Red Cedar
More apocalypse, less angst
So close to done.
I am so close to being finished with the semester. One book away from finishing the reading list (all 29 readings!), 10 pages away from finishing a 15-page paper, one class away from the end! That’s pretty incredible, really – one year of grad school down – but I’m also feeling a bit sad about it because it means the end of my cohort year.
My program is structured so that for the first two semesters, we all attend the same foundation classes as a cohort. Not only that, but the program has built in dinner before class, so we spend that time together each week too (plus drinks after!) It’s a bit unusual in grad studies, but it creates an intensive dynamic, and over the last eight months I have gotten to know a few people really well. While I’m sure that at least a couple of them will remain friends, I also know the cycles of such things: once the group activity ends the group participants scatter. As it should be, but still – who wants to give up the bond we make even with those who grate on us a little?
I’ve got a stack of books for recreational reading (as evidenced by Monday’s post), and I’ve got a stack of books for reviewing, plus I want to start a more regular posting schedule on a few themes – reading, listening, eating, gardening, and love – because these are the explorations most important to me and I want to delve deeper into my writing and reflections thereupon. We’ll see if I can stick to such thematic writing for long – but with grad school out of the way for the summer I’m going to dedicate my Monday’s off to home and writing projects.
Anyhow, that’s all of me at the moment. I’ve got a paper to write and I can’t divert much of my attention to writing even the blog without feeling guilty at the moment. As if all my writing need be channeled into the one thing which needs to get done.
What’s real.
“Every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness”
Samuel Beckett
And yes, it is with words Samuel Beckett expresses himself. But I agree anyway. To my aching and overflowing self it seems the world is so much words. So much talking. So much noise between here and there – that we can’t get to the other side of each other and start doing what needs to be done. Working in the service of life. Living in the arms and joys of one another. Resting in the cool shade of what is real.
Post-semester reading
I spent my day working on my final term paper for class, managing a dismal 2.5 pages of the 15 I have to write. They are a fairly well-formed 2.5 pages, consisting of my core argument and introduction, but nonetheless the bulk of the writing still lies ahead. In lieu of an actual post, I am uploading this photograph of the stack of books awaiting me upon the end of the semester. Recreational reading here I come!
This, is about the most exciting thing a girl like me can have. Ah.
A penny for your…. prediction
A passing prediction on the demise of the penny announced in yesterday’s budget (and yes, I have done my share of handwringing over that budget already):
Though I care little about the Canadian penny’s death, I think it should be recognized as the hidden transfer to business that it is- particularly brick and mortar business which still offer cash transactions.
How so?
Since taxes in Canada are percentage-based, it is rare to see a cash-register ring up an even number. HST, GST, whatever… if it costs $1.00 in store price, it costs $1.12 at the register. Without the penny, how will change get made?
Obviously a shop isn’t going to round down on transactions, particularly for small business that could really hurt them because they would fall short on their tax-remittance to the government at the end of the year. So that leaves round-up as the only real option – which means if something comes to $5.11 the consumer will pay $5.15 and the 4 cent difference will go to the business.
Because that will seem unfair to the consumer at the till, I believe Canada will shortly move to after-tax pricing which both hides the tax rate, and the fact that the business is charging more than goods + tax cost will also be hidden. Some people prefer after-tax pricing, some people hate it – I’m ambivalent myself – but the fact remains that this scheme gives business the chance on some transactions to make as much as an extra 4 cents.
This really is nothing to a small business with a hundred transactions per day (the most this could work out to is $1460 per year which would then be taxed on top). But if you are Walmart or Safeway, doing thousands of transactions per day in dozens of stores then it adds up. 10,000 transactions with an extra 4 cents added on for 365 days amounts to $146,000 – and I am sure that these chains do more than 10,000 transactions per day.
As a consumer, I’m really not too fussed about an extra 4 cents on a bag of groceries – but as a taxpayer, I am concerned that the government isn’t being more transparent about the implications of eliminating the penny in a percentage-based tax system. It certainly opens the door for another wealth transfer, one that doesn’t do much for the small business, but does an awful lot for the retail giants who are already advantaged in our cheap-good-loving society.
Instant (mobile) America Infographic
This was shared with me today via this blog (thanks for sending me the link!) – since it fits nicely with some mobile application development I’m working on the concept for, I thought I would share. Though this focuses on the US, I don’t think Canadians would be far different in these statistics. I know for sure that I’ve become one of those very impatient searchers. On the other hand, waiting in line doesn’t bug me that much if I know something good is at the end.
Created by: Online Graduate Programs
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