Archive for » October, 2010 «

A big “SALE” sign caught my attention, as I walked by the GAP Kids store, and drew me into the store.

The “SALE” sign was on a big round table featuring a dozen or so long sleeved shirts, with a nice center piece that showcased some of the for sale items. I quickly noted that the shirts were retailing for $16.50, but if you buy 2 or more, then they are $12.50 each, so about a 25% discount.

I like discounts, and proceeded to walk around the table to checkout the designs. After 2 rotations, I had 3 shirts picked out, and went to the counter to checkout.

Three GAP Shirts


“I thought these are on sale?” I said to the sales clerk as I examined my receipt.

“They are.” The clerk shot back without looking up.

“Then they should be $12.50 each!” me.

“They are $12.50 each only at the full price. Two of your shirts are marked down.” Clerk

“What?” me with a confused looked.

He pulled my shirts out of the bag to show me the price tags. Indeed two of the shirts had price tags with a small sticker showing $13.99 on top of the original $16.50 price.

GAP's Discount Tag


“What does that mean? Your sticker said: buy 2 or more, and they become $12.50 each.” I am still confused, and read their sale back to him.

“Yes, but only if the shirts are at full price, two of your shirts are already market down to $13.99. Only one of your shirts is at full price, if you want the discount, you will have to go find another shirt at $16.50 from the table.” He explained.

Discount on top of another discount usually saves the customer even more money, however at GAP Kids, new discount takes the savings away from the customers!

“The discount printed on your price sticker would have me pay $37.50 for these three shirts. But after your markdown, I actually paid $45 for these three shirts. This makes no sense. You should honor the official discount.” me

The clerk didn’t bother with a reply, simply shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “It is what it is. And we don’t like customers who can do math.”

I overpaid for my three shirts, and left GAP irate. Craving therapy, I went to the Gymboree store across from GAP, and bought like crazy at full sticker price!

Gymboree gave me Gymbucks for my purchases, and the clerk even offered to call me to remind me when to come back to redeem the Gymbucks. I love Gymboree!

Shopping for kids

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Category: Parents  Leave a Comment

We have the worst soccer schedule this season. It seems every game my 10 year old plays is the league’s earliest game, at 9AM. This means I have to set my alarm clock for 7:30AM on a Saturday morning on purpose. I have just enough time to wake up, shower, feed my child a big breakfast, and drive the child to the soccer field in a clean uniform by 8:30AM for warm-up looking well groomed.

Just before the game starts, I always go talk to another soccer mom from the team. We both enjoy having the same conversation every Saturday morning, which is to complain about another 9AM game.

“Another Saturday! We are not still in our beds… dreaming.” me.

“I know! This is what, week 3 or 4? This is so unusual. They assign our team for the 9AM game every week.” the other soccer mom.

Then she continued, “And my husband still hasn’t watched a single game yet. This is too early for him. He is still sleeping. Is your husband coming?”

“Yes. But that is no cause for celebration.” me.

“Better than my husband!” She exclaimed.

“But let me tell you what I have to do to prepare for his arrival.” me.

“After I drop off my kid, I drive straight to Starbucks to get him a Caramel Macchiato. Then I drive to McDonald’s to get him his Bacon, Egg & Cheese Bagel Sandwich. Then I haul everything from my car onto this field. I have to find a shady spot. I set up the chairs, set up the drinks, the breakfast, and wait for his HIGHNESS to show up at 9AM.” said I, pointing to my setup up the hill.

She turned to gaze at the setup that is a distance from the sideline in the shade. Her face betrayed a tint of contemplation before breaking into laughter.

I sighed, and then walked toward my chairs, leaving her alone to ponder which of our husbands is the better treasure.

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My 10 year old’s 5th grade class went on a much anticipated field trip to NASA Ames Research Center yesterday. As soon as I picked up my child from the school field trip, my 10 year old wasted no time in sharing the most intriguing part of the field trip.

“Do you know what astronauts do with their pee up in space?” 10-year-old.

“What”

“They clean it and then they drink it” 10-year-old.

“Are you joking?” I laughed.

“No. It is true!” 10-year-old.

“A lot of kids heard that, and decided that they don’t want to be astronauts anymore” 10-year-old continued.

“What about you?” me.

“I still do. But I will spend thousands of dollars to bring my own water with me. Because I don’t want to drink my pee.” 10 year old declared smartly.

“Do you know what they do with Poop up there?” 10-year-old

“They clean it and eat it?” I volunteered my gross prediction.

“No!” 10-year-old.

“Oh, good!” me.

“They put the poop into a capsule, and then shoot it into the atmosphere.” 10-year-old.

“That’s a much better idea… So, the space is full of poop?” me.

“No. When they shoot the poop into space, it will get burned up in the sky, just like a shooting star.” 10-year-old.

“So, a shooting star might be a capsule of poop burning in a ball of fire?” me.

“Yes, so don’t make a wish the next time you see a shooting star. It could be just poop.” 10-year-old.

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Category: Humor, Kids  Leave a Comment

A little hard work can produce huge strides and improvements! In just one week, after much practice and studying, my baby came home with an “A” in the 2nd grade Chinese “spelling” test.

My 7-year-old came home beaming with pride, and has already been approaching me proactively with the little Chinese workbook to initiate practice sessions. The child is eager to earn an “A” every week now. “A” feels good and is achievable.

I am happy to have more solid evidence to impress upon my children that hard work yields handsome rewards…most of the time.

Here is A New Low – Part I.

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