Saturday, December 30, 2006
The Saga of The Book
In November, I asked my husband what he wanted for Christmas. He came up with one thing -- a book called "Techniques of Medieval Armour Reproduction." Yes, I know -- it's a good book.
The first place I looked was Amazon.ca, which listed a couple of copies, at $180. "That much for a paperback?" I asked, incredulous. It's not a rare book, but it isn't easy to find, either. And it's very popular. But by the time I got around to ordering it, Amazon didn't have any copies left for sale. I did check local stores, but they were unable to order from the publisher. I checked a few online stores, but I didn't want the hassle of getting the book across the border at such a late date. I even checked with the publisher of the book, but they had a caveat that they were not responsible for their books being stopped at the border. I didn't want to take the chance.
So I asked him what else he'd like, and he gave me another list. After I'd purchased the books on that list, I checked Amazon again. They still didn't have any copies, but alibris had some. These started at $120. Figuring that was a better deal, I ordered and paid for a copy. They sent a confirmation. About an hour later, they sent a cancellation notice -- sorry, but someone else had gotten to it first. Since the other, used, copies started at $200, I didn't want to order any of them.
Later on, I was googling the book, and found it listed on eBay, but not under its official title. But it was the same book, definitely. At $65! And from a Canadian source! I dithered. I'd already had an eBay account set up, but it meant getting a paypal account or sending a money order. I checked out the seller's feedback -- 99% positive. It was a Buy Now, so I didn't have to bid. Finally, I committed to buying it. Panic set in when I got the "You've won!" notice. Now what?
I emailed militarybooksdirect and asked for a total in Canadian funds, which he sent me right away. This was a Saturday, and I had to wait until Monday to get the M.O. But I was thrilled. On Monday, I sent the M.O., but in my pre-Christmas hurry, I didn't think to send it express. He got the M.O. on the Monday before Christmas and mailed the book expedited. Expedited takes 2-7 days to arrive at the destination. By Friday, when it still hadn't arrived, I asked if he could send me the tracking number, which he did. By 3:00 p.m. Friday, the parcel was in Edmonton, so I gave up hope of it arriving in time.
Saturday morning, my husband's curiosity was piqued by the parcel laying outside our front door. But I couldn't open it in front of him, and was only able to peek at it, then wrap it when he went to the garage for a few minutes. Under the tree it went. Whew! I thought I was going to have to give him an IOU.
Kudos to Canada Post for coming through in the crunch!
The first place I looked was Amazon.ca, which listed a couple of copies, at $180. "That much for a paperback?" I asked, incredulous. It's not a rare book, but it isn't easy to find, either. And it's very popular. But by the time I got around to ordering it, Amazon didn't have any copies left for sale. I did check local stores, but they were unable to order from the publisher. I checked a few online stores, but I didn't want the hassle of getting the book across the border at such a late date. I even checked with the publisher of the book, but they had a caveat that they were not responsible for their books being stopped at the border. I didn't want to take the chance.
So I asked him what else he'd like, and he gave me another list. After I'd purchased the books on that list, I checked Amazon again. They still didn't have any copies, but alibris had some. These started at $120. Figuring that was a better deal, I ordered and paid for a copy. They sent a confirmation. About an hour later, they sent a cancellation notice -- sorry, but someone else had gotten to it first. Since the other, used, copies started at $200, I didn't want to order any of them.
Later on, I was googling the book, and found it listed on eBay, but not under its official title. But it was the same book, definitely. At $65! And from a Canadian source! I dithered. I'd already had an eBay account set up, but it meant getting a paypal account or sending a money order. I checked out the seller's feedback -- 99% positive. It was a Buy Now, so I didn't have to bid. Finally, I committed to buying it. Panic set in when I got the "You've won!" notice. Now what?
I emailed militarybooksdirect and asked for a total in Canadian funds, which he sent me right away. This was a Saturday, and I had to wait until Monday to get the M.O. But I was thrilled. On Monday, I sent the M.O., but in my pre-Christmas hurry, I didn't think to send it express. He got the M.O. on the Monday before Christmas and mailed the book expedited. Expedited takes 2-7 days to arrive at the destination. By Friday, when it still hadn't arrived, I asked if he could send me the tracking number, which he did. By 3:00 p.m. Friday, the parcel was in Edmonton, so I gave up hope of it arriving in time.
Saturday morning, my husband's curiosity was piqued by the parcel laying outside our front door. But I couldn't open it in front of him, and was only able to peek at it, then wrap it when he went to the garage for a few minutes. Under the tree it went. Whew! I thought I was going to have to give him an IOU.
Kudos to Canada Post for coming through in the crunch!
Saturday, December 23, 2006
December Solstice
December 20th-21st has come and gone, and we in North Am tip back towards the sun. I feel light-starved in winter's short days and can't wait for them to get longer again.
I always liked the night, and now that I have kids, I understand why my mother stayed up so late -- No noisy children, no tv, no phones. It's quiet.
But now I appreciate the all-too brief glimpses of our primary star in winter; even a silver sun in a pewter sky is fine. Which doesn't happen too often, though -- I feel I'm fortunate to live in a city that isn't always clouded over.
Light and life-giving heat from a violent explosion of gases. Who'd've thunk it?
I always liked the night, and now that I have kids, I understand why my mother stayed up so late -- No noisy children, no tv, no phones. It's quiet.
But now I appreciate the all-too brief glimpses of our primary star in winter; even a silver sun in a pewter sky is fine. Which doesn't happen too often, though -- I feel I'm fortunate to live in a city that isn't always clouded over.
Light and life-giving heat from a violent explosion of gases. Who'd've thunk it?
Labels: solstice
