Does your manager know you do that?

I went to one of our local Barnes & Noble stores today looking for a book that was recommended to me but I couldn’t remember the whole title or the author’s full name.

So after a while of perusing the shelves on my own with no luck, I finally broke down and went to ask for help.

Now, I work at a library and I know what it’s like to be asked to help find an item when the patron can barely remember the subject matter much less the title or the author’s name.

It went something like this:

Me: I work at a library so I know what it’s like to get vague request for items when the person can’t remember the title but…

Clerk: (blank stare)

Me: I’m looking for “Reinventing Yourself” or something like that and the author’s last name is Young. Sorry, that’s all I can remember.

Clerk: (blank stare)

He then proceeds to log onto Amazon.com to do a title\author search.

WHAT?!?!

I could have sworn I heard a needle drag across a LP and then nothing but crickets. I almost ran outside to read the sign on the building to make sure which store I was really in.

After locating the correct title and verifying it with me, he then logged on to B&N to check their inventory.

Clerk: We currently do not have the item but I can have one held for you.

Me: Can I just go online and order it myself?

Clerk: Yes

Me: Thanks

So I went out and got in the car, move it to a spot close to the building so I could connect to B&N’s wi-fi, turned on my Kindle and logged into Amazon.com and ordered the book.

It should be delivered to my house in 2 days with free shipping.

Hey, if it’s good enough for Barnes and Noble, it’s good enough for me.

 

 

While writing this I was listening to "Hopeless" from "Drops of Jupiter" by "Train"

Scruples Question #5

 

Sure I would.

It’s the year 2012.

Where else are you going to find a cassette player now days.

And $20 is a great price.

And just because it’s a street vendor doesn’t mean it’s stolen.

And we should support local businesses, right?

 

Disclaimer

The game, A Question of Scruples is owned and copyrighted by High Game Enterprises. All questions posted here are from the 1986 version of the game which was copyrighted by the Milton Bradley Co. (now Hasbro).

I have no official ties to High Game Enterprises or Hasbro and I am not receiving any compensation for these posts.

My only hope is that they have a sense of humor and don’t sue my ass over this.

See definition of sarcasm here.

 

 

While writing this I was listening to "Say What!" from "Live at Montreux 1982 & 1985 Disc 2" by "Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble"

Looking forward to 2012…More or Less

Ok, here are my hopes, dreams and (cough,cough) resolutions for 2012.

I hope the Mayans were wrong.

The motto, Be Positive – Be Healthy – Be Active, stays for another year.

I mean really, how can I not strive for those things.

And instead of hard fast resolutions I’m taking the easy (chickensh*t) way out this year. I’m giving myself a little breathing room and taking some baby steps.

So here we go:

1. Less elevators – It’s probably the only exercise I’ll get this year unless Evelyn succeeds in getting me back into a gym.

2. Less sweets – They’re a weakness and I probably need a 12 step program to kick the habit because going cold turkey just ain’t happening.

3. Less fast food – it’s pretty obvious why. You drive there in a car, you order from the car, you eat in the car. All calorie intake with absolutely no output. Plus, I always order the large soda which is no less than 32oz or pure sugar and corn syrup. Can you say “Hello there diabetes”?

4. Less web surfing – I can spend hours at a time surfing the web. Just senseless, mind numbing, non productive surfing. I’ll still peruse Facebook and keep up on some of my favorite blogs but just less often. This past week I have already cancelled at least a dozen email subscriptions. 

5. More writing\blogging – In my mind I have always imagined myself being a writer of some sort. In reality? Not so much. I enjoy this blog and really need to contribute more. I know some of my posts can be a little darker in tone than I really intend them to be but I’m working on that.

6. Less procrastination – I need to do this in every aspect of my life but I’m really thinking about the writing part of my resolutions on this one. I have had several ideas for the blog this past year that I have either forgotten to write down or waited so long that the subject was out dated and no longer relevant.

7. More photography – This is one thing I truly love doing and I’m pretty good at it as well. I enjoy outdoor photography more than anything else so I plan on dusting off the camera and taking more road trips and hikes in the coming year. I also plan on posting more photos on line.

8. Reengage – Over the last year or so I have really disengaged from life and those in my life. I plan on reconciling that this year. I think that will be the best gift I can give Evelyn for our 30th wedding anniversary this year. Oh yeah, and that cruise she’s wanted to go on for the last 25 years.

 

Ok, so that’s that.

I want to leave you with one of my favorite quotes. I have used it for years to gauge where I am in my life.

 

The Good Life
Living in the place you belong,
With the people you love,
Doing the right work,
On purpose.

(from: Repacking Your Bags: Lighten Your Load for the Rest of Your Life by Richard J. Leider and David A. Shapiro)

 

 

 

While writing this I was listening to "Love Spoken Here" from "Mitakuye Oyasin Oyasin/All My Relations" by "The Neville Brothers"

Looking back on 2011

My motto for the last 2 years has been “Be Positive – Be Healthy – Be Active”.

How did that go?

Fail-Fail-Fail.

But hey, there’s always next year.

How did I do on last year’s resolutions (or rules as I called them)?

No elevators – fail

No sweets – fail

Drink more water & less soft drinks – fail

Less drama – fail

 

I think I’m in trouble here.

 

 

While writing this I was listening to "Falling" from "Falling - Discovery Download" by "Iration"

Books I Read In 2011

1. 2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut Jr
2. A Box of Matches by Nicholson Baker
3. A Piggly Wiggly Christmas by Rob Dalby
4. A Piggly Wiggly Wedding by Robert Dalby
5. A Special Place: The Heart of a Dark Matter by Peter Straub
6. After the Thin Man: Classic Movies on the Radio by Lux Radio Theatre, William Powell and Myrna Loy (Audio)
7. All Facts Considered: The Essential Library of Inessential Knowledge by Kee Malesky
8. An Amish Portrait: Song of a People by Merle Good
9. An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England by Brock Clarke (Audio)
10. Big Appetite: My Southern-Fried Search for the Meaning of Life by Sam McLeod
11. By Tobias Wolff: The Barracks Thief
12. F**k It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way by John C. Parkin
13. Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach and Ricardo Cortés
14. Go with Me: A Novel by Castle Freeman
15. God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian by Kurt Vonnegut and Neil Gaiman
16. Half a Life: A Memoir by Darin Strauss
17. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
18. John Dies at the End by David Wong
19. Jokers Club by Gregory Bastianelli
20. Killing the Black Dog: A Memoir of Depression by Les A. Murray
21. Kissing Babies at the Piggly Wiggly by Robert Dalby
22. Merry Christmas from . . .: 150 Christmas Cards You Wish You'd Received by Karen Robert
23. No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog by Margaret Mason
24. One of Our Thursdays Is Missing: A Novel by Jasper Fforde
25. Poke the Box by Seth Godin
26. Postmark by Samantha Chase
27. Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
28. The Accident: A Thriller by Linwood Barclay
29. The Angel of Terror by Edgar Wallace (Audio)
30. The Butterfly Effect: How Your Life Matters by Andy Andrews
31. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald
32. The Death Instinct by Jed Rubenfeld
33. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
34. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
35. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow
36. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
37. This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson
38. Three by Ted Dekker
39. Time for Outrage: Indignez-vous! by Stéphane Hessel
40. To-Do Lists of the Dead by Jonathan Katz
41. Train Dreams: A Novella by Denis Johnson
42. Troublemaker 2 by Janet Evanovich
43. Velocity by Dean Koontz
44. Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly by Robert Dalby
45. What the Hell Are You Doing?: The Essential David Shrigley
46. Yiddish for Dogs: Chutzpah, Feh!, Kibbitz, and More: Every Word Your Canine Needs to Know by Janet Perr