curbside shopping

in my second-hand life, i have often read about "dumpster diving" (or "skipping" as it is called in the UK) a LOT of times. in highly-developed countries, there is a lot of excesses not just in things but also in food as well. in the US, a lot of socially-conscious individuals and groups have taken their causes one step up by recovering perfectly functional things (i.e. furniture, appliances, decorative items, paintings, etc.) and foodstuff (i.e. restaurants, food stores, groceries, etc. throw away a lot of good food at the end of the day) from the dumpster (insert gasp here for those who are repulsed by the idea) by recovering them for themselves, sharing them with others and/or giving them to shelters and halfway houses for people who need them the most. this inspired the movement "freeganism" which is an "anti-consumerist lifestyle where people find alternative living strategies", according to wikipedia.

when i was living in Singapore, a saturday morning would be shattered by the familiar honking call of the "karungguni". a "karungguni" is a modern-day collector of unwanted items that visit each and every house in an HDB (which stands for Housing Development Board, a Singapore government housing agency). albeit with a more personalized service, the "karungguni" has a lot more in common with the dumpster diver than you might think.

what a lengthy introduction to an otherwise small post! but anyway, i am not in any way a "freegan" nor a dumpster diver nor a "karungguni" but i just want to share with you what i found in one of the dumpsters here in Gib! (insert gasp here because you are of the mindset that no one in their right mind would do this in Gib except the Moroccans!). even the mister was cringe-ing when i nonchalantly picked these two from the humongous dumpster.

now, before you mentally cross me off your friends' list in Facebook because i pick things up from the dumpster (after i extolled the virtues of it!) let me elaborate on how i "picked" these perfectly beautiful picture frames out of the "skip". first off, (1) i have never given a rat's ass about other people's opinion of me nor will i start now(this gives me complete freedom in everything i do), (2) i did it in 2 seconds flat! subtlety and discretion is the key :) (3) smile and act as if its the most natural thing to do in the world :D i am just happy that i did something good for Mother Earth. and oh, yes i already have a wonderful DIY project in mind for these lovelies!