Back In Print!

So, I headed into Elgin this morning in order to:

• Hire a Kilt for Graduation
• Buy a Laserjet Printer
• Get my niece her birthday present

Two out of three ain't bad is it? As Meat Loaf used to sing! On the kilt front, yes, I finally saw some kilts, but then the guy in the shop queried what the College rules were on the wearing of kilts. Apparently certain things are permitted, while others are not. It was pretty much suggested that I return when I've acquainted myself with that information. Bah, people always have to make things difficult, I just want a kilt!

Regarding, my desperate need for a Laserjet printer, I went to Argos to buy one that I'd seen in their catalogue! I checked online yesterday and it said they had plenty in stock. Liars! I checked every printer in the book when I was at their store, guess what, they didn't have any printer in stock, not least the one I was after. I'm talking about the Samsung MI 2010, for £79.99. In desperation I decided to try a small computer shop up a side street. They had the same model on display for £99.99, and as I said, desperation took a hold of me and I decided just to go for it. So the shop salesman goes through the back, and my son and I followed. He tells me that the one on display is the only one left, but that they have plenty of the newer model in stock (ML 2510), but he doesn't know the price, he'll check it! We go back to the till so he can scan the barcode and I'm thinking £120, maybe £130. Then up it comes £70.49. I nearly tore it out of his hands, of course I bought it. It's very rare that something like that happens to me, these days.

Bought some curling tongs or hair-straighteners, whatever, for the niece, and that's her sorted as far as I'm concerned. My wife was saying, "what about perfume, what about this, or that, blah, blah, blah?". Just buy the first semi-suitable item you see, that's my motto. Who cares if they need it, or even if they want it. You've bought them something, that's all that matters! With a little luck, you might have got them something they were needing, result. Then you look like a truly considerate person who spends time deliberating a birthday purchase.

Sing A Song For You!

I forgot to mention yesterday how fortunate both I and my fellow commuters aboard the 5:15 from Aberdeen, were, to have in our midst, some Scotland fans, quite obviously still on their way home from the match against France. When you're travelling home after a long and tiring day, believe me, the last thing you want to hear is a slurred but raucous version of "Flower Of Scotland", sang repeatedly, regardless of whether the team pulled off a great vistory or not. Clearly, they did achieve a massive win, but most of us are not in the fortunate position where we can spend the following day getting hammered.

Going back to my attempts to hire a kilt for graduation day, as I narrated to you a couple of days ago, I went back to the shop this morning at 11am, certain that this time it would indeed be open. Well, it wasn't! When it is open, if ever, remains a mystery. How the hell can you run a business like that? Now I'll have to hire a kilt from Elgin, which will make things a lot more awkward for me!

I've got so much work to do today, but I'm procrastinating yet again, as you can see. There's not really much time for blogging these days, but I do it anyway. It's a sort of diary in many ways, in others it's a mirror into my soul... maybe! Oh yeah... one of my fellow students warned me that Laserjet printers are bad for your health, something about micro-particles. I think that any worries about dying from a printer related illness should be of very little concern to someone about to embark on a profession in teaching!