Garrett pro pointer changed my life, my wife can't believe the amount of stuff I bring home now, she swears it's double for the same amount of time I spend digin'. I think she's right, because I used to use a sandwich bag to put my finds in, now I use a quart size bag.
I've got 5$ to put toward your PP'er, anybody want to match it?
You are way too sweet, but I didn't mean to give an impression that I'm in any need, and feel incredibly lucky to be able to say that my limitations are based on my decisions to never, ever be the cause of any regrets. I almost died a few years ago after an elective surgery and woke up from a 3-week coma in a decidedly different frame of mind. Then, a year later, I was stricken with severe and sudden arthritis, and for a short (but seemingly forever!) period of time, we were afraid it was just going to deteriorate to total and complete permanent disability. Luckily, that passed and other than suffering from periodic but more minor and much shorter painful days, that has remained in remission.
This basically has really pushed me to despise saying, "I've always wanted to..." or "I hope that someday..." because all of that can be done NOW--at least the part I actually regretted. I didn't regret not having the end result, I regretted understanding that I never even started, which was the failure I faced in both being afraid of dying or of losing all physical mobility at age 30. There's nothing I can't begin doing right now, and if I'm stricken with that arthritis 3 seconds after starting it, or if I wake up from another coma and this time the recovery doesn't progress and I have that time of reflection before dying, then I want to be able to say "I did," or "I tried," even if I didn't finish it. This means more to me than anything, because the shame I felt in those really rough times, when the chances of my future were going to be taken away, the regrets that I had were so stupid and my own fault.
However, I've also realized that despite all the shiny-eyed optimism and sentiment, there are still some not-as-much-fun cold, hard facts abounding in the world, like all that money that is needed to fund hobbies and dreams. I'm incredibly lucky and sometimes pinch myself to make sure I'm awake, because we are not only successful enough to both survive and reasonably enjoy life, but even though I'm unemployed, my hubby is not only successful at his job but also completely happy in his profession and company. I don't like being unemployed, and that's my main comment source about money--I am trying to reasonably set myself a budget in order to do as I really want to live (i.e. tomorrow if I decide that it's time to start sculpting the wood that's been sitting in my garage, I can just run out and get the knife I have been considering but haven't felt too strongly about... YET). Therefore, I'm trying to budget. It's really annoying and boring too sometimes, but I figure that maybe I'll actually learn that long-desired virtue of patience a little more.
I don't mean to be to long-winded, but just want to clarify my situation because your offer does mean a lot, and I want to make sure that someone who really would NEED it would get it. I am luckier than I have ever actually deserved right now, but I HAVE been in rough times, and those very dark times were sometimes saved by some kind stranger who helped me in some way.
