The kibbutz as an organization tries its best to make life convenient and commodious. One way it does this is to bring in suppliers of goods and services for the members to buy at discount prices. This saves the need to shlep to town and pay full market price while making it possible to survive on a meager kibbutz budget. Every couple of months the dining hall becomes the scene of a clothing or shoe fair, and sometimes there’s something like jewelry or Tupperware.
They usually give you enough advanced warning to consider your options. Do I really need another pair of purple Crocs? But this Thursday I was caught unawares. I walked in to visit my mailbox and there was a display of big-ticket items: refrigerators, dishwashers, microwaves, LCD televisions. I was stunned. You mean we can buy this stuff?
As it happens, my tv is not so old. Why do I say that? Because I can remember buying it. So it can’t be more than 11 or 12, but it has been showing signs of fatigue. A year and a half ago I actually had to send it away for repair, leaving me to cope with separation anxiety for a full week. Now it shows symptoms of jaundice when I turn it on although this usually disappears after an hour or so. Given this and the fact that beautiful flat-screens have lately achieved affordability, I had decided to buy one probably next summer.
What should I do? Wait as I had planned and hunt around the stores until I find the best tv and negotiate the price/installation/delivery fees by myself, or take the kibbutz-negotiated deal now? Of course I opted for now. I don’t yet know when it will be delivered, but I am already anticipating the hours of couch-potato heaven in front of my new, big LCD. I just hope there’ll be something worth watching.
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