Ok, the first thing I am going to say today is sort of a public service announcement.  Apparently most of the Grocery stores in Canada (or perhaps all) as well as many retail stores have signed up for a voluntary agreement. The agreement says that if you are at the cash and the scanner comes up with a price that disagrees with a posted, sale or advertised price then they may have to give it to you free.  If it is under $10, totally free, over $10, then $10 off.  There are some caveats and etc but that is the basis of it. 

   Given that most stores aren’t going to volunteer to give you free stuff, you often have to ask for it but that isn’t supposed to be a requirement.  But just ask. 

    Anyways, I thought this was pretty cool.  And kinda sad that already stores are doing their best to get around it.  Below is a link to the site with the rules and another link to a CBC Early Edition interview that told me about it that I quite liked.

http://www.retailcouncil.org/govrelations/federal/scanner_accuracy02_eng.asp

http://vancouver.cbc.ca/earlyedition/ram/20020703Eewed.ram

Now for something completely different.  Or more accurately something completely more important. Or at least, now for something about me.

    So, I am shy. No really, it’s true. I’m shy.  Most of you know this, most of you have read at least part of the challenge.  I think I may have talked once before about how, while I am shy I have the power not to be and that I have a lot of trouble convincing people that this is true.  Or at least it seems that way.
   And after last night, I guess I kind have to agree with, or at least understand the people who don’t believe me, a little better.  Last night I started my pottery throwing class (I didn’t learn last night why putting clay on a wheel and nudging it into being a vase or bowl or something is called throwing, maybe next time).  It’s a small class with about 8 people in it plus the teacher.  Other than my friend G they are all women of a range of ages.  Within moments, without trying or asking myself I had become the class clown.
   Well, I wasn’t juggling but I was making light, making jokes and making people laugh.  I had everyone talking within a few moments and we were already a close-knit bunch by the end.  You can’t really call that a shy person can you?  I mean I grant you that everyone was relatively sociable and we would have got there, but I just slid right in, like I was a fish and it was water. (or rather I guess fish don’t really slide into water, they slide through it, how about I was an otter and I slid into the water).  I guess that a lot of the time I do this, I do it naturally, instinctively.  You can’t fault that so much I guess.  It’d sure be nice if I was this adept, charming and at ease when I was interested in a woman.  If this ability was around more than just when I am in a situation where I need to have it to get along.

   There was another example last week as well.  When the Norwegians were here they tried to hook up with some other friends.  One of them was a guy who had started at Queens at the same time as I did, in the same faculty even.  I had never met him and did it on this evening at dinner.  We did ok, got along and etc.  A couple of hours later, we meet up with another friend of the Norwegians.  Another person I had never met.  I quite liked her and we got along quite well also (why is it that the women I like right off are always married or attached?). 
   Anyways, later in the evening, after the norwegians were so zonked that they couldn't talk anymore, after the first new person had gone home and she and i were talking up a storm, even though she kept telling me that she needed to go home.  At one point she mentioned something that made me say that i had only met the other new guy this evening.  She was quite surprised, she had thought that i had known him for years.  Perhaps i am also capable of instant rapport, or something like that.
   You learn something new every day, some days, two things.

   Yeah, so, so far i suck at pottery.  I am not even remotely as patient as i need to be but more importantly, i don't' seem to be able to visualize in a way that i need to.  Or maybe it is that i don't seem to be able to reconcile vision with skill and patience. I am not sure.  All i know is that when i start working the clay, i have no idea what it is going to be, what it wants to be, should be, or whatever. 
   Perhaps more training, more practice, whatever, will make it so.  Perhaps the fact that it is so easy for me to visualize my jewellery and wire sculpture has spoiled me. Perhaps.  I don't know, it's not like i was instantly skilled in wire either, i learned and got better as i went.  Thing was, with wire i always knew what i wanted to build, and if the wire or whatever decided it needed to go in a different way, i could evolve with it.  This is not the case with clay.
   Damn clay, doing what it wants.  And i can't see what it wants, or what i want. 

   I'm not discouraged yet though.  Maybe next class, or the one after.
maybe.  Of course, the fact that every single person had a better looking first effort than i....ah well.

   Have a good evening.

oh yeah, happy country type birthday any 'mericans out there.