MN Nice

This morning I stopped at KwikTrip for gas. I went inside to pay, got in a long line to the register. As I got close I saw that there was a girl about 18 standing at the counter, not in line. She is obviously the cause of the backup. The lady behind the counter is talking about having to get the manager & store policy & that stuff. The girl starts crying. Right there, in front of all these people she is just losing it. My heart goes out to her - what could the problem be? Then the customer at the front of my line says, "How much does she owe"? Appearently, the girl filled up with $5 worth of gas then discovered she didn't have the cash. The customer is another girl, about 20. She says, "I'll get it for her. No problem..." She comforts the girl. A stranger. Putting her arm around her, she rubs her back and tells her everything is fine. "Let's have a good day and a Merry Christmas, OK?", she says.

I was a bit disappointed that KwikTrip wasn't more sympathetic to the girl's situation. But it's good to know that Minnesota nice is alive and well here in Mankato. That's why I love living here. Cold hands, cold feet, cold ears, but warm warm hearts.

Plasma Nirvana

Behold the new TV sitting in my living room. Christmas came a bit early for me and Sandy. Mostly because I couldn't wait to get it. After agonizing over many many online reviews and searching for the best price, I settled on this baby. I considered buying online but was hesitant bacause I didn't want the mailing hassle if I needed to return it. So I found the best online price and went to BestBuy to see if they would match it. BB price at the time was 1699, Amazon had it for 1399. I told the girl 1400 and after chatting with her manager I was surprised when she came back and said they would match it. Cool! So I do all the financing paper work and 15 minutes later at the register she rings it up at 1499. Huh? I tell her we agreed on 1400. Well, she has to chat with her manager again. And again I'm surprised when they agree to the price. I normally don't buy from BB because of their horrible service dept, but I made an exception for this purchase. And no, I didn't buy an extended warranty from them.

Anyway, long story short, the set with HD cable looks amazing. Now I can sit back and watch as the price declines steadily in the future. But I don't care cause I got it now, baby!