All is fair in love and Craig's List

How did people sell things before Craig's List? I imagine a peasant merchant loaded down with pots and pans, hunched over as he makes his way from town to town.

This is the first time I have participated in these kinds of large-scale sales on Craig's List, and I must say it's making me crazy. People on Craig's List have a habit of being all, "Yeah, I'm coming to pick it up right now!" and not showing up. Therefore, I have taken to telling anyone and everyone that everything is still available. There is no holding, there is no saving, there is only my fervent hope that someone will show up and buy my things without running in horror and disgust from the steep, narrow staircase. Which explains why, at a time when I am usually in my pajamas, I am sitting up and waiting for phantom Craig's List people who claim to be zipping over to my apartment at this very moment with trucks to buy my furniture. My ears perk up every time I hear a car outside, but it usually turns out to be my crazy neighbors and their collection of crappy cars.

Meanwhile, the truckload of e-mails continues: Is it still available? What are the dimensions? Could you send a picture? I definitely want it, so e-mail me all your personal information so I can send you a cashier's check! (Uh, no.) You all know how much I detest having to depend on others, so you know how all this waiting around is killing me, but hopefully I can get everything out of here before my parents arrive so I can astound them with my responsible nature!

Update: This extremely muscular guy just arrived for the dresser, and a woman from Saugus is on her way to take a look at the bed -- fingers crossed!

In other news, I wrote a fanfic in about three hours yesterday and now there is a whole thread on a message board devoted to people fawning over it. In a world of fanfic ruled by stories in which Mulder and Scully marry and have six babies, the depressing and yet ultimately more realistic (as much as an story that uses the phrase "imminent apocalypse" can be realistic) fanfic is king!