Of Scents, Smells and Stinks

Have you ever noticed that when you walk into The Bay, Sears or even Shopper's Drug Mart, that you are walking right into the perfume section? I haven't been to The Bay or Sears for years but I do visit Shopper's Drug Mart on occasion because they usually have the Canada Post outlet. I've always wondered why stores did that... and now I know.

I was listening to a YouTube video while tidying up some data, listening with half an ear to the Secrets of Selfridges. You do know Selfridges, don't you? The mega department store on Oxford Street in London, an icon of shopping. It was started by an American, Harry Selfridge, back in the 1800s and it revolutionized shopping. They let people browse/window shop. They had washrooms. They even had elevators between floors. The introduced fetching window displays. The let people touch the wares. What a thought. And... Selfridges introduced the practice of having perfume (and jewellery) by the front door. Gee... thanks Selfridges...

You see, I am a bit sensitive to scents... and smelly perfumes. They can give me an instant headache if I'm not careful. I usually take a deep breath of fresh air before entering Shopper's Drug Mart and try to hold it as a scurry through the stinky perfume section and head for Canada Post. That doesn't work so well in The Bay where the scent section covers such a huge area. Although, I can usually find a secondary entrance that avoids the worst of it. In an age where more and more people suffer from scent allergies, it boggles the mind that places like Shopper's Drug Mart and The Bay, still assault potential customers with scent. They might as well hit them over the head. So many places are now "scent free".

I find one of the worst times and places for scent assault is Value village on Senior's Day. I know that the olfactory senses of the elderly deteriorate over age (according to my mom). They have trouble smelling things, so when they go out, they really load up on the scented body lotion and/or the perfume. I'll be wandering through Value Village and hit a wall of scent... I quickly look around and identify the person surrounded by a cloud of scent... anywhere from 6 feet to 10 feet away. I do everything in my power to avoid that person... but sometimes there are so many that I throw up my hands in defeat and head for the exit. I don't need an instant headache. I haven't figured out how much exposure generates the headache... it's not an experiment that is all that pleasant.

And just in case you're wondering... it's not just perfume. I love lilacs (in moderation)... I once cut a big bouquet and put it in my bedroom when I was a teenager. I went to sleep that night and woke up in the morning with a screaming headache. You can have too much of a good thing. There is, of course, cigarette smoke... very nasty. Combine a whiff of that with a hot day and I can feel the headache storming towards me.

Let's top all this off with the comment that for some asthmatics, excessive scent - be it from cigarette smoke, cleaners, perfume, hair spray or air fresheners - can be life-threatening. Someone might think that they smell "pretty" but... to someonelse, that "pretty" smell is an assaulting stench.

So... thanks Selfridges.

The Ease of a Capsule Wardrobe

Did you hear about the Australian news anchor, Karl Stefanovic? He was in the news last fall after he revealed that he had been wearing the same blue suit during his news spots... not for a few weeks or months, but for a whole year!

He had become fed up with how people always gave advice to his female co-anchor about her wardrobe. He wanted to make a point that sexism was alive and well. Even though he wore the exact same suit for a year, not one person noticed or commented on his attire. Interesting, no?

They say that "clothes make the man"... but clearly the truth is that clothes make the woman. Nobody really notices what the man is wearing as long as he's wearing something presentable. They also say "don't judge a book by its cover", but clearly that too only works for men... not for women. Although... things are changing.

Sincere Spaces blogpost on Capsule Wardrobe

There's a movement in the minimalist world to move in the direction of what's called a capsule wardrobe. A certain number of clothes that work well together and make around 20-30 outfits. Think about it... who needs more than 30 outfits? There are about 30 days in a month and only 20 working days. At that rate, you'd wear each outfit once a month. In most cases, nobody would notice if you wore the same outfit once a week.

I know this goes against the modern trend of consumerism - buy more and more and more. Some people have dozens of shoes, hats, purses, scarves and what not. But really... do we need all of that? What are we telling the world when we feel that we only get noticed based on our clothing? Good question... isn't the book more important than the cover? As long as we look presentable, shouldn't that be enough?

I think it's interesting that most people on home-improvement shows (think HGTV) drool over walk-in closets. The wife usually walks into the closet and coos in excitement: "Ooooooohhhhh, this would be perfect for all my clothes! Oh... and Honey, you can have the hall closet." Seriously? When I was growing up, my parents made do with a standard closet. It says something about our society that closets and houses keep getting bigger while storage lockers are doing a rip-snorting business. Stuff, stuff and more stuff.

When I look at my own closet (or rather half-closet), I have a bunch of long-sleeved shirts that I never wear anymore. I have a few dress shirts and dress pants that I used to use when I facilitated workshops. But I never wear them anymore. I have about 15 pairs of jeans but only wear 3 on a regular basis. My standard attire for the day is usually t-shirt and jeans. If it's cool out, I throw a fleecy sweater on top of it all. Done. Which means that of late I have been eying the clothes in my closet and wondering... do I really need all of them?

Because even in terms of t-shirt and jeans, I am starting to notice that I am favouring black t-shirts above the other colours. My three jeans are beige, brown and blue... and black t-shirts go with all three. It seems that I am moving in the direction of a wardrobe uniform. The idea is to find a look that works for you and then stick with that. One writer wears black turtle-neck sweaters with skinny jeans. As she says " It’s almost never inappropriate, and it has the magical quality of taking on the connotations of its surroundings. In a bookstore, I look bookish. At an art gallery, I look arty. On the subway, I am invisible. I can look young or old, rich or poor, cool or humble. In my uniform, people see me as they want to." And it's not just unknown writers. Steve Jobs (of Apple fame) always wore black turtle necks and jeans. Rumour has it that Einstein bought several versions of the same grey suit so that he wouldn't have to waste brainpower on choosing an outfit each morning. Same with President Obama, except he mixes it up by having blue and grey suits. That's what I want. Something simple.


Now, the hosts of "What not to Wear" might have a conniption fit but... they don't have to live my life. Yeah, sure, I could look like a million bucks if I got a fancy haircut, wore make-up and bought clothes from high-end boutiques. Meh... that's not me. I buy my black t-shirts and my jeans from Value Village. I have one pair of shoes, one pair of sandals, one pair of hiking boots. And that's good enough for me.

Am I going to declutter my closet? That is a good question. I hang onto things in there because I think that someday I might need some long-sleeved shirts... even though I live in a mild climate. I think that someday I might need a dress suit, even though I have no intention of ever wearing it again.I think it's time to take a look and start paring.

Saving Water in Small Ways

I lived in Vancouver for nine years, back in the 1980s and 1990s. I knew that it rained a lot in Vancouver but I don't think I ever really considered the overall climate in Vancouver. Admittedly, I was gone most summers, out in the bush, doing research for my thesis. I never really experienced the dry days of a Vancouver summer. Somehow, I always thought that all of Canada had four seasons - spring, summer, winter, fall. That isn't actually true. The southwest coast of British Columbia, including Vancouver Island, could best be described as having a two-season climate - the rainy season and the dry season.

Living on the east coast of Vancouver Island, we have become very familiar with this climate. Our lawn is lush and green from October to May. From June to September, the grass turns yellow and goes dormant. Hardly anybody here waters their lawns during the dry season - and apparently this has been the case for decades. People recognize instinctively that we are on an island, and despite the rain that we get in the rainy season, water can be in short supply.

Lawn in mid-June

This past Monday, our city went to Watering Restrictions - Level 2. That means that we (with an odd house number) can use sprinklers on Sundays and Thursday, but not between the hours of 10 am and 6 pm. Watering the garden by hand is allowed at any time, as long as you use a hose attachment with a shut-off. There are other restrictions that don't really affect us - hosing down sidewalks, washing cars, power-washing decks or houses. We do none of those. And if ever we hit Level 4 watering restrictions, we would only be allowed to sprinkle once a week. But we're not too concerned at this point. We don't water our lawn and are proud of it's golden colour. Of course, patches of green survive where the weeds still thrive. Dandelions and hawk-weed apparently have deep roots.

This year, however, we are more mindful of how we use and misuse water. We've been following the news of the California drought and know that climate change is upon us. What are some of the small ways in which we can conserve water?

Rain Barrel
This is an obvious solution, and one that is apparently quite easy to set-up. It does, however, require fairly regular showers during the summer to be useful. We are looking at putting a rain barrel in place to catch the run-off from our shed roof.

Grey Water
There are all sorts of complicated systems that you can install to divert waste water from your kitchen sink into grey-water collection systems. We're not there yet. We're talking about something more basic. We considered how much water we waste in the kitchen and the bathroom and came up with a solution:

• waiting for the shower water to warm up - we now hold a big bucket under the tap until the water hits the right temperature and then pull the shower transfer thingie - 2-3 gallons each time (oh, and we don't shower every day)
• filling water bottles at the kitchen sink, waiting for the water to get cold enough - we now have a big bucket in the second sink, over which we fill the water bottle - sometimes as much as 1 gallon of water saved
• filling pet water dish - dump the stale water in the bucket and rinse the dish over the bucket - 1/2 gallon saved
• rinsing vegetables from the garden - used to do it in the sink but now do it in the bucket - 2 gallons saved
• rinsing fingers underneath the tap, like after chopping vegetables - we now do that over the bucket saving a little bit everytime
• water from boiling eggs - goes into the bucket and the cold water rinse goes into the bucket as well

Those are the main things we're doing right now. We don't have any soap in the water that we save in the two buckets. When the buckets need to be dumped, we have a green rubber garbage bin outside the patio doors, on the deck. If the water doesn't have too many bits of flotsam (like the tub water), we just pour it into the bin. If there is a fair bit of debris in the water, I take it outside and pour it on various bushes which normally don't get watered with the hose. We can use the water in the garbage bin to fill watering cans.

Does it take a bit of extra effort? Yup. Does it make a difference? Definitely. It is satisfying to know that we are conserving water which would normally just go down the drain. Fresh, clean water is a precious resource and we are blessed to have a relatively abundant supply. But it is time to start appreciating it and not wasting it.

Sour Beer

Sooo... we went to Quadra Island for a little getaway a few weeks ago. It was quite lovely and a beachcombers paradise! On the first evening, we went to the Heriot Bay Inn and I had a Philips Blue Buck ale - quite delicious.

On our second evening, we went to a pub for dinner (the name of which shall remain nameless). They didn't have a huge selection so I ordered a Cameron's ale or some such thing. As I sipped it, I crinkled my nose and stared at it with suspicion. It tasted sour. Yuck. I'm usually the designated driver when we go out for dinner and end up having one beer on normal occasions. But on this night, my partner had volunteered to be the driver and so I was OK to have another beer. I ordered a Shaftsbury or a Vancouver Island Brewery beer. One that I've had before. It too was sour. Grumble, grumble... shitty pub. The place was empty and I suspected that their kegs of beer were old and stale. Very disappointed.

On our third and last day, we bought some beer and wine at the local store and had a picnic in our room in the afternoon. I looked at the selection of beers and chose a Canterbury Ale, a Prince George brewery. I love Canterbury ale... yum! It is a delicious mild dark brew. We got back to our room, I cracked open a can and took a sip. And... guess what... yup. It was sour! I stared at the can in dismay. Clearly it wasn't just the pub... it was me!!

I glumly looked up "taste disturbances" and learned that it could be a sign of menopause. Great. Hot flashes might not be in my future but taste disturbances would alter my life! That evening, we ate at the lodge/resort we were staying at. They had an even more limited selection of beer and I chose a Coors Light. I cut my teeth on Coors Light when I started drinking beer in my 30s. I hate it now because it tastes like water really. I received my glass and took a sip. Ugh... sour!!!

Oh dear... well... this would make it very easy to quit drinking beer, that's for sure. I stared at the glass with disgust. Lovely... just bloody lovely!

But now... for the myterious part. We spent three nights on Quadra and when we got home, I cracked a can of the Canterbury just to see and... it tasted normal. Perfectly normal. We've been home for a couple of weeks and beer tastes just fine to me. Was it a Quadra thing? Or was it a PMS thing? Only time will tell.

Kick-starting Productivity with The One Thing

I subscribe to a few productivity blogs and one of them (don't ask me which one) recommended a book called The One Thing. It sounded interesting so I requested the book through the local public library (of course). When the book came in, I picked it up and couldn't put it down. I finished it in 4 hours and was inspired.

The author, Gary Keller, makes the telling point that we have become a culture that values "multi-tasking", a word that is actually an oxymoron. You can't concentrate on two things at once. Seriously. If you're concentrating on writing an email, you can't talk to your mother on the phone at the same time. One of the tasks will suffer. Plus, your mother will quickly figure out what you're doing.

The idea of multi-tasking originally came from computers - they worked so quickly and did so many things seemingly at once. But what computers actually do is shift rapidly between different tasks. Which is what we do as well. We shift attention between the email and Mom rapidly... but really, neither one is accomplished in a satisfying way. Keller says we would be far better to focus on one task.

His second point that stuck with me is this. We talk about prioritizing tasks... we have high priority tasks and low priority tasks. But the actual origins of the word "priority" mean "one thing". You can't have five top priorities. According to the definition of the word, you can only have one priority. Keller suggests that rather than juggling various tasks... we should step back and ask the question.

What is my 5-year goal for work/life/family/home (or whatever)?

He also encourages us to think big (or go home). So... let's say my 5 year goal for Wealth is Financial Independence. That's a big goal. Alright, so now for the next step. Knowing that my 5 year goal is Financial Independence...

What's the One Thing I can do THIS YEAR, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

Alright - so I need something concrete. I named my One Thing for this year as earning $5000 - (which is a big jump for a stay-at-home writer who hasn't published her book yet). But... as fate would have it, the non-profit that I previously worked for contacted me in mid-May and asked if I would do some contract work for them (database management & donor relations). Excellent.

So, the next step, having identified what I can do this year is...

What's the One Thing I can do THIS MONTH month, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

I figured the one thing I could do for June was to hammer out a contract and earn $500. And then you break that down even farther...

What's the One Thing I can do THIS WEEK, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

What's the One Thing I can do TODAY, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

Right down to...

What's the One Thing I can do RIGHT NOW, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

It's working. I nailed down a contract with the non-profit. I got set up with their online donor-management system. I crammed 15 hours of work into two days (we were away for a few days this past week). And... rather to my surprise... I find myself on-track to earn $1500+ in the month of June, well above my goal. There is also the possibility of doing some other work with the non-profit. On top of that, the local university has advertised a part-time instructor position for the winter semester that would be right up my alley. Hmmm... I may have to take my big Wealth "goal" for 2015 (earn $5000) and revise that upwards!

Finally... the third point that the author made was to set aside a block of 4 hours a day (he recommends the morning) to work on your One Thing. So at work, figure out what your One Thing is... and focus on that for four hours a day. Without interruptions. Turn off your email. Send your calls to voicemail. Put a sign on your closed door. And see what happens to your productivity.

I've tried a lot of productivity hacks and apps... this one is working for me. It gives me focus and intention. I have a goal. I have a direction. Now it's easy... just do it.

Oh, and I did the same thing for my manuscript... my goal for 2015 is to send the completed manuscript to 10 publishers. That really gives me a push in the behind!

Tips on Negotiating a new Wireless Contract with Bell Canada

Yesterday we spent hours, literally hours, negotiating a new wireless contract with our cellphone wireless provider, Bell Canada. The whole process started at around 9:30 am and finally ended at 3:30 pm. Where else in the world can you spend hours in such a productive fashion??? Our emotions ran the gamut from feeling definitely ripped off to doing high-fives in triumph. On which note did we end the day? Stay tuned.

Background
First off, Canada isn't like most other countries - we have essentially three mobile network providers - Bell Canada, Rogers and Telus. There are also a couple of independents like Wind Mobile but they are small fish and they are pretty much limited to big urban centres or certain provinces (e.g. SaskTel and MTS). If you stray out of those areas, you are "roaming" and pay through the nose to use "partner networks" (i.e. Bell, Telus or Rogers). You could say it is a BTR monopoly (but it's not BeTteR)... it's actually a TRB monopoly (TeRriBle).

All three have subsidiary companies that make it look like we have more providers: Fido (Rogers), Virgin Mobile (Bell), Koodo (Telus). Fun, eh? So, getting a cell phone in Canada looks something like this:

You approach a provider, you look at phones and are enamoured with the Samsung Galaxy S6. You are shocked by its sticker price ($700) but happily notice that if you sign up for a 3 year contract, the phone will only cost you $200. You choose a monthly plan based on your needs (data, calling, texting, etc.), sign your three year contract and walk out the door caressing your new S6. Unfortunately, you don't notice the titanium chain that is attached to your ankle... a chain that trails all the way back to your service provider.

Over time, you realize that your monthly plan is not such a good deal but... you are chained to your provider. Your phone is actually locked to their network and you can't unlock it unless you're at the end of your 3 years.

So if you travel, you can't just pop a US SIM card into the phone and use it in the States. Nope, won't work. And if you want to break your 3 year contract, you are paying heavy, heavy fees.

As the end of your three years looms in the near future, your provider phone you with "exclusive" deals to re-commit for another 3 years of indentured servitude... with a new phone thrown in, of course. You have 3 years of "loyalty" built up with this provider which does count for something. If you go to a new provider (one of the other Big 2), you're unlikely to get a better deal... so the story goes. You stick to your guns and your contract ends. You continue as a month-to-month customer but do a happy dance because your vintage S6 phone is now yours! You try to use a US SIM card in it... still locked. You contact your service provider - "Oh, yes, we have to unlock it. That will cost you $50). What?

Some New CRTC Rules
A couple of years ago, the CRTC (Canada's Telecom Regulator) brought in new rules for the benefit of the consumer. The Big 3 had their wrists slapped. Customers now had 30 days after signing a contract to cancel the whole deal with no penalty (buyer's remorse). After 90 days of being in the contract, customers could ask the provider to unlock their phones (but providers could still charge $50 for this "service". Oh, and if you bought the phone outright at the beginning... it was still locked and you still had to pay $50 to unlock the phone that you just bought and now owned. Go figure. Finally, the CRTC ruled that 3 year contracts were too long and limited the term to 2 years.

Now, last week, it was all over the news that people who were in the last year of their 3 year contract (those poor souls who locked in prior to the new CRTC rulings) were in a position of power. They could technically call their service provider and cancel their contract with no penalty as they had fulfilled 2 years of their contract. But of course the Big 3 would offer incentives to retain the customers! Of course...

Our ears perked up at this... my 3 year contract had lapsed in November and I was on a month-to-month plan ($57/month + taxes) and my partner was in the 3rd year of her contract ($57/month + taxes). We decided that today was the day... we would brave the den of the Bell Beast and wield our Sword of Customer Power!

First Negotiation
We pulled straws and my partner, Anne, won (or lost). Actually, given that she was the one with the contract... we decided that she needed to phone, being in the position of more power.

Tip - write out your current wireless plan and component costs on a piece of paper.

So she phoned Bell. She spoke with Customer Service Agent (CSA) #1.

Tip - Get the agents name and Customer Service Agent ID number at the start of the call.

She explained her situation and CSA #1 offered her a "deal" that was something on the order of $80/month (all prices do not include taxes). Anne pointed out that this was way more than what she was paying now.

Tip - make notes of what the agent says - what the "deals" include.

Tip - tell the agent you are making notes

The price dropped by $10... still not good enough. Anne then threw me into the mix. There were actually two of us and we wanted a Shared Plan with 2 GB of data combined. Another deal was offered - $121/month (unlimited nationwide calling, unlimited texting, picture, video messaging, message centre, 2 GB data). We could get Samsung Galaxy S4s but we would still have to pay $$ for them. although CSA #1 did offer a $100 rebate on the two phones. Anne finally asked if that was the best CSA #1 could do? Apparently it was. Anne asked to speak to someone else.

Tip - when you don't get what you want from the first person, ask to speak to someone else. 

We got passed on to CSA #2 (in the Loyalty/Retention Department). This gentleman went backwards with us. He offered $140/month for the same deal CSA #1 had offered us for $120. Anne pointed out that CSA #1 had offered us a $120/month contract. But the sticking point turned out to be the new phones. He couldn't give us S4s for free if we were only paying $120/month. He put us on hold for 10 minutes while he went to consult someone else.

Tip - stay calm - they are playing mind games with you. Use the time to do some research.

CSA #2 came back and offered the Samsung Galaxy Core for free. I looked it up online while Anne was talking with him. It was a piece of sh-t phone. I wrote "NO!" on the paper.

Tip - have someone on hand who can do quick research online while you negotiate

He wouldn't budge. Anne wouldn't budge. Anne finally said that if that was the best he could then she would have to check other service providers. We hung up.


An hour on the phone and we had nothing to show for it. We sat out on the deck, our tails between our legs. Sh-t. Now we would have to call Telus and Rogers and... more hours wasted. We felt like we had been ripped off. We were loyal customers - we were supposed to get a deal! What the heck.

We slowly realized that this was exactly what Bell is probably counting on. Who is going to spend hours on the phone trying to find a better deal with another service provider? Most people will just cave and take the best thing Bell offers them.

I went inside and had a look at Rogers and Telus - just the plans that they offer to new customers on their websites. This was extremely helpful.

Tip - Do this research AHEAD of time! You'll have way more power with Bell.

Sooo... Rogers and Telus both had the S4 for $99.99 (2 year contract) not the $149.99 (2 year contract) that Bell was hawking it for. Which meant the $100 "rebate" that CSA #1 offered us on two phones was a big fat nothing. We could get that at Telus or Rogers as brand new customers.

I dug deeper. With Rogers, we could sign up as new customers on a Shared Plan and get two S4 phones (paying $225), unlimited nation-wide calling, unlimited texting, picture, video messaging and message centre, AND 2 GB of data - all for $120. Oh, and they were waiving the connection/activation fee - $20/phone). What??

We compared this with our notes... Bell was offering us virtually the same thing. But Rogers would give this deal to us as new customers. And Bell was calling this a "loyalty" plan. Where was the loyalty incentive?? We knew the new phones were the sticking point but when we looked at the $225 price tag for two S4's at Rogers... we divided that by 24 months (the length of the 2 year contract) and realized the figure was less than $10/month. Was that not a reasonable loyalty incentive amount?

Second Negotiation
We looked at each other. Anne asked me if I wanted her to phone Bell again? Up to her. With a sigh... she picked up the phone - once again into the breach. Anne asked to be put through to the loyalty department.

Anne reached CSA #3 and told her that she had just spent an hour on the phone with Bell and really didn't want to repeat everything again. That was OK. CSA #3 could see the previous notes on her computer. Anne repeated the gist of the deal we had been offered and then referred to the Rogers deal. Back and forth it went... and finally CSA #3 agreed to throw in the two S4s for free. High-five!!

Anne then asked about the activation fee - $35/phone. She threw the Rogers amount out on the table - $20/phone and Rogers was waiving that fee. CSA #3 agreed to take $10 off of each connection fee and then give us a credit for the remaining $25/phone. Excellent! We reviewed the deal... yup, it was what we wanted. We could go and get the phones in-store and all would be well. The only hiccup was that we needed to add me to Anne's account. Before we left CSA #3, I told Anne to get her name and number. And I asked if something could be sent to us via email.

Tip - get EVERY CSA's name and ID number!

Tip - get the deal/agreement sent to you via Email (not text!)

Erin (CSA #E.....) said she would send Anne a text. In hindsight... we should have insisted on an email. We had to show the text to the in-store CSA and it wasn't all that helpful. After thanking Erin, we were passed along to CSA #4 who was going to combine our accounts. I had to get on the phone and give him my PIN and agree to be added to Anne's account. No problem. He then told Anne that there was a $35 Transfer of Responsibility fee. Anne put her foot down very firmly. She had just spent over an hour negotiating a deal and there had been no mention of this fee. She was not willing to pay this fee. He said there was nothing he could do. She asked to be transferred back to Loyalty.

Tip - stand by your guns. If you don't like what someone is offering - go to a higher-up

CSA #4 put us on hold and then less than minute later, the line went dead. Anne stared at the phone in disbelief. Either he was hopeless at phone transferring or he had just given us the finger. But at this point, we were not backing down. If Bell thought they were getting rid of us that easily... they had another think coming!

Third Negotiation
Anne phoned Bell again and asked to be placed through to Loyalty. She asked for Erin but was told we couldn't be passed directly to a specific agent. Fine... so we ended up with CSA #5 - Cecilia. Anne went into her spiel again summarizing the conversations that had gone before. She let Cecilia know she had been on the phone for almost two hours, had been transferred to someone who would combine the accounts and was then told about the Transfer of Responsibility fee. No one had mentioned this fee to her previously and she was not going to pay it. If she signed up with Rogers as a new customer, they wouldn't charge her a fee to create an account. Besides, in combining our accounts, Bell would actually save money since they would only have to send out one bill. Cecilia hestitated and then agreed. She pulled up the file and without even a murmur, agreed to waive the Transfer of Responsibility fee. She also said that she could combine accounts. Yay! A few minutes later, she came back to say that she couldn't do that - didn't have the correct access. So we were transferred to CSA #6, Jason, who combined our accounts. Finally! We hung up the phone and looked at the clock. Another hour gone... but we had a deal we were happy with!

At the Bell Store
We decided to trot right over to the Bell store and get the phones. First, we drove to a mall with a Bell kiosk. They had no S4 phones and one guy actually said they weren't affiliated with Bell. What? Turned out they were a franchise... Uh-huh. Betcha Bell would love to hear that. They were wearing Bell t-shirts and everything. Anyhow... they phoned the actual Bell store and... yes, they had three S4s!!! Back into the car and drove to another mall.

We walked into the store and were served by Alanna. We told her that we had negotiated a deal with Bell and were there to get the phones.

Tip - Be VERY specific in summarizing your deal. Ask agent if she/he can see it on their computer.

Alanna was happy to help us and began the process of registering our phones to our combined account. Minutes went by... but the S4s were not wanting to be registered... finally, the store manager told Alanna to just give us S5s instead. Secret High-Fives! We were being upgraded at no cost to us!

Tip - don't gloat. It is not becoming.

Mind you, as we got into the nitty gritty of the contract, it was clear that Alanna did not have access to the deal that we had negotiated. She was going to give us $100 off the phones but we said, "No, we are paying nothing for them.". And then, after printing out a contract, Anne noticed that we were actually being charged $150/month not $120!

Tip - Review your contract with a fine-tooth comb.

Tip - Bring your notes to the store

Alanna was perplexed by the deal we said we had negotiated. She said it was an impossible deal! We showed her the text from Erin- but it wasn't helpful. Alanna phoned Bell and CSA #7 wondered at the S5s - so Alanna had to explain the problem with the S4s and that this was a store decision.

Tip - Be patient, polite, friendly and understanding. This could take a while.

Finally, Alanna got off the phone. She would now have to cancel the contract she had just entered (via Buyer's Remorse) and do it all over again. She phoned Bell again (different department).

Finally... after much to-ing and fro-ing... we signed a contract for $120/month. We did add insurance for each phone - $7/month/phone. Now... Erin had told us that insurance would be $7-10/month depending on the deductible. Alanna said it was $7/month with $150 deductible. She had never heard of the $10/month with no deductible. We could have pushed it but at this point, we figured we had put her (and ourselves) through enough! We spent almost 2 hours in store...

Tip - wear comfy shoes and be patient

End Deal

• Shared Plan
• 2 GB data
• unlimited nationwide calling
• unlimited texting, picture, video messaging
• Message Centre (call display, voicemail, etc.)
• $120/month
•  two Samsung Galaxy S5 phones - no charge (listed at $199.99 for a 2-year contract)

Total Savings
$30/month on the listed plan.

$400 for the phones
$75 for the connection fees (2 phones)
$35 for the Transfer of Responsibility fee

Final Advice

• Do your research ahead of time. Knowledge really IS power.
• Know what the competition offers.
• Have an idea of what you want - and think BIG!
• Realize that your loyalty is your biggest asset - flaunt it.
• All fees are negotiable and waivable.
• Be polite but firm.
• Don't settle. If you don't get a deal from the first line people (and you won't) ask to be passed to the Loyalty department. Let them know you're a loyal customer... that you've done your homework... that you are taking notes.
• Get everyone's name and ID number.
• Get it in writing.
• Make sure the store agent is very clear on the deal you have hammered out.
• Review the final printed contract with a fine-tooth comb. Twice. Maybe thrice.
• Be patient. This will take time. A lot of time.

Trying the No-Poo Method (as in no Sham-poo)

A couple of years ago, my nephew-in-law came for a visit with his girlfriend. At some point he let it slip that he hadn`t shampoo-ed his hair in months! We were all amazed at how clean his hair looked. My partner even gave it the sniff test and admitted that his hair didn't smell bad... it just smelled like... hair.

I have been thinking about doing my own no-poo experiment and after reading up on it in several blogs, decided that April/May would be a good time to try it. What are some of the benefits of going no-poo?

Benefits
Well, some-poo advocates will tell you that shampoo strips the natural oils from our hair, making our scalp produce oil in excess to try and replenish. Once you stop using shampoo, your scalp will eventually readjust.

Others will tell you that shampoo darkens your hair so that blonds become darker over time. Stop using shampoo and your hair will get lighter in colour.

Some say that their super-straight hair has started to get some body after they stopped using shampoo. Other people susceptible to frizz say that the frizziness went away after they went no-poo.

Some say that their hair gets thicker, fuller and more lustrous after they ditched the shampoo.

Others say that their chronic dandruff problem vanished after a few weeks of going no-poo.

Then, of course, there are the environmental benefits - not adding any phosphates to our waste water or adding plastic bottles to the landfills (or recycling depots).

It actually turns out that shampoo, as we know it, is less than a century old, which makes one wonder what people used before that?

Pitfalls
Well, the obvious one - oily hair for the first few days/weeks. Although apparently this calms down after 3 to 5 weeks, depending on your hair and scalp time. Oops.... maybe longer. Some people say it can take up to 3 months for your scalp and hair to adjust. That is a LONG transition period!

The No-Poo Method
Soooo... how does one actually go no-poo? Well, obviously, you stop using shampoo and conditioner. But that doesn't mean that you don't actually clean your hair. Turns out that there are a lot of options for how to clean your hair.

Plain Old Water
The easiest by far is the water method. You simply rinse your hair with warm water while you're in the shower. Mind you, you do have to be mindful to not grab the shampoo bottle out of habit!

Baking Soda & Apple Cider Vinegar 
This option is the most well-known. You make a paste from a bit of baking soda and water, and massage that into your scalp. After rinsing very well, you then use a spray bottle to spritz some diluted apple cider vinegar onto your scalp. It turns out that your scalp needs a certain pH in order to be happy. Normally, it is slightly acidic and since baking soda is alkaline, you need the vinegar to balance things out. Soda can make your hair dry and vinegar acts like a conditioner.

Dry Shampoo
You can buy dry shampoo powder and use that to wash your hair. Commercial dry shampoos have chemicals though, so you can find recipes for home-made variants that use arrowroot and baby powder as a base.

Other Options
There are many other products that you can use to clean you hair, including (but not limited to):

• eggs
• beer
• kefir
• rye flour
• lemon juice
• aloe vera
• coconut milk
• epsom salts
• apple sauce
• soap nuts
• bentonite clay

I'm not sure about all of these things. Their use depends on your hair type, your scalp type, your water type (hard or soft) and a myriad of other factors. I thought going no-poo would be relatively simple but... this is sounding more and more complicated.

One Complicated Routine
One lady who has gone no-poo uses the following routine on her hair:

•  About once a month, I wash with baking soda and condition with apple cider vinegar.
•  In between the baking soda wash, I will wash using another method about once a week. My preferred method is rye flour. But I occasionally use bentonite clay, egg, or kefir.
•  I use a dry shampoo in between washes (see my recipe here) as needed, usually about twice a week.
•  About once a month, I do a deep conditioning mask, usually coconut oil.
•  I use argan oil with essential oils as a hair serum once or twice in between washings (see my recipe here).
•  In general, I do not wet my hair unless I am washing it.
•  I scritch and preen with a boar bristle brush 2-3 times a week.

I'm sorry, but I just read that and each sentence made my eyes bug out a bit more. This method seems a tad complicated. And I'm not sure I'd want to put clay in my hair...


My Experience
It's been about three weeks since I last shampoo-ed my hair. The first week it looked rather greasy but since then it has calmed down a bit. When I brush it, it looks nice and fluffy and then settles down into something that still looks a bit greasy but not too bad.

I went to visit my sister last weekend and she had two comments about my hair - it was super long for me (I normally have very short hair) and it looked a bit greasy. Sooo... I think if my hair was shorter, it would look better. One thing that is stopping me from getting a haircut is the comments from the hairdresser!

Will I continue to go no-poo? Good question. I think I'll go and get a hair cut and see if that makes a difference for the better. Some no-poo advocates say you sometimes need to go 3 months to get rid of the greasiness. So I may wait that long... My partner did the sniff test on my hair and said it doesn't smell "bad" per se... it just smells like unscented, unshampoo-ed hair. Not sure if that is a good thing or not!