Georgia Peachy

Okay, the lack of a card reader is really starting to piss me off. We even went to Wal-Mart tonight to see if they had one I could buy. Here's a transcript of the convo...

Me: "Excuse me, do you all have any card readers?"
Wal-Mart Employee Who Looked Strangely Like Randy from "My Name is Earl": "Uhhh, yeah, they right over there in that locked cabinet. I have to get them out for you."
Me: "Where exactly is the cabinet?"
WMEWLSLRFMNIE: "I have to get them out for you."
Me: "I know, I'd just like to look at them first."
WMEWLSLRFMNIE: "Uhhhh....hmmphf."

A minute passes as I search for the cabinet, and to my dismay, discover that it contains CARDS, but no card readers.

I've seen some pretty crappy Wally Worlds in my life, but I think this one takes the cake. I'd guess that it's even worse than the WT Wal-Mart on West Kellogg.

(Imagine Bullets here)

I went for another hour long exercise session today. Ran 21 minutes, walked 40 minutes. There actually was a bit of a breeze today, so it wasn't quite as bad as it was yesterday. In an homage to good ol' Donna Hobbs, I was reminded of "The Grapes of Wrath" while on the road. There was a ton of Rosasharn bushes, and I even saw a turtle (albeit a tee-ninsy one) on the road. Seriously. You can't make this crap up.

(More bullets)

We ate dinner at a New York style pizza place here in town. Joshua ordered a stromboli that looked exactly like a colon. We took pictures. You'll just have to wait and see.

(More bullets)

I just finished reading an article in a magazine I've just seen for the first time. The mag is "Fast Company." It's all about marketing and management of corporations. The article "Leap Of Faith" is about a new clothing company called Nau. A bunch of people that worked at Nike and Patagonia got together and decided to start a socially responsible company. They have a few storefronts, in Boulder and Portland, but they actually give you a 10 percent discount and free shipping if you use the shopping kiosk and order the clothes online. (You try them on in the store, but you have them shipped to your house - lower overhead, smaller stores, less use of resources). In addition, five percent of every purchase is donated to a charity of your choice. (You also do this at a kiosk in the store, or from their website.)

Oh man, I'm thinking, this sounds great. I'd really like to support a company like this. As one of the article's subheads says "It's a fashion statement that takes a stand."

Well, I read a tiny bit farther and the featured item in the story, a women's button down "windshirt" costs $180. When are all of these green and sustainable companies going to figure out that the vast majority of people who really support that sort of lifestyle and want to save the planet cannot afford that kind of price? You can't run a company and save the world by selling to Leonardo DiCaprio and Angelina Jolie alone. You have to make it accessible to the rest of us. I teach school. I'm not going to be buying a $200 shirt anytime soon, no matter how much it fits with my political and social ideology.