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March 23, 2009
In God (and Machines) We Trust
I go to the cornerstore to buy a piece of posterboard.
The sign says it's going to be 99c. A buck. I can afford that, even in this economy.
So I haul the board all the way up to the front.
This adolescent, hollow-eyed kid with yellow hair stares through me. "Is that all?"
D: Yeah.
K: That'll be..... $1.94.
D: ...
K: ...
D: Um, the sign says this is 99c.
K: [looking at the register, squinting] Um, it's 89c.
D: 89c.
K: 89c, mm-hmm.
D: So, like, howcome it's $1.94?
K: Tax is... 9%.
D: Yeah. So, that's more than double the price.
K: ...
D: [considering dropping it, not being so cheap. then stubbornly refuses!]
K: That's just the way it works out.
D: !
K: ...
D: Then, forget it!
Posted by Dipika at 5:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 2, 2009
White Ninja
One of the things that happens when you work at a newspaper, which I used to do, is that people think you're all literary and stuff.
Someone asked me what books I liked one time.
It was innocent and casual.
I think I surprised him.
I said, "White Ninja."
Posted by Dipika at 4:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack