Only a few more days until Christmas - actually it's a couple of days before a couple of days before Christmas. I have no intention of deviating from my usual 'wait for the '24th' to pick up a few things'. I pretty much eye up the things I think I'll need and then scoop them up at the last minute - if there's none left then you get what you get. I kind of like to make it a surprise, even for myself - like, "I'm surprised that's what I got you!".

I've been working retail for the last couple of months and I had forgotten what that's all about. I should have remembered as that's what I did for the last half of the '80s' - back when I was a goldsmith trying to manage a jewellery store at the same time. You always looked forward to 'Christmas Rush' from a 'retailers' point of view but you sure hated it from the 'goldsmiths' point of view. I would go on little sleep for weeks leading up to Christmas trying to accommodate folks that 'knew' or 'had heard' that I could perform miracles without any kind of notice at all. I also did one Christmas working retail at Cottage Computers in Leduc.

Working retail at Rimbey TV and Electronics - Radio Shack has been an experience. First off, they have a lot of different products and a lot of those products do a lot of different things. A lot of those products require add-on products just to function - the most common being batteries. The POS - Point of Sale Software - does a decent job of letting you know what needs to be added on or what accessories might add function but you can rely on it too much to the point that it can be a nightmare when the hardware running the software decides to head south for the winter. That's what happened a couple of days ago and 'Plan B' was hurriedly put into production. 'Plan B' being handwritten invoices and calculators for figuring in the GST - Gouge and Screw Tax.

For anybody that doesn't know, Rimbey TV and Electronics is run by a couple of great guys - Will and Phil. They are a good match and really give, what would ordinarily be, 'just another Radio Shack' a unique quality that city folks would just never understand. They are a lot of fun to work with. Will gets the award for selling the 'Gutsiest Gift of the Year', a classic Radio Shack gadget, "The Body Fat Analyser". Some guy really thought his wife might like one for Christmas. I'll bet the guy 'takes one between the pockets' for that 'thoughtful' gift!

Anyhow..., I'm going to sign off for the evening.

Check back regularly, no telling what little nugget of gnarled knowledge or whimsical wisdom you're going to unearth here but I will guarantee it won't be a 'horse nugget'.

Hasta Luego y Feliz Navidad

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