In celebration of Pi Day

There were no celebrations in Algebra class when I went to school. It wasn’t until 1988 that Pi Day began to be celebrated. That’s when Larry Shaw, a physicist at the San Francisco Exploratorium, led the staff in a march around a circular space followed by a feast of fruit pies (ref. Wikipedia).

With the advent of social media, Pi Day has become better known. It is celebrated on March 14, or 3/14. If you recall those formulas from Algebra class, you know that the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant is approximately 3.14159. It is used to calculate the circumference of a circle (π x diameter, or 2π x radius).

Well, today was March 14, or 3.14, or Pi Day. I was reminded of that when I first looked at Facebook, so I had a little fun asking a couple of my co-workers if they knew it was Pi Day. Both of them had also seen it.

One then asked the big question: “What do you do to celebrate Pi Day?”

After a little brainstorming, we supposed the thing to do would be to eat pie. But what kind of pie, and what if one is trying not to eat pastries and dessert?

That’s when the brilliant idea surfaced. The menu item for supper should be Shepherd’s Pie! We shared a laugh and parted ways.

At lunch time, I gave my husband, Lyle, a phone call. He is the one who usually makes our supper. “Want a menu idea for supper?” I asked him. “We could have Shepherd’s Pie.” I shared the explanation of where I was coming from with the idea, but he didn’t sound too impressed.

At 5:00 pm, Lyle picked me up from work. But he did not drive down the usual street toward home. I wondered what he was up to. Were we picking up the mail? No, he drove past the mall. Was it maybe more bird seed he was after? No, he turned before Peavey Mart.

He parked at Humpty’s restaurant, then informed me that we were going out for supper. He had enlisted daughter’s help and had found out that Humpty’s menu included Shepherd’s Pie.

  

When we ordered, I shared a condensed version of the story with the waitress. She looked a little bewildered but caught the humor of the occasion. When she brought the skillets to the table it was with a big smile and “Happy Pi Day!”. Even better, she joined the fun and took 10% off our bill.

I would like to have seen my co-worker’s face when she read my text message, “At humptys, they serve shepherds pie”. Her reply was, “Oh. Nice!!”

Someone once said, “Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional.” We’re never too old to have fun. Besides, it was a way to decide what to have for supper. I can’t remember ever ordering Shepherd’s Pie at a restaurant before.

So whether you ever liked math class or not, have a happy pi day!

Career decisions never end

Having had a glimpse of a more “professional” occupation while working as an insurance broker or senior administrative assistant, there are times when opportunity knocks and I feel obliged to at least see what’s there.

This was the case over the past couple weeks. There were two sales rep. positions open at the Red Deer Advocate, where I currently work, and the prospect of a new challenge caused me to give it some consideration.

I don’t mind the work I do now. In Advertising Services, we enter the details of the newspaper ads and flyers into computer. We are also the first step of creating the newspaper. We do the initial layout, determining where the advertising is placed, then send the pages to the editorial department. When I’m not doing that, I work one day per week in the newsroom, posting the stories and photos from the paper to the web site.

I have never been much of a salesperson. If something isn’t viable enough to sell itself, I would not likely get far. But I see the sales people come and go each day and know that they are making considerably more salary than I. They work independently and visit a variety of people and businesses every day. Except for a few stories brought back, it seems pretty easy.

Then my rational, practical side kicked in. A higher salary always comes with greater risk, responsibility and stress, especially a commission-based pay scale. The customers are not always cheerful or compliant, and the driving would be in all kinds of weather. With a cataract coming on and a tremor in my hands, how could I even think I could be successful? Besides, I would have to give up my optional day in the newsroom and I really enjoy working there.

Of course, the latter argument won and I didn’t apply for the change. I then mentioned it to my husband, who heartily agreed with that decision. So I will continue where I am, and be more satisfied doing so because I have looked at both sides and made a conscious decision.

Back to work I go!

Education at the Auction

Last weekend I yielded to the pleading of my daughter for a ride to an auction sale. It wasn’t a difficult task on her part to persuade me. I rather enjoy attending a farm or estate auction once in a while. This particular one was partly estate/antiques and partly police seizures.

Most of the crowd was there for the police seizure action. That was obvious by the bidding on the furniture. A lovely china cabinet with matching table, including two leaves and six chairs, went for $100. There was a lovely sewing centre for sale, and tens of containers of fabric, thread, yarn and sewing notions. When the time comes for us to “hang up the keys” and furnish a home again, I know where I’ll be heading and I don’t mean the store!

Then came the section so many were waiting for. The items for auction were in themselves an education. They were seized following break and enter (B&E) arrests, unclaimed by former owners. Each item was sealed in plastic before being sent for auction. There were playstations, sunglasses, GPS units, radar detectors, digital cameras and jewellery. That is a good list of items one should never leave in sight when parking a vehicle!

There was some “equipment” of the B&E occupation as well. Several crowbars, wire cutters, an axe and three metal baseball bats were among the items sold. There was also a turbo booster for a Ford truck, explained as an item used to make the vehicle go faster. The auctioneer suggested that the purchaser should also bid on a radar detector!

Perhaps the most entertaining item was a set of three hub caps. Not four, but three. Presumably the thugs were caught before the fourth one was removed. The victim of that particular theft was not in the audience because they had a hard time to get even one bid.

After a few hours, we were tired of sitting and of jostling for position to see through the crowd. We returned home empty-handed, except for daughter’s $5 gun rack for holding her fishing rods.

But I believe we were a little more aware of our vulnerability to break and enter theft. I, for one, will be more careful of where I leave valuables.