Updates (in point form) ...

[themythicalman]

• Our Assistant Manager got laid off this week.  He didn't do anything wrong:  the store wasn't making enough money, so Head Office's solution was to lay people off.  Too bad, because he had been with the company for almost twenty years, had so many great stories to tell and was great fun to work with.  The only positive consequence to this is that I will now be getting more hours at the store for the foreseeable future;
• 
  We start charging five cents for our plastic bags at the store starting on Monday, partial proceeds of which will be donated by the company to Canadian World Wildlife Fund.  I've started telling customers that it's to help protect the Canadian Panda and the Great Spotted Jackalope, just to see who's paying attention;
• It looks as though I'll be officially playing euphonium and/or tuba as part of The Dreadnoughts' upcoming recording sessions.  I was told to set my own rate, so I quoted $100 for 2 to 3 hours of recording.  There was also the mentioning of coffee and alcohol as an extra bonus - the life of a musician is not for the faint of heart, folks;
• Tomorrow Orkestar Slivovica plays at Car-Free Day on Commercial Drive.  Hopefully the weather will hold out.  On top of all that fun, Brazil will be playing The Ivory Coast in FIFA World Cup soccer tomorrow starting at 11.15 a.m.  If the Brazilians win, expect there to be major, spontaneous enthusiasm to spill forth onto the streets from the various cafés along the Drive that will be airing the game live.
• We are tentatively planning on hosting a Valentine's Circus next February.  We know enough dancers, both tribal and fire; we know circus people on both sides of the border; and we know lots of other people as well who could help to make this a whole new level of awesome spectacle for the band.  I'm hoping that we can have Tesla coils as part of the show, so if any of you know how to acquire two or more, or if you know how to build them, or even have a few just lying about in your garage or closet, gathering dust, please let me know.