Warrior Woman Does Not Buy a New Car
It’s a beautiful day in Pensacola, I had baby duty all morning, but the afternoon is mine. I’ve been wanting to buy a new car; I could buy it and have it waiting for me when I come back. I know the car I want, the model, the color, everything I want – and do not want. The only thing that holds me back is that I hate the whole car buying process. I remember Saturn – nice car, pretty colors, drove well and you walk in and there is one price, and that is the price for everyone. I don’t know what happened. They stopped making Saturns.
So first, I just decided to see if I could find the place. I found it. Then I decided to drive around the lot and see what they had. I did that. Then I decided just to walk into the lobby and see if they had anything like price sheets there, although I had already done my research online. There was a nice young man waiting outside just for me, and he took me on a test drive. Here is what is really cool. Have you ever driven a car so new that it had one mile on the odometer?
I love the car. I had one like it before. This particular car had some features I didn’t care about and don’t want to pay for.
I know what I want. I know what I want to pay. He showed me figures. I told him what I wanted and what I was willing to pay. He printed out a bunch of stuff so he could explain to me why the car he wanted to sell me was going to cost more. I told him what I wanted and what I was willing to pay for it. He had to go talk to his manager. He came back with more figures. I told him what I wanted and what I was willing to pay for it. He went to get his manager.
I told him what I wanted and what I was willing to pay for it. He said he couldn’t sell me the car at that price, so I smiled and shook everybody’s hands and thanked them for their time and I left, after more discussion. I think they were shocked I walked out. I was shocked too.
And delighted.
“But you still don’t have the car!” my son reminded me.
I know I don’t have the car. It’s OK. I have time. I don’t know if this makes sense to you, but I just feel so good! I didn’t buy a car I didn’t want! I stuck by my guns! I know what I want (and what I don’t want and don’t want to pay for) and what I am willing to pay, and I believe with all my heart I am going to find my car at my price (it’s a reasonable price.) I am so proud of myself for not being talked into buying the car I didn’t want at the price I didn’t want to pay!
Pensacola Moments
Yesterday I drove AdventureMan to the airport. He rushed off to check in, planning to meet once the car was checked in. The checker-inner said “do you really want to pay $7.49 a gallon?” so I rushed off to fill the tank, God bless her. It’s funny, with all the stuff we have going on, little things we normally remember just slip right out of our minds.
I came back, picked up my next rental (I know, I know, not cost effective, but I thought I was going to buy a Rav4 while I was here – LLLOOOLLL! I still plan to, but I am waiting for some dealer incentives) and went in to spend some time with AM before he left.
When I came back out and went to my car, it REEKED! I have a non-smoker profile! I went back to the fast-booth, and waited in line. When I explained the problem, they gave me another car, a serious upgrade. Wooo HOOOO!
I only mention these instances, because two people at Avis/Budget Car Rental in Pensacola took the time to insure that I was a happy customer. I am. I am a happy customer.
Somewhere, I lost my sunglasses, and because mostly I only need glasses for driving, I needed to get a new pair. Walk in, have an eye exam within 30 minutes (he told me my old prescription was too strong!) and a pair of prescription sunglasses that are PERFECT in one hour. Professional, courteous service all the way.
I need some baby clothes, so I go to a very good department store looking for WARM baby clothes (it is very cold in Pensacola this year!) and the very nice lady says “Oh, we have some beautiful baby clothes I just marked down to 70% off.”
Am I dreaming?
Amazon Kindle Global Wireless – Wooo HOOOO
My book friends have all been wishing for a global wireless Kindle – and here it is!
From Amazon, and yes, I own stock in Amazon, but not so much as to make me a rich woman. 🙂 What I wonder . . . is how this will work in the Gulf countries, where books are heavily censored? Will people have free access to any book they choose (gasp!) with a Kindle?
(Update: Here’s the answer – ‘global’ does not mean everywhere. Saudi Arabia is covered, but Kuwait and Qatar are not!)
)
Say Hello to Kindle DX with Global Wireless
Beautiful Large Display: 9.7″ diagonal e-ink screen reads like real paper; boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and sharp images
Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines
Books In Under 60 Seconds: Get books delivered wirelessly in less than 60 seconds; no PC required
3G Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle DX; no monthly fees, no annual contracts, and no hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots
Global Coverage: Enjoy 3G wireless coverage at home or abroad in over 100 countries. See details. Check wireless coverage map.
Carry Your Library: Holds up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents
Longer Battery Life: Now read for up to 1 week on a single charge with wireless on, a significant improvement from the previous battery life of 4 days
Built-In PDF Reader: Native PDF support allows you to carry and read all of your personal and professional documents on the go
Auto-Rotating Screen: Display auto-rotates from portrait to landscape as you turn the device so you can view full-width maps, graphs, tables, and Web pages
Read-to-Me: With the text-to-speech feature, Kindle DX can read newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you, unless the book’s rights holder made the feature unavailable
Free Book Samples: Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy
Large Selection: Over 400,000 books, including 101 of 112 New York Times® Best Sellers, plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs. For non-U.S. customers, content availability and pricing will vary. Check your country.
Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases are $9.99, unless marked otherwise. When traveling abroad, you can download books wirelessly from the Kindle Store or your Archived Items. U.S. customers will be charged a fee of $1.99 for international downloads.
Trade Expo and AdventureMan
“Hey! I’m coming home early and I’m taking you to the TradeExpo!” AdventureMan told me with excitement in his voice. He doesn’t often like going places at night after a long day at work, but to him, this sounded like fun.
Jockying for a parking place was not so much fun. We’ve been here long enough, though, when AdventureMan spied a free sidewalk space, up we went, perfect parking spot, right under a streetlight. Short walk to the Expo.
I watched his face as we walked around, changing from excitement to confusion. “Where are all the booths with little flags?” he asked, “and all the booths with home cooked foods from other countries?”
LLLOOOLLL; he thought this was the DIPLOMATIC Bazaar!
Some years they do the diplomatic bazaar and some years they don’t; depends on if the diplomatic wives have the time and energy to get it all organized and bring in all kinds of specialties not normally seen here.
This was a trade expo. There was a lot of underwear, and children’s clothes, not the expensive kind, this was the utilitarian kind, and not-very-nice furniture, and overly ornate but not nice bric-a-brac. Really bad perfumes and some really awful, cheap make-up. The whole thing was over-hyped and low quality, schlocky, and we didn’t spend a dirham. The only food was Costa Coffee!
So not every Doha adventure is such a fun one, but better to try than to miss something wonderful.
One visitor to the Trade Fair actually took some really good photos and posted them on QatarLiving.com. They are very nice photos, and when I saw them I thought “this makes the trade fair look a lot better than I remember it!”
Doha Trade Fair Opens
I love these fairs – there are vendors from all over. One year, I bought bought fabrics from the Sudan and from Senegal – fabulous things I would never find anywhere else. It’s like a shopping trip around the world. 🙂
Huge turnout at Doha Fair
From today’s Gulf Times
Ahmed al-Nuami inaugurates the Doha Trade Fair 2010 at Doha Exhibition Centre yesterday
The eight-day Doha Trade Fair 2010 got off to a great start yesterday at the Doha Exhibition Centre in the presence of a large number of people.
The fair, organised by the Qatar Tourism and Exhibition Authority in association with Qatar Expo, has attracted more than 600 exhibitors from about 20 countries.
More than 15,000 square metres at the exhibition venue has been occupied by the exhibitors.
Bumper prizes and opportunities for bargains on an array of goods beckon visitors.
Products being sold at the venue include carpets, clothes, cosmetics, textiles, lighting accessories and brassware and handicrafts from many Asian, African, European and Middle East countries.
According to Qatar Expo, QR5mn worth of goods is expected to be sold at the fair in the next seven days.
“With 685 exhibitors this time, the fair is growing at an enormous pace every year. The event is expected to turn Doha into a top business destination of the whole of the Middle East,” an official of the organising company said. He also expressed confidence that there would be more participants at the fair next year.
Qatar Tourism and Exhibition Authority chairman Ahmed al-Nuaimi inaugurated the fair. Diplomats of a number of missions and senior Qatari community members attended the opening ceremony.
The fair timings are between 10am to 1pm and 4pm and 11pm. The event will conclude on January 24.
Small Pleasures in the Souq al Waqif
AdventureMan loves to take a quick trip to the souks, any excuse will do. He, like me, likes to wander, and to spy small details that delight our hearts. Here are some recent wanders:
Doha, Qatar Opens Wal-Mart
As seen between B and C ring in Najma when I was trying to find the Garden Vegetarian restaurant:
Start your Day with a Smile
My good friend in Kuwait sent me this wonderful film in a market in Spain. Watch all the way to the end, and see the sign. I love creative advertising!
German Lingerie Ad: Liaison Dangereuse
A German company finds a fresh new take on selling lingerie; found this on AOL Finance News 🙂 Very clever.
Sexiness for everyone from Glow Berlin on Vimeo.
Souk al Waqif: Men’s Souks
AdventureMan and I have a tradition, and that is we like to go shopping together before Christmas, helps him help Santa Clause with things to put in my Christmas stocking, and gives us precious time together in a relaxed setting.
So of course, we headed to our favorite place, the Souk al Waqif, where I discovered that the place I love the most to buy scarves – he always has things no one else has – was totally out of scarves! Well, he had six hanging up, but they were not special. I said “Where are the scarves??” and he laughed and said “Sold out!” and I said “Well that is good for you but not so good for me!” and we both laughed. He said he will be getting more early in January, but that is no help to Santa!
Then we wandered over into the older area of the souks, closest to Grand Hamad street. There is a new shop with beautiful misbah (worry beads) and unusual treasures. We wandered further, and came upon the falcon souk.
OK, I get it, the rest of you knew all about it, but I think because I usually go early in the morning, maybe this area isn’t open when I go – I have seen the seats outside, the majlis area, but I never saw the falcons before, not in the new souks. What fun! But aside from tourist women, there are no women in this area – the falcon souk, the camping souk, the hunting souk – these are very masculine domains, Guy Souks.
And they are equally lovely:
In this hallway, everything is giant. Hanging up above is a giant falcon glove, a giant falcon hood, and at the end of the hall, where the men with falcons are entering, are two gigantic falcon stands.
Look at this beautiful space! I think there are some offices around this space, as well as shops:
The camping and hunting souks have all kinds of tentings, bedrolls, washing up fixtures, etc, not so good for camping in the Pacific Northwest, but great for desert camping and hunting:
When the hardware souks and shoe repair souks were cleared out of the main street, I wondered where they had gone, and last night we found them. To my joy, I also found the scribes! I had been told they dispersed, went to various police stations to do their translations, fingerprints, etc. but last night I found them here! Right next to the police station! How have I missed them, all these evenings in the souks? I didn’t see them!
When first in Doha, where there is not one single modern hardware store, and before I had discovered my neighborhood hardware area, (remember, my secret vice is that I love hardware? and hardware stores?) I would go to the Souk al Waqif and start at one store saying “I need 3/4 inch masonry nails” and I would show them one. The man would leave his shop and take me to whichever of his buddies carried those nails. Or chains. Or bungee cords – they always had what I needed, or something close I could use. I’m glad to see the hardware shops are still there, along with the fishing and boating supply stores, and those huge pot and griddle stores.
Did you know Souk al Waqif had it’s own fire truck? Neither did we!
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