Waiting in line for a free bag of potatoes

I got a free bag of potatoes today. Yep, but it wasn't easy. Here's how it happened.

In the store's fruit and vegetable section, I saw a sale price of $2.99 for a ten pound bag of washed white potatoes, so I picked up a bag along with other items. While the cashier was totaling up the items, I noticed the monitor showed a price of $3.49 so I pointed out the mistake to her. She ran it through the scanner again, and sure enough it showed $3.49. She asked if I wanted the potatoes and I reluctantly said yes, but felt somewhat cheated, even if it was for only 50 cents. I began thinking that I had somehow made a mistake when I saw the sale sign, maybe picking up the wrong brand or it had been placed in the wrong section.

Now policy at the grocery store says if you are overcharged the price of a sale item, they will refund the full amount you paid for the item, in essence, getting the item for free. You see where I'm going with this now don't you?

So I lined up at the courtesy counter and waited while a couple of people were serviced. When I explained the situation to the young woman behind the counter, she asked for my receipt and to show her the front of the bag of potatoes. I showed her what I thought was the front (with the mesh see-through side) but she said to turn the bag around to the other side which had a lot more printing and graphics on it. She was somewhat abrupt and not overly friendly. I had a sense this wasn't going to be easy. Meanwhile I could hear the older man behind me grumbling under his breath as he waited for lotto tickets. I felt a little guilty making him wait, but this was the opportunity to get something free, and besides, how many other people had been "ripped off" even if it was unintentional. So I stood and waited as she paged the manager, who was having lunch. "I'm trying to get you a refund" she said, "but I have to have the manager sign this paper" holding up some type of standard exchange form. "I can refund the difference what you paid and the sale price" she said, which meant a whole 50 cent refund. I just looked at her disapprovingly, with a no thank you motion. What would you expect me to do after waiting in line for at least five minutes now.

I asked her if there was anyone else in the store that could sign the paper. She said, "No, the manager of that department has to sign it," she said insistently. I repeated my earlier statement almost word for word, "you mean there really isn't anyone else in the store who can sign this?" I was not believing it. She turned around to go back to the phone to page or phone somebody again but helped the man behind me, get his lotto tickets. By this time he was quite irritable, especially when she kept asking him redundant questions, like: "you want all the lines on the same ticket" she queried, and that will be $6.00 right?" He said yes, to each question, but in an unfriendly sarcastic tone.

Another customer behind him waited patiently, while talking to her male friend. She asked another cashier at the counter for a package of cigarettes. That's $10.16 the cashier replied, then went to opposite side of the courtesy desk to fetch the cigarettes. "I know she's going to ask for I.D." the young woman said, just loud enough for her friend and myself to hear. Sure enough, as soon as she had uttered the words, the cashier was back at the counter, asking for identification, while the young woman was already reaching for her wallet. I started wondering how anyone can afford to smoke at those prices. Then as she left, a man bought a carton of cigarettes. The package was covered in warning labels, boldly stating with words and graphics, the dangers of cigarette smoking. "The clerk quoted a figure of 88 dollars and change. Wow! I'm glad I'm not a smoker, or I'd have to give up food for that type of pleasure/addiction.


Well finally some good news. A manager showed up at the opposite side of the courtesy desk and signed the paperwork. I didn't have the courage to ask if this was the "only" manager in the store who could sign the official document, but it was looking good for the full refund now. The unfriendly cashier now asked the other cashier to help by counting the $3.49 change from the register, which she was happy to do. I quickly counted the coins in my hand and could see the amount wasn't right. There was less than three dollars. The unfriendly cashier stated that I was getting back what I paid, but she was preoccupied with filling out the form for which I was required to sign, state my address and phone number. It seemed more like privacy invasive for a simple exchange of a small amount of cash. I asked the cashier if I was supposed to get the full amount I paid and showed her the amount in my hand. "Give him a Loonie" (an often used term for a Canadian dollar coin with an engraving of a loon on the back, for those not familiar) she said emphatically. The other cashier was happy to oblige, and I was hoping this was just an honest mistake because it would not have been worth the entire episode without the full refund.

"Do you want the receipt?" the unfriendly one said. "Yes, I do" as I muttered something meaningless to justify the return of the receipt. We exchanged thank-yous as a formality and she lifted the bag without smiling and said "here's your potatoes" and quickly turned away. It might not have been worth the effort, but was fun writing about it. Maybe a baked potato sounds good for supper.

Another blog about knotting, err... I mean nothing

It's a sunny day and it's Friday, so it must be a great day. I was a little hard on marriage in yesterday's blog, so I'm hoping no one read it (unless they really really hate their marriage and enjoyed reading about their miserable life). Let's be positive today, since it is such a beautiful day outdoors (surely it's a wonderful day indoors too).

On a Friday its good to think about all the fun things going on this weekend. Hmmm,I wonder what kind of great(inexpensive) things there are to do. Since the weather is a little cooler, the idea of taking the bicycle out for a ride down the parkway sounds enjoyable and cheap and maybe I could take some photos along the river and post them on this blog or on FB.

There's an ice cream festival happening on Saturday at the Agriculture Museum on Prince of Wales Drive between the traffic circle and Baseline Rd. But that costs $7.00 for adults. Then's there's bus fair on top of that and maybe some kind of donation or fee for the ice cream.

Yep that's about it, not much of a happening weekend in the Capital, well at least not without me using quite a bit more energy to find freebies.

This is a blog about nothing (not to be confused with a blog about knotting)

Since this blog is an excellent example of how both the author and reader can waste their valuable time, it serves very little use. This is why I have come to the decision to write here more often. It's a blog about nothing (but aren't most of them?), however, rambling on about nothing is a great way to express oneself and not worry about sounding like a professional writer or somebody important.

Well let's get started about today's events. I made a taco for lunch with re-fried beans, old cheddar cheese and salsa on pita bread. Slightly heated in the microwave and then a few bits of leaf lettuce tossed on top.

Sounds like the world is still in a mess. Gays and straights fighting in California for the right or not the right to marry. Well if they really stopped and realized how ugly marriage is, they'd probably reconsider their stand on the subject. Why two people have to commit their souls to each other because of their own insecurities and then suffer for most of the rest of their life is sad. Marriage is an old tradition and the majority of people want to keep its sanctity. Yet, the world is changing. People are exposed to more temptations, material possessions, pornography, and probably a lot of other things that our grand parents never were aware of. Marriage shouldn't be thought of as a happy ever after state, because it never is. The reality is people don't change for the better after they're married, they become themselves and likely get worse with age and just put up with each other's annoying personalities and habits.

For all those getting married this week: Congratulations have a happy life, and please disregard everything you read here (and don't make me say I told you so).

Cheaters Repent!

Yesterday, Jesse James apologized for cheating on his wife, Sandra Bullock. Today I heard the Bounty Hunter, Duane “Dog” Chapman, admit in a radio interview he had fooled around on his wife. "But not lately" he said. That’s reassuring.

Do you think Tiger Woods is feeling a little relieved hearing these celebrity confessions? Perhaps Wood’s recent public apology has prompted more men (and some women too) to fess up to their indiscretions. This could be the start of a clear your conscience fad. Confess all your sex sins while it’s trendy! Oh please don’t let this catch on: we’ve heard enough about your personal problems already.

It’s not even news anymore when you hear of a celebrity or politician cheating on their spouse. It’s pretty much expected, and has lost any shock value. Before long, being unfaithful will be acceptable like “Okay, go have your fling, and get it over with, you were going to do it anyway! But just remember mister, you’re going to pay for it, big time! Men will start overhearing their wives saying :“Hmm, this diamond looked bigger when he bought it and where did I put that Gucci catalogue.”

Congratulations on winning the Oscar for the best waste of 3 hours + of my life

We are going to see some happy faces tonight at the Academy awards, when Oscars are handed out to all the winners. A number of actors will be beaming with pride and shedding tears of joy and appreciation, while thanking their family, supporters and God (yes, God really did want you to win that Oscar, so he pulled a few strings). But sadly as we know, there will be many times more actors, directors etc. who will have to settle for the biggest loser category. Naturally they'll put on a brave smiling face while pretending to show support for the winner of their category. That is all part of acting experience, but we know in our hearts they are human, like ourselves, who are envious, greedy and very competitive. Hey, it's part of this dog eat cat world, but that's another issue.

So it's very competitive , this Hollywood acting business, and having an Oscar is like having Tiger Wood's stature as a pro athlete (that may not be the best analogy these days in retrospect) . An Oscar may not guarantee an actor more film roles, but it won't count against them either, unless producers are worried about having to pay their Oscar winning star in sacks of gold.

Well I'm tuning into the the big event tonight to check out the main attaction: Which is of course, Steve Martin and Alex Balwin portraying, two wild and crazy kind of guy co-hosts. And good luck to all the nominees and congratulations to all the losers, who will smile bravely in defeat. You deserve an award for that performance. Maybe the award show should take a page out of the Olympics book and give a silver and bronze Oscar to the runners-up. Now that would be worth staying up for.

Excitement grows as Oscars only weeks, oh! only hours away

Since I haven't seen any films this year, it is going to be difficult to predict any Academy award winners. I've heard Avatar has a good chance since it was a big box office winner. Money matters in Tinsel Town, so it could pull off the best picture. Actually I don't care. I really don't care, plus I don't even know the names of so many actors ( exception being the chick from Alien's) and I'm quickly losing interest in Hollywood. Why do we care about these people. Are our lives that meaningless that we have to covet these bigger than life stars? Time for a reality check, and then to get a life.

Come on people, start cherishing your family, your kids, your spouse or partner, your parents and your friends. Entertainers are simply that: they are only there to serve their own best interests and couldn't give a rat's ass about you. So stop with the oogling will you, and look around at your family: these are the people that matter to you, right? Okay, that's my sermon for today.

Gordon Lightfoot surprises everyone anouncing he's still alive

Life long fans of Canadian singer songwriter Gordon Lightfoot were shocked to hear today that the legendary folk singer is still alive. Internet rumours he had suddenly died brought widespread sadness and confusion across the nation, hurling the popular Lightfoot back into the spotlight. Blogs and news rooms across the country have been buzzing. Although the news of his death was most likely a cruel prank, the attention it has drawn is small in comparison to the number of fans who were shocked to hear he was still among the living. "This is unbelievable, I had no idea he was still with us!" said one joy filled fan "I thought for sure he had died years ago." Another self confessed former groupie uttered: "This is fantastic news and as soon as I get my hair permed I'm dusting off my albums and listening to 'If you could read my mind', over and over again."

Lightfoot took the prank in stride saying he was in good health and hasn't had so much air play in years. "This rumour is great for music sales but I wish someone had pulled it off years ago while most of my fans were still alive."

Stop worrying, it's not in the news

Like the old saying says: "Two heads are better than one" I'd like to think that a short blog is better than no blog at all. That's why I'm writing this at a ridiculous hour of the night (after 3:00 a.m.) and hoping at least one good thing can come out of this excrement (wish I could have thought of a better term to use) of words.

With negative news stories dominating the headlines, like the "exploding underwear airline passenger" Somali pirates, Tiger Wood's transgressions, John and Kate's dog and cat fight and nasty breakup, there sure doesn't seem to be much in the way of good news lately, is there?

Then it came to me. I haven't heard any bad news recently about deaths or serious sickness from the H1N1 flu virus. Does this mean it has disappeared? Has it been eradicated? Are we all safe now to remove our protective masks and can we shake hands once again? I'm tired of not knowing whether it's okay to shake someone's hand, or give them a non contaminating greeting. Maybe I'm being a little too optimistic here, but I'm hoping that the world has defeated the ugly swine flu bug and once again mankind is safe from extinction. However, I'm still a little afraid of reading tomorrow's headlines.

Back to work and I love my job: when's the next holiday?

Hopefully you had a great Christmas/New Year holiday break from the old grind. With most employees heading back to work , the Christmas holidays are beginning to seem like a fleeting memory. Wow, the time flies by fast during the holidays! I don't know which seems to go by faster: the actual holidays or the weeks of shopping days left before the holidays. Deep penetrating thoughts.


And I wonder how many people are really looking forward to getting back on the job? I expect not many. But how many are looking ahead to their next paid holiday. I expect it's crossed almost everyone's mind by now. Here in Ontario, the next paid holiday will be "Family Day" which falls on Monday February 15th, 2010 which is only just over a month away. Let's just see how fast the time flies until then...

Okay El Nino, you’re just screwing with me now!

I probably shouldn't write a blog at 3:00 a.m. This is what happens when I'm tired and grumpy:

Every year that I can remember having an El Nino weather effect, it was warm here in Canada. So what's the deal with this bitter cold fall/winter so far? Freezing my buttocks off is not how I envisioned this season. I expected at least a few days with warm, mind comfortable short sleeve weather.

And what do you have to say: Mr. Al-Gorebal Warming. What’s up with this lasting cold spell? I don’t mind choking on gas fumes if you can promise me a warm cozy winter. I believe in climate change, but it should be working in our favour. It’s supposed to be warmer now, isn’t it? I’m beginning to hallucinate that I’m stranded on a desert island in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, but in reality, I’m completely surrounded by huge banks of snow. How long do you expect us to hold out? And yes, I’m referring to all of us forgotten Canadians who have to suffer year after year, pretending to love the great outdoors in the winter, when really we hate it. Hate it I tell you! Can’t stand it much longer! I want answers! I want the truth! I can’t handle the truth!

New Year's Resolutions for 2010 and beyond

It's always been fun making NYR's (not New York Rangers BTW), thinking and believing that somehow you will change a habit or become a better person by practicing mind control. The problem is New Year's resolutions are intended to last forever, when you commit yourself to making them. There's a lot of pressure when you commit to a promise that is supposed to last forever. Just look at the last time you got married. Scary huh?

Maybe we should only make New Year's resolutions for the first month of the new year, or maybe the first week, or even for one day. That way if you can keep your promise for a whole day, then you can build self esteem and possibly go for two days, or three, and maybe even a week before reverting back to your old ways.

What ever your 2010 resolutions are, I wish you good luck in keeping them. And if for some reason you aren't successful, don't worry, you only have to wait until next year to try again.

Happy Two Thousand Ten or Tripple T or even better "T3"

Welcome to the future. We have arrived in a new year and decade. Have you thought whether the next ten years can be worse than the last ten? It's probably likely considering the poor state of the economy, and the negative ectoplasm that has existed ever since 2001. Maybe another Ghostbusters movie might bring us out of the doldrums and help turn things around.

I sure hope we can get rid of all the political ill will that exists, but somehow I also know that's impossible. Maybe someday people will wake up and realize that government can't solve social issues. They can make rules and pass laws and spend our money, and give us something to argue and complain about, but they can't really make life better for the average person. I suppose I wouldn't be saying that, if I had a good paying, cushy government job, would I? Probably not. But since I don't, I'm going to stick to my original comment that the government is full of mostly inept bumbling boobs. I said mostly bumbling boobs, as the law of averages states that there must be at least one intelligent being who knows how to run a country. However, I can't afford to chance making a wager on it.