An Unusual Day

It started last night.  I had been struggling to adjust to the 1.25" towing attachment on the new Subaru.  The hitch pin from a local store was too short, I had to use force, had an traier ball for a 2" hitch,  finally bought some parts on Amazon.  Yadda, yadda, yadda. 

I discovered it was simpler than it seemed and I asked Amazon if I could return some.  They said "OK", offerred me a printable return label.  Good, thank you...  But I noticed returns were free at some "Kohl" department stores.  IF I returned it today! 

So there I was playing Civ 2 (downloadable/playable to a Mac only from some Russian site (OMG!) through some iffy "portal kit").  Well, I have "best" antivirus/firewall stuff and made sure it was "up-to-date".  I checked to make sure nothing funny was going on on the Mac.  And I will offload the app to a stand-alone later today.  That was 6 am.  So I decided to stay up at a discussion board until I could do early errands.

The Kohl's store opened at 10 am.  I had things to buy at Walmart which opened at 9 am, and grocery shopping to do.

Went to Walmart and found most of the things I wanted (kitty litter, cheap store brand stuff, and "on sale" brand name items.   Got back home and put it away.

Went straight to the nearest Kohl's store.  Never been there before (and wn't be returning (their prices are way too high).  But I was relieved to see a "Amazon Returns Accepted Here" sign on the door.  Wrong door of course.  I had to haul the box of heavy metal around to the side door downhill and over a rock bed... 

On the other hand, the return was a breeze.  It was so easy, I was almost suspicious.  But they gave me a printed confirmation and a 25% purchase coupon for "today only".  Even that left the prices too high.  Hey, I'm selectively cheap.  Some things are worth spending money on, some aren't.

So I had the cheap stuff bought at Walmart put away at home, and the Amazon return done.  And I realized I was going to pass my favorite grocery store (Safeway, great produce selection).  And (not coincidentally) I had my spreadsheet grocery list in my wallet (I'll show a link to that soon but it needs updating).

So I stopped and bought groceries.  Told the produce manager their egg roll wrappers were junk.  Well, their old brand was great.  A dusting of cornstarch between each wrapper and and rolled up nicely (I like to make shrimp eggrolls sometimes) and the new brand (Wing Hing or something like that) was all crumbly and impossible to roll.

He promised to look into it (yeah, right).  I often have to help the produce guys.  Seriously, they can barely tell one apple from another.  I'm not in the "oh damn, here he comes again" reaction yet, but they do notice when I point out the labels are wrong and they are selling "Red Delicious" as "Staymans".  And I try not to bother them often. 


I smile to myself when the sales clerks ask if a head lettuce is "cabbage" or beets are "radishes.  I shouldn't because it means that they aren't familiar with fresh veggies in their own lives.  OK, come to think about it, let's say I'm more sad than smiley... 


Pushing my cart to the car, I noticed a woman poking around at the hood-up engine and mostly looking at the battery.  I put my bags in the car.


An older guy does not approach a strange woman carelessly.  There is no telling what the reaction might be.  But I went back and asked if she needed a batterry jump.  She did.  I could tell she was hesitant about a stranger asking for help.



I just recently bought a new car.  And it was partly because the battery in the 2005 Toyota wouldn't recharge well.  The dealership couldn't find the problem.  They said the batterry seemed fine and the charging system checked out OK. 

So I bought a "batterry-minder" to keep it charged in the garage, but I never was sure it would start again during errands.  So I bought a portable power-pack for emergencies.  *I* never actually needed it, but it came in handy today.    It is "the mother of all rechargeable batterries". 



In spite of having a new car, I kept it in the car.  There's room for it, and "you never know".  So I carried it to the woman's car (and noticed a scared little girl inside).  The woman was probaly afraid I would ask for money.  Nah, I'm the Boy Scout type.  Hooked up the clamps, told her to start the car, everything worked.  I told her to make sure to drive the car at least 20 minutes to recharge the battery (and maybe have it checked by a professional).  Batteries do fail.  And I wished her a good day and left.




I've gotten help from strangers before.  My first personally-purchased car once died in the dead of night in a bitterly freezing 1980 Winter on a major highway.  It was SO COLD, my roommate and I were exchanging the one good coat every 5 minutes to stay SLIGHTLY warm.  The ONE person who stopped to ask if I needed help was a Reagan conventioneer.  He asked who I supported and I said "Carter".  He smiled and not only called AAA to tow my car to a repair shop, but drove us home (way out of his way).  Good people do good things. 

Remembering that, I try to pass it on.  I could have just driven home from the Safeway store.  But how hard is it to help another?  We are all of us in this world together fighting off the cold and sadness.



So today, I was my 16 year old Boy Scout again, and did my good deed for the day.  And I thank the opportunity more than the deed...  The deed was fine, the opportunity was priceless. 

A Difficult Errand

I have a watch that is 50 years old this month.  It was a gift in 1966 when I was 16.  It is the only wristwatch I have ever owned.  It was one of the earliest cheap digital watches.  I love it! 

It doesn't do anything but tell time.  Well, I mean it shows the day with a line over a row of letters and there is a smaller number for the date.  And if I press an awkward button, the date goes away and shows seconds.  And another push shows m/d/y (12 8 16).  But that's all.  No timer, no weather, no footstep count, no anything else. 

I have to have the battery replaced about once a year.  Any jeweler will do it for about $10.  It requires  weird tool to get the back off or I would do it myself.

So I went to me usual place to have the battery repaired.  There was no jewelar there.  There was no building.  The spot had been scraped clean.  Wow!

So I went to a new place I had found called "Bulbs & Batteries".  Their watchpin removal tool was broken.  Well, I needed to buy some groceries and I knew there was a jeweler nearby, so I did my shopping and stopped there. 

Oh boy, was I surprised!  They wouldn't replace a digital watch battery.  "You need to return it to the manufacturer", the store manager declared!  "Otherwise, the circuits will get shorted out".  I pointed out that the watch was 50 years old and the batteries had been replaced many many times with no ill effects.  He replied that "That's why the battery only lasts a year, it gets shorted - a battery should last 5 years".   It was a high-end jeweler (Jared's) and he looked down his nose at me (and my watch) as if I had walked into his cocktail party wearing dirty gardening clothes.

Well, Exxxcccccuuuuuuujse Meeee!

So I stopped at the last place to replace my battery.  It had only lasted 6 months, so I was doubtful about the freshness of their batteries, but a working watch is worth a few dollars.  They were closed.

At home, I looked up the manufacturer of the watch (Phasar).  They are long since out of business anyway.

The next day I went back to the place that was closed.  They were happy to replace the battery.  By good fortune, they had a new employee, so the main person was explaining about changing watch batteries.   I couldn't have asked for a better refutation of the Jared guy's claim...

She explained the watch back removal tool to the newbie and demonstrated how it worked.  She explained how to insert the new battery without shorting it or the circuits, she showed  a small insulating collar to prevent that.  She mentioned "these old digitals are long-lasting" (so she recognized it's age).  She even mentioned that batteries in new watches last several years, but after some years of corrosion and dust; last only a year.  So much for that snooty Jared's guy's claim...

But upon replacing the battery, the display was pale.  She said they could try cleaning it, failing that, finding a replacement circuit insert.  But I would have to leave it and they would call with an estimate.  She showed me the watches they sold, but they were all analog.  And they were all a bit too fancy and "jewelry".

I don't wear a single piece of jewelry.  I'm not a metal kind of guy.  Even my watchband is velcro...

So I left it with them went home, and looked at cheap digital watches on Amazon.  They all displayed Too Much Information at once.  And that means ALL the info is small.  I don't want to have to put on my reading glasses just to see what time it is!

So I was sad.  First, the watch means a lot to me personally.  I am a dedicated watch-wearer.  It has gone everywhere I have for 50 years.  It has been through below-zero Winter camping, it has gone into Canadian lake water when a friend tipped the canoe over, it has gotten me to countless meetings on time over my career, and it has reminded me when to stop working outside and go inside to feed the cats.  It has reminded me when to turn on the TV for Specials I wanted to see.

How much more can you ask of a watch? 

So 2 days later, when the jeweler called (VM message) and said I could pick up the watch, I was worried.  I assumed they could get the part to fix it.  But I had a pleasant surprise when I arrived.  The watch was suddenly just fine.  The display was strong.  No reason, it just was. 

Hurray.  But gosh, that sure was a lot of effort to find a place that would replace the battery!

BTW, seeing what the watch back removal tool looked like, I went to Amazon to see what one costs.  The jeweler charged $15 to replay the battery.   The battery itself costs $3.  Guess what, the watch back removal tool costs $3 at Amazon. 

I think I'll buy one. 

And I'll NEVER shop at Jared's...

Busy Day Doing Boring Stuff

Not all days can be exciting.  Today was errand day... 

First, I needed some supplies.  And for cheap brand-name supplies, I go to Wal-Mart.  And when I shop at Wal-Mart, I go at mid-morning on a weekday.  So off I went at 10 am...  Some visits are better than others; I barely found half the stuff I was looking for.

So I went home, dropped off the few items, had a quick lunch, fed the Mews their 2nd meal, and went grocery-shopping.  I went to a store I usually don't shop at because the last time, they had the best peaches I have had in years and I was considering changing store loyalty.  The last visit was a fluke!  So I went to my regular store.  The produce was a bit better.

That doesn't mean "great".  I don't know why grocery stores put out peaches and plums etc that are hard as rocks, golden delicious apples and pineapples that are green, melons that you could pound nails with, and strawberries that are nearly white.  I guess most people don't know what "ripe" is for most fruits and just put up with it.  No wonder most people don't eat enough fruits; unripe fruit isn't worth eating.   Fortunately, I've grown enough stuff to know the difference, so I buy was is "tolerably" ripe, enjoy the truly ripe, and ignore the rest.

Sorry, I'm really gripey because the quality seems to be getting worse.  I love fresh fruits and veggies and wish I had the space, sun, and time to grow all my own.  But its not like I'm ever going to grow oranges and pineapples here in Maryland!

Fortunately, the veggies are easier.  Most can be eaten at any stage of growth (there is no such thing as "unripe" broccoli or mushrooms, for example).  That's why I try to grow crops that DO need ripening, like tomatoes and corn.

So I did my produce shopping and then went to Nick's (meat, deli, liquor).  I love that place.  They custom-cut meat and have great prices, discount liquor, and a great deli counter.  And they special-order my favorite inexpensive (under-appreciated) zinfandel wine.  I'll give an example:  They had Filet Mignon on sale at $10.69 per pound.  That sounds expensive, but it is all meat.  I end up with 7 small steaks at $4 each.  Doesn't a Filet Mignon steak at $4 sound good to you?  And large fresh-frozen shrimp (deveined) 2 lbs for $10. 

Beat THAT at any restaurant...  Well, it DOES help that I like to cook, and after 45 years I do it tolerably well.  I'm never going to be on any TV cooking show, but I haven't complained about my cooking lately.  When you start out adult life broke and doubling up on Hamburger Helper, a $4 Filet Mignon steak is pretty darn good.  Surrounded by sides of homegrown tomatoes, cucumber, and mesclun lettuce salad, corn on the cob, and italian flat beans...

Tonight's dinner was actually stir-fried red and green peppers, onion, celery, potato cubes, and pork I smoked on the offset grill.  And the same salad and grilled pineapple slices.

So today turned out to be the first non-yardwork day in 2 weeks.  I needed the day off.  The front yard grass is up and growing, the backyard grass is down and moistened for germination, and everything else can wait til tomorrow.

It was a good day!