there's always a hidden cost

In leafing through the Sunday ads, I stumbled upon a computer desk. The little snack table that has been home to my computer for a while now is getting pretty old, so I figured that it was time to indulge and get something that actually resembles something that a computer should be sitting upon.

The sale price was a mere $32, which fell right within my price range...so I headed off, preparing to have the whole shebang set up by mid afternoon. I got there and found two of the desks left, so I strolled on over, bent down and prepared to lift the box and carry it to the counter.

Okay, so in retrospect it was a stupid move...but really, it's a desk! We're talking, at most, maybe three sheets of wood...and it's not even real wood, it's that particle board stuff with the fancy laminate maple finish...and judging from the size of the cardboard box, I really didn't think that they could package too much weight into something that small. So I bent, heaved, and that's about the time that my back went kablooey...which I'm pretty sure is the exact medical term for what my back did. Apparently they started filling particle board with lead, or something, because while I'm not real sure what 'particle' is, I didn't imagine that it would weigh about the same as a compact car.

Leaving the box stranded on the floor, I hobbled over to grab a shopping cart and, with the help of a nice Office Max employee, got the damn desk into the cart and out to the car.

So my agenda of typing this on my brand-spanking-new desk also went by the wayside. The desk is still in my trunk. The computer is still on the teetering little snack table. And while I'm sure the medical community would scoff at my prescription for back pain, the three aspirin and glass of wine have done quite nicely in easing my discomfort.

But while the desk only cost $32, I'm sure I'll be paying a whole lot more tomorrow morning for buying this desk in the first place.