Safeway lines are BARTER HEAVEN

Last night, around 1:30 am, Safeway was bustling with activity (and beautiful gay couples but that is beside the point).  There were only 3 checkers to manage all of the demand; the lines were a doozy.  And then I decided to make my 2nd barter of the day. And then my 34d. 4th. and 5th.  You should be proud of me.

1st barter of the day was a bit earlier at a Frozen Yogurt place on Market.  I bartered a BIC pen (only half as cool as Tessa's).

2nd barter. Safeway.  The couple behind me in line.  An orange caravener.  I thought it was quite the barter.

3rd barter. A small black Bic lighter (which could be invaluable on a night when people are out and about).

4th barter. A larger, baby blue Bic lighter with more fuel. 

5th barter. A large ORANGE Bic lighter (way cooler than the baby blue one, he assured me)

6th and my final barter for the night. A 7/8 full bottle of antibacterial hand sanitizer.  

My friend commented that I now need to start prodding people to take me to the next level of bartering.  Either way, I think the house is on the way.

Resurrected from the dead

I know I am little on tardy on my posts however i am not the most blogger savy human. I have now figured out how to post me and my sweet rubber band onto this site with the help of Lex who flew out from California to show me how to do it. That is how important Barter Babezz is to us. On behalf of both of us, we are writing to you with a renewed committment to this extremely important endeavor. We will from now on put forth our efforts to barter the best of our ability. Our ambitions start today. Once again, good luck to you all and we'll recovene in the new house.

Yours Truly,

Marybeth and Alexis

i'm on a roll

So I finally remembered to try to barter last night and I traded the bartender my rubber band for this pen!  And this is not just any pen.  It is Pilot Precise V5 Extra Fine and it is purple.  The bartender guessed immediately that it was for a competition.  And then he said that when he was in what he called a "Bigger and Better" competition in high school, they eventually got a school bus.  I think the major difference though is that he was on a team and they told people it was a competition.  What we are doing is much more hardcore.

Resurrection

Thanks for that post, Alisa.  Although I am yet to barter, I am no less committed to the project.  I do think we could consider allowing people to know it's a competition . . . I think that would make it easier.  Granted, I haven't even tried so I should wait and see how it goes.

And "Barter Babezz: The Resurrection" is a great movie sequel title.

Surprise!

I bet you all would have NEVER envisioned this post.  The Barter Babezz are dying and I think we need an immediate RESURRECTION.

And, in honor of Mother's Day (I am sure you can draw the direct correlation yourselves), I figured I would send out this note and say that it is well past time to begin (or, in case you have begun, post).  By June 15, 2009, I expect to see some bartering.  With the economy the way it is, I believe that I can safely assume that the Barter Babezz' (I know it Babezz does not end in s, but I think this is appropriate) mission is even more necessary (and appreciated).

I am re-evaluating my Barter Babezz status, and I think you all should too.

My Little Rubber Soul

I've been wearing this rubber band around my wrist for the past few days trying to remember to take a photo of it and now I'm feeling kind of attached to it.  Like, I think this might be a really special rubber band with it's own special little rubber soul.  And I suddenly understand how the Beatles came up with that album title.

Will the next owner understand how special this band is?  

Bartering is hard.

and i am off...

tessa, this face is for you.

craziness

sorry everyone i have been a little behind on writing posts but i have been keeping up to date. still trying to work with this blog thing but i think im getting the hang of it. so ive been trying a little not with the best luck yet but i feel this week might turn out better than last. hope everyone is doing well!

Mo' money mo' problems. Mo' bartering, mo' love. 

this face and this rubberband were born ready.

Greetings earthlings.
Lets get bartering. I concur with February 4th as the start date. Also, I think we should have frequent postings of barter babe experiences a. so we can know where the competition is at b. so that we can hear all of the glorious and awkward and whatever encounters and c. because I just really like you guys and want to hear what you are up to in your bartering lives. With pictures too, especially if you get a house...I want to see what my room looks like.

Peace, love, bartering,
Annie

P.S. sorry I invited my Ghana blog into this group. Don't worry, it won't tell anyone what we are doing. I'm not really sure how that happened and I'm not really sure how to take it off, I'm trying though.

Looky here...

Guess what I just found?

The rules that we drafted together have re-surfaced.  Here they are (fresh out of our minds in March):

start 1/4  finish 7/4 (so maybe we should now start 2/4)

rules: 

-no pity bartering (don't let people know it is a competition)

-24 hours from the initial meeting that barter has to be completed (i would advocate a little -flexibility on this rule, but that might just be me)

-if anyone gets a house, we share it

-if anyone breaks a rule- hir eye will be popped out with a finger (mary beth, you are only cheating yourself)

-no practicing or pre-emptive agreements

It's On

So here it is:

We each start with a regular-sized (ie could also double over as a hair tie) rubber band.  We then shall attempt to barter with any new person (new person=someone you have never met before, only met once before, or just someone that you honestly could say that you don't know the name of...something along that line, at least).  The only other rule is that you never disclose that this is a competition (I remember creating this rule before BUT I do think we would be more likely- or should I say certain- to get a home if they believed we were in competition)...thoughts?

I agree with Emory- or was it Alexis?- let's start on February 1st.  End date?  Maybe 6 months? 

Also, I think each one of us needs to post on the blog at least once before the February 1st date, just so we know that we are all in this together.

I think we are ready.  

Greetings to all babezz of the bartering. it is so great that we are all reconnected once again.  I think we all agreed on starting with a rubberband because we didn't want to be complete copycats of the other guy. We can't barter with anyone we are friends with. However, i can't remember if we said we could barter with people we have only met once.  We can't exchange for any money.  Can we use online sources? i think so.  

le rulez

yezzzz. marybeth and i were just on the bus trying to think up any rules we could remember. and let me tell you, we are both ready to dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to this year of the barter.
we couldn't remember what we were going to start with--a paperclip? a rubberband? we did remember that you're not allowed to tell anyone its a competition, just that you're doing some good ol' friendly bartering.
do we have an official kick-off and/or end date? im so ready to annihilate.

Let's get this started

Welcome. Welcome. Welcome.  Prepare to accept defeat.  I have been dreaming of this moment for months, years, milleniums....

The Barter Babezz Challenge is on.  

Now that I got that out of the way, I will disclose a little secret to you.  I think I lost all of the rules.  Granted, I havent really searched for them (I thought I was all organized and that I sent myself an email (back in March) detailing all the rules for the Barter Babezz (also, I am not sure how to spell that....but this will work, right?!) but I could not find it...so yeah, I searched a bit....maybe I wrote the rules in my journal but that has mysteriously disappeared)...

Anyways, I thought we could each throw out any ideas that we remember.  And then we will create an official rules sheet- and live by those principles.  

Okay, there is a start.

I love you all.