this older gal in a business suit comes in with three big boxes of stuff.
I sort through it, find a decent pile we can use and make an offer.
She squeals "I think I brought in the wrong books!" and is now frantically scrabbling through the pile muttering to herself.
As of this writing she's pulled back about 9/10ths of my 'buy' pile.
Earlier a wild eyed gal with a frizzy perm sold us some good architecture and soil science books, narrating my sorting process with a running monologue of how much each book was worth online, including the worthless ones. I'm getting more background than I wanted on her disastrous foray into homebuilding. She's aghast at the relative worthlessness of most of her library on the internet.
"There's nothing wrong with these books! The information is the same, why won't people buy them!"
A question I often ask myself.
Update:
Wrong Book Lady eventually finished her rampage and was shocked to discover that she had voided my offer by pulling back most of the saleable books. In the process of re-sorting the buy I discovered that she'd sifted many books from my reject pile into the buy pile.
Do they think I'm not paying attention, or that I'm brain damaged, or what?
Adding to the day's general air of Fellini-esque mania there's a crew of Germans on the sidewalk outside having a combination photo shoot/argument. There's no language like German for arguing!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
glossary
Fuss has been on a language rampage lately, I thought I'd get some down before I forget.
Whachoo! = watch out, be careful
keputch = ketchup
Ooooh-pah! = pick me up! (sometimes accompanied by a set of deep knee bends)
Doggo! = Kipper, a British kids show starring a dog
Hip-pooh = The Backyardigans
nigh-nites = nursing
Buen-eee = his blankie
Goo = baby asprin
muck = milk
joo-see = juice
names:
mama = mama
mama dada = me
meek = Meghan
dayduh = devra
Bah Bah = Daphne
Aiek = Alec
Fran = Frances
Pretty much anything he doesn't a word for becomes "THAT! THAT!" accompanied by frantic pointing.
He also has a darling habit of throwing T's into the mix.
Snowman, for example, becomes Towmant.
Whachoo! = watch out, be careful
keputch = ketchup
Ooooh-pah! = pick me up! (sometimes accompanied by a set of deep knee bends)
Doggo! = Kipper, a British kids show starring a dog
Hip-pooh = The Backyardigans
nigh-nites = nursing
Buen-eee = his blankie
Goo = baby asprin
muck = milk
joo-see = juice
names:
mama = mama
mama dada = me
meek = Meghan
dayduh = devra
Bah Bah = Daphne
Aiek = Alec
Fran = Frances
Pretty much anything he doesn't a word for becomes "THAT! THAT!" accompanied by frantic pointing.
He also has a darling habit of throwing T's into the mix.
Snowman, for example, becomes Towmant.
true customer tales
guy and son strolling past the counter.
son: gee, it smells like books in here.
guy: that's because it's a bookstore.
son: .....oh....yah that would explain it.
son: gee, it smells like books in here.
guy: that's because it's a bookstore.
son: .....oh....yah that would explain it.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Pantry Pasta
Threw this together last night out of spare parts scavenged from the fridge and pantry and it turned out really good.
1 package cheese tortellini from TJs
1/4 cup olive oil
2 packs mushrooms, quartered (I only had one, 2 would've been better) I used the brown ones, any type would work.
1/2 jar kalamata olives, halved
6 cloves garlic, 4 minced or pressed.
Goat Cheese
salt & pepper to taste
Put on water for Tortellini.
Sauté mushrooms and two whole garlic cloves in 1tbs olive oil over medium heat, until the mushrooms release their juice. Add the olives toward the end. Discard garlic cloves. In another pan gently fry the minced garlic in the remaining oil until golden brown.
Combine everything in the pasta pot and mix well, season to taste.
Serve in bowls with goat cheese crumbled on top and maybe a drizzle of the good olive oil if you're feeling sassy.
1 package cheese tortellini from TJs
1/4 cup olive oil
2 packs mushrooms, quartered (I only had one, 2 would've been better) I used the brown ones, any type would work.
1/2 jar kalamata olives, halved
6 cloves garlic, 4 minced or pressed.
Goat Cheese
salt & pepper to taste
Put on water for Tortellini.
Sauté mushrooms and two whole garlic cloves in 1tbs olive oil over medium heat, until the mushrooms release their juice. Add the olives toward the end. Discard garlic cloves. In another pan gently fry the minced garlic in the remaining oil until golden brown.
Combine everything in the pasta pot and mix well, season to taste.
Serve in bowls with goat cheese crumbled on top and maybe a drizzle of the good olive oil if you're feeling sassy.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Summer's Cauldron
They finished the back yard yesterday, this morning it was 80 degrees at nine am.
Coincidence? I think not.
Fuss was in fine form. He started the day off right, rolling a watermelon into the living room chanting "Bite! Bite! Bite!" and ended it with a shrieking, convulsive bedtime fit that lasted off and on until midnight.
If only the people who ask "why do you call him Fuss, he's always so well behaved!" could witness the glory. We should try and capture it on video for posterity.
He was much more sanguine about his beloved pots being filled up with soil and plants than I expected. Maybe he was just distracted by his exciting new hobby, digging holes in the bark groundcover? Time will tell.
The yard turned out almost comically well. I'll post pix later.
Facebook has been my go-to site for photos lately, more for the cost (free) than the audience (much larger than this blog). But the quality sux and FB's recent privacy antics have fouled my reservoir of good will so I may be migrating back to Flickr. Stay tuned.
I think everyone is going to the pool while I swelter at work, where even the downtown lunatic turnout has been suppressed by the heat. I'm getting by dreaming of a welcoming wall of coastal fog this evening.
We'll see if global warming cooperates.
Coincidence? I think not.
Fuss was in fine form. He started the day off right, rolling a watermelon into the living room chanting "Bite! Bite! Bite!" and ended it with a shrieking, convulsive bedtime fit that lasted off and on until midnight.
If only the people who ask "why do you call him Fuss, he's always so well behaved!" could witness the glory. We should try and capture it on video for posterity.
He was much more sanguine about his beloved pots being filled up with soil and plants than I expected. Maybe he was just distracted by his exciting new hobby, digging holes in the bark groundcover? Time will tell.
The yard turned out almost comically well. I'll post pix later.
Facebook has been my go-to site for photos lately, more for the cost (free) than the audience (much larger than this blog). But the quality sux and FB's recent privacy antics have fouled my reservoir of good will so I may be migrating back to Flickr. Stay tuned.
I think everyone is going to the pool while I swelter at work, where even the downtown lunatic turnout has been suppressed by the heat. I'm getting by dreaming of a welcoming wall of coastal fog this evening.
We'll see if global warming cooperates.
Monday, May 31, 2010
today's venal complaint
On the day when too many people take the opportunity to fetishize the military rather than reflect soberly on the idiocy of sending troops off to die in pointless, doomed conflicts I'm here to whine about the absolutely trivial and meaningless.
As this has been the week of enumerating my least favorite customer interactions, here's a few more for the pile.
The person who comes in with NO IDEA what they want, who has no favorite authors or subjects, who can't remember what they read last, a veritable literary blank slate that you are supposed to psychically intuit desire from.
These types actually used to bother me much more before I started following the Burl's advice from her own long ago days running the Earthling- "I would just grab the nearest book from the shelf of best sellers and hand it to them".
Which makes perfect sense, they've put no energy into the interaction so why should you?
Today's other winner was the guy looking for Heinlein's Starship Troopers, who I led to the section inspiring the comment "Oh, I already looked here, where else would it be?"
Uh, nowhere, because this is where it belongs?
Maybe some bookstores have a big, secret room full of salable books they're hiding away from customers, but frankly I've never seen one.
As this has been the week of enumerating my least favorite customer interactions, here's a few more for the pile.
The person who comes in with NO IDEA what they want, who has no favorite authors or subjects, who can't remember what they read last, a veritable literary blank slate that you are supposed to psychically intuit desire from.
These types actually used to bother me much more before I started following the Burl's advice from her own long ago days running the Earthling- "I would just grab the nearest book from the shelf of best sellers and hand it to them".
Which makes perfect sense, they've put no energy into the interaction so why should you?
Today's other winner was the guy looking for Heinlein's Starship Troopers, who I led to the section inspiring the comment "Oh, I already looked here, where else would it be?"
Uh, nowhere, because this is where it belongs?
Maybe some bookstores have a big, secret room full of salable books they're hiding away from customers, but frankly I've never seen one.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
variation on a theme
Another constant at the store are callers who want you to tell them how much you'll pay for their books. As the intricacies of the trade require a physical inspection, this isn't something we do. It's a simple concept and most people get the point, but as with folk who're sure the book doesn't belong in the section you point out some people always know better.
caller: Hi, I have these books, and I was wondering what you guys pay?
me: we're happy to look at books any day before 4, bring them in and we'll see what we can work out.
caller: Well, I just need to know how much you pay.
me: I need to see the books, we don't do phone estimates.
caller: Well, I've got the authors and everything.
me: I still need to see the books.
caller: Well, I live in Paso and that's a long drive.
me: That's unfortunate, but we don't give estimates over the phone.
caller: But they're in great shape and everything!
me: We still need to see the books so we can reach our own conclusions.
caller, snippily: well okay then, I'll just keep them!
me: okay, have a nice day.
The actual conversation went on quite a bit longer, but that's the gist of it. I get a similar call probably once a week, and they always play out in more or less the same way.
caller: Hi, I have these books, and I was wondering what you guys pay?
me: we're happy to look at books any day before 4, bring them in and we'll see what we can work out.
caller: Well, I just need to know how much you pay.
me: I need to see the books, we don't do phone estimates.
caller: Well, I've got the authors and everything.
me: I still need to see the books.
caller: Well, I live in Paso and that's a long drive.
me: That's unfortunate, but we don't give estimates over the phone.
caller: But they're in great shape and everything!
me: We still need to see the books so we can reach our own conclusions.
caller, snippily: well okay then, I'll just keep them!
me: okay, have a nice day.
The actual conversation went on quite a bit longer, but that's the gist of it. I get a similar call probably once a week, and they always play out in more or less the same way.
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