A Lesson in Making Do

I was bed-shopping yesterday. I need a new one in the worst way -- my 6 or 7 year old Serta "Perfect Sleeper" isn't so perfect at all, and I have been spending every night for the past 2 or so years waking up all night and in the morning, stiff and sore from lying in the gulleys of my too-soft mattress (I'm a back sleeper).

So off I went to Sleep Country and Mattress Mart to see what's available in a firm mattress, one that won't sag after a mere three years, which is when my Serta started to sag.

I learned a fair bit about pocket coil mattresses, depth of coil versus depth of foam padding (my current mattress has about 3.5 or so inches of padding, so it's no wonder it's sagged). There are two Kingsdown mattress sets I have my eye on (double--I want to downsize from the queen-sized I currently have), one at Sleep Country and one at Mattress Mart. They're both on sale, both comparably priced (both comparable beds), and both were so comfy...so comfy that my back was in heaven yesterday, testing them out. I really didn't want to get up. LOL.

But buying a mattress now would mean going further into debt, and while it's so very tempting, I just don't feel right doing that, am not easy in my mind about it. Maybe if I had a bit less debt...but frankly, I always will be in debt--as soon as I get out of it, I get into it again. It's just the way of things for many of us.

Instead, I switched my bed's mattress for the 9-inch futon mattress in the guest room. So the futon mattress is lying on the box spring, and any (rare) guest who overnights here can have my Serta. (The futon also is a queen-sized one, obviously.)

Ironically, I used to sleep on the futon but ended up getting the current bed because the futon mattress was too firm for my hips. LOL. So I'll see how long I can make do on it. It can't possibly be worse than the saggy mattress. And mattresses always are on sale. Perhaps I'll be able to get one if we ever get our "modest" wage increase, retroactive to 2010-11. (Staff at our university have had a wage freeze for two years, heading into a third now.)

On that topic, the new staff union and administration are "debating" the issue in advance of bargaining for a first collective agreement. Or were, before other negotiations took precedence. So it looks like staff get to "make do" with the same net pay for a third year, while both sides engage in a pissing contest. As grateful as I am to have a full-time job with decent benefits (and I don't take that for granted), I'm tired of and frustrated with the situation, with the "making do" when the cost of living has increased so much. And by the way, previous wage increases were about 1 to 1.25% per year, below even the cost of living. So it's not like I'm bitching because we haven't had a 6% increase in salary.

In fact, I was so annoyed that I sent an email off to the union last night, one that included the words "agendas," "egos," and "posturing" with reference to both sides. Hmm, it's a flip of a coin whether they respond to me. LOL.

Anyway, if ever the powers-that-be sort things out, perhaps I'll be able to get a new bed--and pay for it in cash. What a concept!  :-)

And in the meantime, I'll leave you with something a bit more uplifting than my grousing.

Snapped with the little Canon Elph last week.

Universal Blessings and Light to All Beings.