Close Call: Mom’s on a Rampage
Grandpa Conner broke. I knew he would; there’s only so much mom he can take. She’s a rough daughter-in-law. Grandpa gave her my address. She’s called and texted, but I’ve always dodged the address question. Grandpa broke because she’s blaming dad for my move and his upcoming marriage.
At least he called to warn me. Family networking’s sometimes useful.
Yesterday after classes let out, I saw mom crossing the parking lot. I ran to my class
room from the attendance office, picked up tests, quizzes, homework, attendance and lesson-plans and headed for the back doors looking over my shoulder the whole time. As I ran past Kay’s room, I told her and Bertha mom was there and they scattered, too. I ran from the school over to Carl’s Jr and waited until the bus showed up (yes, yes, I drank a Coke for their protection).
I did my after class work in UVU Library’s fourth floor. I called Ron from the bus. He said he’d give me a ride home when his classes get out. His kids were there, so I got them some snacks. UVU’s library is nice. I watched the rain, did my grading, took a short nap and read the NYTimes about the tornadoes in North Carolina (they sound just like mom).
Mom left a message in my mail box. I read it while eating some bagel sandwiches (yum yum yum). She was nice, but I can read between the lines: “move home or suffer the consequences.”
Why Buy Low Sucks
After comparison shopping, I saved $20+ (I ad matched and used coupons, too).
Below is how I score the stores I comped this month. Buy Low’s last.
| 4.22 | Lindon Walmart |
| 3.73 | Target |
| 3.56 | Winco |
| 3.48 | Provo Smiths |
| 3.32 | Provo Fresh Market |
| 3.15 | Harmons |
| 3.15 | Orem Walmart |
| 2.87 | Sunflower |
| 2.61 | Buy Low |
I should mention Buy Low doesn’t suck; they have serious problems. I like Buy Low. I went there Saturday after all. However, The first thing coming to mind regarding Buy Low is: BUYER BEWARE!!!
- Buyer Beware. Many items are expired or are damaged. The produce department is dangerous. I found a bin full of rotten Hass Avocados. They had oranges on sale, but the oranges were for industrial use and would taste bland and be woody/pulpy.
- Dark. The store is dark. The concrete floor and narrow aisles cause claustrophobia. Many of the fluorescents were off.
- Disorganized. Buy Low has no logic. I watched an associate shelve product by shoving things aside, creating a new home. The new product didn’t belong there (catsup between canned chilies and dry, black beans). However, the haphazard shelving is funny. I enjoy shopping Buy Low to discover new chaos. For example: Jello desserts, cheese, hotdogs, Pepsi and matches shelved next to each other in the meat department.
- No Identity. Buy Low has no identity. It reminds me of a genetically combined Store House Market and Dollar Store (neither of which could be trusted).
I like shopping Buy Low, but I’m careful.
Price Comparison
The following is the shopping list and the prices per unit for what is in my budget. Please notice, I am going to shop at the cheapest store: The Lindon Wal-Mart and Buy Low (when I shop, I use my bike and bike trailor–I only go to the two cheapest stores and while the Orem Wal-Mart is cheaper than Buy Low, I was treated pretty shabbily by one of their associates).
| Winco | Harmons | Buy Low | Orem WalMart | Lindon Walmart | |
| Price per Unit | |||||
| Avacado | $0.78 | $1.79 | $1.59 | $0.88 | $0.88 |
| Bags, Glad Garbage 13gal | $0.15 | $0.13 | $0.17 | $0.14 | $0.14 |
| Bags, ZL 1gal | $0.08 | $0.12 | $0.11 | $0.06 | $0.06 |
| Bags, ZL 1qt | $0.05 | $0.11 | $0.08 | $0.05 | $0.05 |
| Beans, Chili | $0.05 | $0.05 | $0.08 | $0.04 | $0.04 |
| Bleach, Clorox | $0.02 | $0.03 | $0.03 | $0.02 | $0.02 |
| Bread, Hotdog Bun | $0.11 | $0.15 | $0.12 | $0.15 | $0.15 |
| Broccolli | $0.08 | $0.08 | $0.07 | $0.09 | $0.09 |
| Cabbage, Green | $0.03 | $4.31 | $0.02 | $0.03 | $0.03 |
| Carrot | $0.03 | $0.06 | $0.07 | $0.03 | $0.03 |
| Cauliflower | $2.48 | $0.16 | $0.11 | $0.94 | $0.94 |
| Cheese, Cream | $0.16 | $0.22 | $0.17 | $0.15 | $0.16 |
| Cheese, Mozerella | $0.21 | $0.22 | $0.25 | $0.30 | $0.27 |
| Chili Mix | $0.38 | $0.47 | $1.19 | $0.50 | $0.50 |
| Coffee, Folgers Classic R | $0.30 | $0.27 | 0 | $0.28 | $0.28 |
| Coke Zero | $0.01 | $0.01 | $0.01 | $0.02 | $0.02 |
| Crab, Imitation | $0.16 | $0.18 | $0.12 | $0.21 | $0.17 |
| Cucumber | $0.78 | $0.99 | $1.29 | $0.88 | $0.88 |
| Deoderent, Old Spice Org | $0.73 | $0.77 | 0 | $0.67 | $0.67 |
| Eggs | $0.10 | $0.13 | $0.12 | $0.14 | $0.14 |
| Frozen Chicken Cutlets | $0.40 | $0.83 | $0.54 | $0.58 | $0.58 |
| Frozen Corn on the Cob | $0.42 | $0.97 | $0.57 | $0.24 | $0.74 |
| Frozen Dinners | $0.97 | $1.00 | $0.89 | $0.97 | $0.97 |
| Frozen Fish, Fillets | $0.30 | $0.67 | $0.40 | $0.34 | $0.34 |
| Frozen Peas | $0.05 | $0.07 | $0.11 | $0.06 | $0.06 |
| Hamburger | $0.18 | $0.23 | $0.12 | $0.21 | $0.17 |
| Honey Buzzers | $0.11 | $0.14 | $0.14 | $0.11 | $0.11 |
| Morning Moos | $0.74 | $0.88 | 0 | $0.69 | $0.69 |
| Mushrooms | $0.12 | $0.30 | $0.20 | $0.19 | $0.19 |
| Mustard, Beaver Deli | 0 | $0.26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Olives | $0.24 | $0.30 | $0.30 | $0.27 | $0.27 |
| Onion, Yellow | $0.03 | $0.11 | $0.02 | $0.03 | $0.03 |
| Orange, Naval | $0.03 | $0.05 | $0.01 | $0.38 | $0.38 |
| Oxyclean, Yellow | $0.13 | $0.11 | 0 | $0.11 | $0.11 |
| Pam, Org | $0.42 | $0.50 | 0 | $0.36 | $0.36 |
| Pampers (1) | $0.18 | $0.16 | 0 | $0.14 | $0.14 |
| Paper, Parchment | 0 | $0.12 | $0.12 | $0.09 | $0.09 |
| Pepper, Bell | $0.98 | $0.99 | $1.29 | $1.14 | $1.14 |
| Pork Chops | $1.65 | $0.73 | 0 | $2.20 | $1.03 |
| Q-Tips | $0.01 | $0.01 | 0 | $0.01 | $0.01 |
| Ramen | $0.12 | $0.13 | $0.20 | $0.18 | $0.18 |
| Razors, Mach3 Turbo | $2.63 | $3.19 | 0 | 0 | $2.50 |
| Roast Beef, Sliced | $0.25 | $0.72 | 0 | $0.44 | $0.44 |
| Saran Wrap | 0 | $0.02 | $0.02 | $0.02 | $0.02 |
| Scrubbies, Scotch Brite | $0.39 | $0.83 | $1.00 | $0.81 | $0.81 |
| Shampoo, Head & Shoulders | $0.29 | $0.29 | 0 | $0.27 | $0.27 |
| Shaving Cream, Edge | $0.34 | $0.31 | 0 | $0.42 | $0.26 |
| Soap, Cascade Liquid w/Dawn | $0.07 | $0.07 | $0.09 | $0.04 | $0.05 |
| Soap, Dawn w/Bleach | 0 | $0.16 | $0.16 | $0.13 | $0.13 |
| Soap, Irish Spring Org | $0.65 | $0.62 | $0.62 | $0.44 | $0.44 |
| Spinach, Bag | $1.78 | $2.49 | $2.99 | $1.98 | $1.98 |
| Squash, Butternut | $0.06 | $0.08 | $0.06 | 0 | 0 |
| Tide | $0.15 | $0.21 | $0.20 | $0.15 | $0.15 |
| Tin Foil | $0.03 | $0.03 | $0.03 | $0.03 | $0.06 |
| Tomato Sauce | $0.05 | $0.05 | $0.09 | $0.04 | $0.04 |
| Tomatoes, Roma | $0.22 | $0.19 | $0.19 | $0.09 | $0.09 |
| Tortillas | $0.12 | $0.24 | $0.25 | $0.22 | $0.19 |
| TP, Scotch 12×1000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Tuna | $0.10 | $0.10 | $0.12 | $0.12 | $0.12 |
More Shopping
Well it’s that time again. I need to go to the store and budget. I’m planning on hitting the Lindon WalMart, WinCo, Harmon’s, Macy’s and BuyLow.
The list is for sixtyish items seen here: April Shopping List II. I’m starting a year’s supply so the dry goods are repeated from last time. The last shopping list was for over two hundred items, so I’m not bothering to show that list.
I’ve derived a way to rate the different stores I shop. It’s a weighted scale with the premium value on price. However, price alone isn’t the reason people shop where they do, otherwise Target and Sunflower would close.
I’m measuring as follows:
- Price 75%
- Customer Service 10%
- Appearance 2.5%
- Cleanliness 2.5%
- Shelving/Availability 5%
- Social Responsibility 5%
For example, the last time I went out looking at prices, I ranked those six stores as follows:
| Score | Store |
| 3.90 | Lindon WM |
| 3.42 | Target |
| 3.37 | Orem WM |
| 3.23 | Smiths |
| 3.12 | Fresh Market |
| 2.90 | Sunflower |
The high score would be 10.
Sadly, Sunflower ranks lowest. I love Sunflower, but it’s usually the most expensive store and I’m not going spending my budget there even if they’re socially responsible. Sunflower can be everything they want and not pander to elitists who have no idea what it means to feed a house full of children on a budget.
Still, it bothers me that Smiths and Fresh Market rank higher. They are often as expensive, but their social value and dinginess doesn’t push them below Sunflower.
Blog Titles that are INTERESTING? Who woulda thunk?
I came across a blog (here) I like as I plan my shopping for the next two weeks. The blog’s author, Michael Erin Strong, implies a good blog title is essentially the blog’s “life-force.” Very cool. Strong prefaces her blog post with: “Everyone who has watched a cursor blink for minutes on end knows what it’s like to pull an empty bucket up from a deep well. Finding the perfect title is sometimes more difficult than developing the concept and executing the project, combined. Why is that?” [the italics are Strong’s]. Strong is recreating through simile the struggle to not only write captivating titles, but the struggle to write a thesis. I think next week when I discuss the final paper with my juniors and seniors, I’ll use this article in class. Ooooooo!!! A handout.
Look at my blog title. Obviously no thought there. Strong is cool. I have to think about what changes are required, particularly when I’m teaching high school kids to write (they might read my blog one day).
Another amazing thing about this article is the picture to the left. My TA walked by as I was reading and said the guy looks just like me. Whatever. My hair is shorter and my glasses are rimless. I also have more freckles. My TA said I could use the picture in facebook, once I get a facebook account.
In concluding, Strong reinforces her point by saying: “While writing requires learning, research, passion, and much more, writing titles requires even more of content producers. To write a good title, one must know the audience, know the niche of the audience where content will be promoted, and know current trends. Add to those necessities an insight into human motives, and you might have a good title writer.” These three facets — 1) audience analysis, 2) publication analysis and 3) trend analysis — are all subjects we have discussed in class. Weak-titleness is why my blog isn’t getting a lot of attention. I haven’t considered 1) who my audience should be, 2) where I would to be linked to and 3) discover what blog-readers are looking for from me.
Alta High School Racism; Part 2
I returned all the racism responses today & discussed repercussions at Alta High. I pulled up this website & showed what happens to administrators who tolerate racism.
My students were divided; some felt more must be done & some felt only the students should be punished. I pointed out how clear their oral arguments were but how weak their written-responses were. To continue the discussion & to reinforce five-step paragraphs, I pulled up this website, highlighting the following quote: “As a result of the incident, the district announced it would now provide education and training in all Canyons schools on issues related to diversity and nondiscrimination. The efforts could involve resources and assistance from outside organizations including the NAACP, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the First Amendment Center, the Utah 3Rs Project, the Utah State Office of Education, the Utah Inclusion Center and the Human Rights Education Center of Utah.” I did this to simplify what I wanted them to quote in a five step paragraph. Using quotes in academic papers is one of the hardest writing aspects to perform properly.
The five-step paragraph is the backbone of academic writing. Some of my friends teaching at UVU and BYU say they wish students could do this before coming to college. On the Promethean Board, I pulled up a slide showing the following steps:
- Topic sentence
- Topic restate and expansion
- Quote with author tag & transition
- Restate quote & apply to topic
- Restate step four transitioning to a possible connection to a next paragraph
These steps help writers understand what they must do to communicate their thoughts in an academically acceptable way. The in-class assignment I then gave required a handwritten, fifteen-minute paragraph using the above quote in a five-step paragraph expanding on their original response.
I’ve already graded the papers & almost everyone did a respectable job complying with the instructions and improving their original responses.
