Craigslist: A Way of Life

I don't know why I was surprised when my homemade AC unit failed. I just kept saying, "If this works, I'll have saved $290. If it doesn't, then I'm only out 10 bucks." As it turns out, I'm out 10 bucks. Looks like it's back to the drawing board.

When I'm out of resources, I faithfully turn to Craigslist. Last week I was walking through my work's parking lot when I caught myself wondering how long Craigslist and I have been in a relationship. I love Craigslist so passionately that I have literally blocked out any memory of life processes preceding it. I love Craigslist for its unbeatable deals, unparalleled sketchiness, and unlimited entrepreneurship opportunity. If I had a dime for every time I got into a Craigslist scandal, I wouldn't even need a job! Though my portfolio is plentiful, I will select my top 3.

1. When I need a pick-me-up, I direct my attention to Missed Connections. Until one fateful day, I realized that I knew the person to whom the ad was referring! Never mind that I hadn't spoken with Becky Shaw in years (or ever), I knew what must be done. This was a Craigslister's dream come true! I could be part of making a love connection. I began preparing what I'd say for their wedding toast as I looked Becky up on Facebook and wrote her this message:
"I feel like I would be doing a crime against humanity if I did not pass this along to you. and I MUST KNOW: were you the one in row J????"
"hahaah the play's called Becky Shaw and no, I wasn't there."

2. I've gone on countless apartment tours over the years while searching for housing. While there are several instances worth noting, one far surpasses the rest. In the months preceding my senior year of college, I found a gem of an ad on Craigslist. A woman was going away to Europe for a while and needed a responsible house sitter in exchange for free rent. The only requirement was that we needed to be excellent caretakers and send a picture of ourselves. We sent our pictures, resumes, and a basic cover letter to Margaret, explaining why we were the perfect tenants. Upon arriving at the house, Margaret was nowhere to be seen. Two self-described "refrigerator men" with white gloves were standing in her place. When asked where Margaret was, they told us that she couldn't come and had asked them to show us around. So they sat and watched us show ourselves around the surprisingly unfurnished house. We escaped to the car, where we sat deeply debriefing when someone tapped on my car window. I screamed and turned around, only to see the crazy looking refrigerator man. We put down the window and listened as he changed his identity from "refrigerator man" to "partner," asked me if I'd ever heard of Hurricane Katrina, and couldn't guarantee how long we could stay here but promised us he'd always put a roof over our heads.

3. My previous roommate and I wanted a dog. Where is a good place to purchase pets? Craigslist. She found a free Yorkie! It was advertised for a "nice Christian home." Perfect. Only catch was, we'd have to pay shipping from Africa. Not to worry, though, because the ad told us that shipping was only $60 from Cameroon to the US. If you know your Yorkie marketplace, you know that this is still a fantastic deal! In order to secure our spot with the seller, my roommate quickly shot out an email explaining our apartment layout, neighborhood, and strong Christian values that would be necessary for properly raising a Yorkie. It wasn't until after she asked why the dog was for sale did we start to question this deal. The Yorkie was having problems adjusting to the poor air quality and the vet said it must leave Africa to live. After further research on postoffice.com, we discovered it would hundreds of dollars to ship a dog from Africa to Philadelphia.
I'm not the only one... Click Here