Journal Entries
This town is just too damn small
Posted Mar 7, 2003
For 40 years out of 43 I lived in London - a city of more than 10 million people. You just don't bump into people you know too often in that kind of place. Here in Austin though it's almost a weekly occurence for someone to say "Hey, you work at Cheapo/you're the Cheapo guy/you work at that cd store." It's kind of disconcerting for someone like me who's spent most of their life in a place where it's easy to be anonymous.
And now one of our customers is a neighbour 
. I was outside the front door watering my cacti this morning when I hear someone leave the apartment above us and walk down the stairs. "Ah" I thought, "someone's moved in upstairs, I'd better say hello."
"Hey, you work at Cheapo!"
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Latest reply: Mar 7, 2003
Laws
Posted Mar 7, 2003
Every country in the world has 'em right? They're there for two main reasons - to stop people taking other people's stuff, and to stop people hurting other people.
It's against the law to steal someone's belongings or to take money from your place of work because you'd be depriving them of what rightfully belongs to them. It's against the law to hit people or stab people or shoot people because it hurts, and because you may also deprive them of something - their life.
There are people who don't want to obey the laws. Prisons and the people incarcerated inside are evidence of that. If there are people who don't want to obey the law, then there have to ways of enforcing the law. That's why there are police officers, speed cameras, regulations on businesses.
If you break the law and get caught, don't stamp your foot like a petulant little child who's just had something taken away from them. Take responsibility for your actions and accept the consequences of them.
If someone breaks the law and does something to you, let the law take its course. You have no place taking the law into your own hands. Justice does not mean revenge.
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Latest reply: Mar 7, 2003
Miracles do happen Grandpa
Posted Feb 27, 2003
I'm sure you've all heard about the cold weather and the ice storm we had in Austin and the whole of south central Texas this week, and most of you will know about the problems of driving in those conditions. You probably all know my views on Texas drivers... in fact drivers in general.
A lot of offices, businesses and schools were closed here yesterday so there was almost no traffic on the roads when I walked to the shops - it was so calm and peaceful 
But more than that, I saw something I don't think I've seen since I got here - Texans driving sensibly 
I very nearly *fainted* ::THUD::
The temperature didn't get above freezing in Austin yesterday so the ice on most of the roads was there all day, and Texans simply don't know how to deal with it (a bit like London drivers really), so the few that ventured out were taking it very very easy. The road we live on is a pretty major road and the ice had been salted, but even so, people were driving at a sedately 30mph instead of the usual crazy 40mph+. It made the walk so much more pleasant 
Today though it was pretty much business as usual. Not quite as much traffic out there as usual because it was still quite icy this morning, but the thaw was well underway by the time Mrs Gosho and I went to the store, and yesterday's relative peace and calm had been obliterated by the roar of the truck, the SUV, and the car 
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Latest reply: Feb 27, 2003
Gosho's not well
Posted Feb 23, 2003
It's... 4.55am (Lady Scott's probably just getting up to stoke the fire 
) and I've been awake for at least an hour. And it wasn't even Dewey's fault this time 
My nose has turned into Niagara Falls - I'm having to use a t-shirt for a handkerchief, and I'm trying not to cough so that I don't wake up Mrs Gosho. Took a couple of aspirins to get rid of the headache, and I think I'm going to get something a little stronger later today. No, not booze - it's Sunday and the liquor stores are all shut in Texas. That's right - you can get a cold remedy which has speed in it on a Sunday in Texas but you can't get a bottle of fine whisky. Doesn't that remind you of the not so long ago days in the UK where the ridiculous Sunday trading laws meant that you could buy a porno mag from a newsagent, but not a bible, and people were selling oranges for 500 quid each and throwing in a free three piece suite? 
Of course, now that there's someone moving around the apartment, Dewey wants to go out and they both want to be fed. I might just let him go because I'm not in the least bit tired... well, I am tired, but not very 
, and I'm sure I'll be awake for however long he stays out there. On the way to work yesterday I was walking past the apartment where we used to live and I heard a big ole catfight going on somewhere in the scrub behind the wooden fence. "Dat's my boy" I thought 
We had an incredibly busy day yesterday - by 7pm we'd done more sales than we often do by close of business on a Saturday, and there were still five hours to go! 
What's more, it was people buying big rather than lots of little sales, which is always nicer to have deal with
Yes, I've had office romances... loads. I really much start watching The Office. They've been showing it on BBC America for a month or two now and the trailers for it are very funny. I think maybe I was under the impression when it started that it's another bloody reality show, which I can quite do without.
Dewey just came back in, but I'm really not ready to go back to bed yet 5.25am now
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Latest reply: Feb 23, 2003
Worried
Posted Feb 20, 2003
Remember the great Austin flood of '01? I certainly do. It happened on a Thursday, which was also my day off. The following day, Friday, I was scheduled to go in. It began raining around breakfast time. On the previous Monday we got a soft drink machine installed at the store.
Today is Thursday. It's my day off. Tomorrow I'm scheduled to work. Mrs Gosho and I were awoken this morning at around 6.30am by an almighty thunder crash. It's breakfast time and it's raining very heavily - it's forecast to do so all day, and we're under a flash flood watch which could very easily be upgraded to a flash flood warning.
And on Monday we got a soft drink machine installed at the store
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Latest reply: Feb 20, 2003
There is only one thing worse than being Gosho, and that is not being Gosho
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