different people will have different levels of willingness and it depends on what it is but you can get some surprising results if you just ask. And especially if it’s something you can financially split because you’ll probably be helping out the other person, too.

6. Talk to your instructor… This is probably the most important tip here. Seriously, talk to them and just be honest. I had a friend do this for one professor because she couldn’t afford the textbook and the guy just bought it for her (she didn’t even go in with that motivation she just needed more time to get it). Another time there was a required subscription service for a class and after talking to the teacher my same friend got that waived. Some instructors may have textbooks they’re willing to loan to you, or they’ll get the library to carry a copy, or even just help you with photocopies of the pages you need each week. You may get some mean teachers that could care less about your financial troubles, but I’ve found a lot of them are more sympathetic than not. Just be honest but brief, and ask “I really can’t afford ____ this term, is there something else I can do?”

7. And lastly but not least(ly)… IT’S OKAY TO TREAT YOURSELF AND HAVE NICE THINGS AND IT’S ALSO OKAY TO HAVE BEATEN UP USED THINGS. And that’s regardless of your bank account or financial status. I see so much shaming where it’s like “how dare you have a nice phone if you’re poor” coming out of the mouths of the same people that judge you for wearing second hand clothes. INVEST IN YOURSELF. If having a nice item helps you feel better and work harder, DO IT. But don’t feel you have to do it either way. It’s your life and your money so figure out what works for you and stick with that.