What would you do?

So on the way to dinner tonight with Da Wife, we stopped by a book store so I could peruse the books on CD as well as some geek books. The CDs are for my daily commute and can I just say, what a boon they have been! They make my commute time seem to vanish. I highly recommend trying them for anyone that drives on a daily basis. I did find a couple of Dean Koontz books recommended by a friend of mine, they are the start of the Odd Thomas series. And I also grabbed the Michael Crichton book Prey. So we'll see how they do in my quest to make commuting in the Northern VA area tolerable. After carrying off with my new found audio "kills", I headed to the uber geek section, and selected 2 of the books I was interested in. Dragged it all to the register, paid, and headed out, intent on getting our Tex-Mex dinner. On the way to the restaurant, Da Wife notices that we didn't get charged for one of the books (in retrospect, the total did seem much smaller than I was expecting). It would of course be the MOST expensive book in the stack, ringing in around $50. We were almost at the restaurant, so I decided we'd go in, and then deal with it.

So after a tasty meal with enough to bring home some leftovers (yum), we headed back to the book store. I walked in with the whole bag, and promptly explained to a (different) cashier, that I hadn't been charged for one of the books, and presented her with the bag, receipt, and previously "free" book. She looked at me for a moment, uncertain of what the problem was, or perhaps not trusting her ears. I repeated the fact that I had something that I had not paid for, and wished to correct that. It finally sank in, and she rang up the book. She did, however, add in a big discount for it (she said her way of saying "thanks"). So instead of paying $50, I paid only $35. I was appreciative of the discount, and thanked her as we left the store.

You might think I'm crazy. You might not. That doesn't matter to me, only that I know that it was right for me. Same goes for Da Wife, some time ago, she went to a certain home improvement store (with Roxie the wonder dog) to purchase paint and other supplies. On her way home, she pondered the price of all the things she had bought, and thought something didn't add up. Once she got home she tallied the goods, reviewed the receipt, and realized, yes they had not charged her for one of the cans of paint (about $25-$30 or so). So she grabbed receipt and extra can of paint, and went to a cashier to explain that she hadn't been charged for it. Two cashiers stood in disbelief that someone had come back to correct the mistake. One saying "I don't know anyone that would have come back. And thank you.", and the other saying "I know why she did it! Because she's blessed!" I'm inclined to agree with both. All I know is I'm proud of her choice.

So in the end, if I'm going to go back and demand fair treatment when they overcharge me, then so too must I correct when they undercharge me. Does this make me stupid? I don't know, and I don't care if it does. It's what is right for me. Do I expect anyone else to do the same? Not at all. I only hope everyone does what is right for themselves.

So... what would *you* do in the same situation?
What if it was for $5?
What if it was for $100? or $200? or more?

Sounds like the Pope

Well I may not be wearing Red Shoes like the Holy Father, Pope Benedict. But I can have an ipod like he does! Well.. ok mine isn't custom made, engraved, and edged in gold, and it probably doesn't have quite the same kind of music (unless of course he likes Rammstein, hard rock, classic rock, and a whoooole bunch of '80s) - it's just silver with a red case. And hey I was wrong about the Crocs, so maybe he is a head banger behind closed doors. Perhaps I'll even put some of the Gregorian chants on mine, then I'll throw on some red shoes, draw a cape around me, and I'll be feeling very snazzy.

The Devil May Wear Prada

But the Pope is alll fine hand crafted Italian leather. Though according to the Washington Post, he actually does wear Prada (and apparently Gucci glasses to boot)! Even Wiki has a few things to say about Papal Shoes.

So while I am disappointed he wasn't wearing Crocs (due to the ridiculousness of it... you can't beat something that funny) he does like to wear white socks with red shoes. Something even JamesF would know is wrong (unless of course you had a matching white belt).

Spring is in the air

Yeah, in the air, and in my head. I don't know what the pollen counts today were, but it must've been high. Not quite enough to make my teeth hurt, but it sure walloped my noggin.

In other news:
It's Spring so that means I must have a new job. I have left Argon (yes, James. Again.) in favor of a new position with General Dynamics. It's very similar work to what I used to do, only a step closer to the customer. Good stuff if you can get it. Only problem right now is... I have no tasking and it's driving me crazy. I know, it's week one, in a month I'll probably be swamped. Who knew nothing to do was that bad? At least I got my email account setup today, so I'll be able to interact with the larger team and maybe get some of my training out of the way. So far, it looks very promising.

My brother and his family are coming down to visit this weekend, which should prove to be a fun time. Maybe I'll even get to snap a few pics of my nephews, and post them. The only interruption should be Roxie's (my little dog) Rally Obedience Trial on Sunday morning. That's all I will put here, since all things k-9 is found on Da Wife's blog.

But wait, there's more:
I saw some footage of da Pope today meeting with 'W'. When he raised his hands I couldn't take my eyes of his Holiness' footgear. They certainly appeared to be bright crimson Crocs, I'm sure they weren't, but they certainly looked it from my angle. (and regardless of what he was actually wearing the mere thought of holy crocs entertains me, so don't bother arguing. ;-)

And finally....
Politics - Nah... I'm just too BITTER to even comment. ;-)