| | the Canadian dollar is once again set to match/surpass the American dollar.
books are labeled with American and Canadian prices. in the States this is no big deal.
USA price < Canadian price
in Canada this isn't a big deal until the news tells people that the exchange rate is even.
so, in everybody's mind (a place where oversimplified logic dictates self-serving justice), the two prices should be the same. or, barring that, they should only have to pay the lower of the two prices. naturally.
on the surface, if you're not interested in giving the matter any real thought, it seems to make sense. if, at the bank, $1US = $1CD, then a $19.99US Jodi Picoult book should only cost you $19.99CD. Right? RIGHT??
nope. but you'll flip out and storm away angrily (leaving your $6 half-drank drink behind) before i have a chance to explain FOR THE ONE-HUNDREDTH TIME the inconveniences of simple economics.
here's what i offer as an explanation (in list form, because that's also how i talk in real life):
- the publishers, NOT THE STORE, NOT EVEN ME TO WHOM YOU ARE DIRECTING YOUR BORDERLINE VERBAL ABUSE, set the prices months ago. our company has to buy these books from the publishers too. don't you think we'd rather pay the American price? an irritated customer has even suggested that the bookstore is paying the lower price, charging the higher price, and making a devious profit. if that's true, it hasn't yet shown up in my paycheck.
- in America you pay the American price. in Canada you pay the Canadian price. dummy.
- the United States and Canada, despite your inability to perceive social, political, historical, and economical variances (and despite your inability to locate international borders on a map), ARE TWO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. Ontario is not a state wedged between NY and MI. NY and MI are not neighboring provinces.
-- i know this because it took me a butt-load of paperwork and one full year just to live here.
-- i know this because, despite having a very good credit history in the States, they still wouldn't give me a credit card up here.
-- i know this because kilometers and celsiuses don't mean that much to me.
- another if/then statement: IF the dollars are equal, and IF that entitles you to paying the American price in Canada, THEN when you go to the States tomorrow afternoon you'll be okay with paying the higher Canadian book price over there? since the dollars are equal and all? since the whole system is arbitrarily derived on whims, yeah?
- stuff's expensive in Canada. where i live, anyway. gas right now is about $0.99/Liter, which translates to about $3.75/gallon. if the dollars are equal, then we're gettin' boned up here.
i have no economics background. i don't know how the financial system works. i just know there are loons and beavers on our currency. i also know it is not unreasonable to pay the Canadian price for a book in Canada.
i also know it IS unreasonable for you to be so agitated. at me. at anything. regarding the lower-than-moderate variation in book pricing. buy "Fahrenheit 451", read it, then come back and thank me for not setting these books on fire.
we just closed down the CD & DVD department. that's a whole other set of customer-related issues right there.
and that place actually was a rip-off. buy your multimedia at Wal-Mart or, better yet, on-line. (far) lower prices, better selection.
me and my sweetawesome wife just celebrated our three-year anniversary. three years ago she said yes and i said yes (a few months prior, actually... i didn't pop the question on the altar in front of a church full of friends and family when, for some strange reason, we were in full wedding attire). it hasn't felt like three years. it's felt quite a bit shorter (thankfully).
okay. i am going to caffeinate myself heavily and NOT fall asleep and watch the Yankees clinch the American League championship. i am going to stay awake. i have a box of chocolate. i have half a chocolate bar. i have strong tea. i will ingest the tea bag, if necessary.
i slept through the end of the game last night. it was the NL clincher.
i slept through the end of the game the night before.
both times i said i wouldn't.
both times i lied to myself.
saturday, Missouri and Texas, football, on TV.
but i'll be celebrating cricket's birthday.
SO
i'm going to record it,
and you're not going to tell me who's winning,
or who's losing.
i will not check the score,
i will not check your facebook updates,
i will not read your texts.
for a few hours i will be off the grid,
and you will just have to deal with it.
i will come home,
i will pray that i know how to properly set a DVD-recorder timer, and
i will watch the game as if it were live.
well, i'll skip right over those commercials.
if i skip over commercials while actually watching live TV it means i've nodded off.
or i'm having an epileptic fit.
Go Tigers!
for now i have things to do.
and my hair looks awesome.
and brownplaidflannel is where it's at.
and there appears to be a gigantic albino slug on the couch.
|
| | Posted 10/22/2009 5:33 PM - 4 Views - 2 eProps - 1 Comment
- recommend
  - recs0
- share
- email
 - sent0
|
