For a good portion of my working life, I was a temporary secretary (*koff*administrativeassistant*koff*). I was almost always given the crappiest desk in the office, which would invariably be a Hon steel desk with a massive surface. Over the years of looking for a decent desk for home use, I came to appreciate and yes, even love these desks.

Space–lots of it–a convenient “belly drawer,” drawers and slots for every single thing you could ever wish to have handy. But the price! I could buy a 1972 VW Superbeetle with floorpan intact for the price of one of these things. (Oh, wait. I did.)

So today, continuing with my frugality schema (notwithstanding the $40 I spent at Hobby Lobby on curtain fabric and frills for my daughter’s room), the lot of us trooped into the Salvation Army store to look for clothes. Well, lemme tell ya–if most of those prices are representative, I’d just as soon get brand new at Wal-Mart for only pennies more. BUT.

I found my dream desk. It’s a Hon steel desk, not like the one above. It’s older, therefore, bigger, with a metal mail sorting hutch and 6 drawers (3 on the left, 2 on the right–one’s a file drawer–and a belly drawer in the middle). It was dusty and a yucky color, but no visible dents, rust spots, or chips in the laminate.

I was almost afraid to look at the price tag, and when I did, I gasped.

Now, far be it from me to pass up a chance to negotiate a price, even an indecently low one such as $49.99 for a desk that retails anywhere between $800 and $1000 (the one linked above is the closest, but much smaller with no hutch and no belly drawer). I ended up paying $39.99 for a desk I only ever dreamed about owning.

Now all I gotta do is take my trusty palm sander to the thing, spray a coat of primer or 4, then paint it black to match my precious Hon filing cabinet. Praise be to Krylon!

And, I figure, even if I don’t like it, I can sell it for at least twice what I paid through a private ad or a garage sale. It’s a HON!

Now I have to find a way to get it home.