Time to Shop?

The other day I was looking around and for some reason saw my bedroom in a whole new light, and you know what? I didn't like what I saw.

When I moved out on my own I had nothing. I literally slept in a sleeping bag on an inflatable mattress that my ex wife let me use. I had no beds, no dressers, no nothing in here with the exception of my homemade computer desk and an ugly free-standing shelf.

One thing I refused to skimp on was a bed. Right off the bat I bought two new beds. That's where the buying really stopped though. The rest of it was scraped together any way I could, and from any place I could. My resourcefulness came into play as I accrued furniture items, and my criteria were few: No smells, and functional. Looking back on it, it was mostly a matter of not wanting to spend any money because I had no idea how much the divorce was going to cost me. Well, I ended up with functional, mismatched, and ugly. One exception was the nice looking bedroom set in my guest room, graciously donated (or "gotten rid of" as they put it) by Rhon's daughter and her husband.

Although it has occurred to me in the past, it occurred to me again this week: I need to get rid of this butt ugly shit. It served me well, but it's horrible looking. Yes, it is time for Rick to go shopping. And not just furniture either. I need a lot of things.

• Obviously, I need a complete bedroom suite, first and foremost.
• Clothes - I live in jeans and t-shirts. Those rare occasions when I need to (or at least should) dress up leave me screwed. I have no nice pants, no nice shoes, no decent jacket... Face it--I look like a pauper when I dress.
• Linens - I have two sets of sheets for my bed. That is if you don't count the crappy set that I got screwed on when I bought one of those "bed-in-a-bag" things. I also need some selection of bed coverings like quilts or whatever.

My place is a guy's place. Yes, I live a comfortable life, but you sure won't ever find anyone accusing me of having nice things. How many people have a working, full-size traffic light in their living room? How many people have a mannequin in their entryway? Although I'm not embarrassed too much about those things, I need to make some adjustments around here.

Oh, and one more thing: For those so inclined... No gifts, and no help. I'm pretty picky!