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Aug
18
In a Pickle
Filed Under Life | Leave a Comment
A company whose franchise is a local eatery, The Spicy Pickle, recently made a change in its customer loyalty program. Previously, when a customer purchased 10 of its sandwiches and recorded said purchases on a loyalty card, the customer would receive a voucher for a free sandwich.
No need to know who the customer was (though local management does know who this customer is, as I am there frequently and not ashamed to tell friends and acquaintances that the sandwiches are worth the slight premium over standard fast food) or where he lives, or when his birthday might be.
However, this last week, I arrived with my order (and another one for a coworker) only to be told that my loyalty card with 9 sandwiches on it would no longer be honored, by direction from the head office. The manager understood my disappointment at being told the news and I was authorized to have some free chips to offset the pain of the disclosure.
I was then informed that I could sign up for the new program (did I mention that the old program didn’t even have a sign-up process?) by going to the website and filling out my name, birthday, address, and similar data.
I want sandwiches. Not a relationship. Ah, well. Maybe I need to take out an advertisement:
Man desires regular lunch engagements with a quality sandwich. Fried and hot sandwiches may apply, but preference will be given to classic cold-cut subs. All applications must be accompanied by samples. No samples will be returned. Not interested in LTR, but could be convinced that something is worth sticking around for if the taste is right.
Did I mention that I’m no longer a VIP (very important pickle)? I’ll still enjoy the food from time to time, but not like I used to.
Jul
31
Deceive Me, Please
Filed Under Life | Leave a Comment
It’s been years since I read The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli. (In fact, I don’t know that I had read the whole of it previously.) I find the following observation pertinent to the present day in more ways than I could probably enumerate:
But it is necessary to know well how to disguise this characteristic and to be a great pretender and dissembler; and men are so simple and so subject to present necessities, that he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived.
Jul
29
Miss Summer
Filed Under Life | Leave a Comment
I miss the summers of my younger days (say the ones from when I was about 5 to about 15). August is literally around the corner and I’m not sure what happened. Dare I mention that a few weeks ago, I was wondering if the corn would fully mature before frost and now I’m not sure exactly why the stuff is taller than I am?
I wonder if my children will even know it as I did, or will summer just be another time of year for them? After all, as North American society maintains less of a direct and obvious relationships with the planting and harvesting seasons, and as classes can be taken in semesters, or quarters, or whenever (via distance learning) will it even matter?
That’s what I get for thinking too much on a hot, close Tuesday evening near the end of July. But then, I could blame No. 3 for keeping me up for almost 2 hrs early this morning. Hmm.
Jul
14
Legal Visitors
Filed Under Legal, Life | Leave a Comment
Heard from a friend today whose family has had a horrible time trying to get an aunt to visit from one of the former members of the Soviet Union. My friend and her family are all naturalized US citizens (and have been for many years), but apparently the aunt spent more money than she could afford while trying to get a visa from the US Embassy, only to be told that she does not meet the criteria for approval of a visa.
I must confess that I do not know all the details of the situation (and am somewhat biased in my friend’s direction). However, I find it more than passing strange that someone who would like to legally visit family would be denied access while many people who have chosen (supported by more convenient geography) to visit without permission are denied practically none of the privileges of citizenship.
The matter seems to require a bit of looking into.
Jun
25
Q2 Food Costs Update
Filed Under Finance | Leave a Comment
Following up from last quarter, I have this quarter’s results (even though its a few days from the end of the quarter, I do not expect additional food charges).
2007
April : 649.48
May : 600.34
June : 555.88
2008
April : 480.11
May : 541.90
June : 422.43
Some observations: May was higher both years because that is when my parents visited. However, the average cost was reduced by 120$ per month from last year to this year within the second quarter. Remarkable, especially considering how much more food has gone up in price over the last 3 months. And, despite spending more this quarter on average per month than the previous quarter (481$ vs 391$ per month) we are still within budget for this year. It will be interesting to see what effect, if it is measurable, the garden will have in the upcoming quarter.
Jun
4
Light Living
Filed Under Clutter | Leave a Comment
Some excellent information on making it simpler from Dumb Little Man. I particularly like No. 4.
A place for everything. Related to the above tip is to have a place for each item in your life. Where do your car keys go? You should have one place for them (next to the door is best) and you’ll never lose them again. Where do your pens go? How about your magazines? I teach my kids to find a “home” for every toy or other item in their rooms (even still, their toys are mostly homeless wanderers, but they’re kids) and that’s a concept that works for us grown-ups too: each item should have a home, and if it doesn’t, we need to designate one. Labels can help you remember where those homes are. Now, if you find something on your table or counter top or on you bed or on your desk, you know that it doesn’t belong there. Find its home — don’t just toss something anywhere. The same concept applies to information: do you have one place where you put all your information? If not, try a personal wiki — it’s accessible from work and home, and you can create pages for each type of information in your life — schedules, goals, to-dos, movies to watch, books to read, notes on projects, etc.
We try to do the kid part of this ourselves, only to run into the limit of their understanding. However, if I am more consistent in following this as a parent, I’ve little question that my children will better understand the importance of what they do.
Apr
30
Service Falls
Filed Under Finance, Life | Leave a Comment
I use a dry-cleaner from time to time for slacks and sport jackets (and a few non-wet-wash outfits my wife wears). Recently, I took two pair of slacks in and returned to pick them up 2 days later, as agreed. They were ready and the damage was a little over 10$ since I was a special class of customer.
When I picked up my cleaned slacks, I dropped off two more pair (so as to have all my regular work wardrobe freshly cleaned and creased). Two days later, I picked up the second set of slacks. They were ready on time. The damage was a little over 12$ this time. Surprised, I said something about a price hike and was told by the clerk (same person each time) that no, the price was correct. I was then requested to pay for them, which I did. After paying, I received a receipt which, upon examination, did not include my special customer discount.
Upon mentioning this to the clerk, the person looked at my account and said something like “Oh, that isn’t on there anymore. I guess we’ll have to put it back.” No offer to refund my 2$ was forthcoming.
I left the establishment. I’ll not be returning (for my 2$ or anything else).