Sunday

It looks like I will have no trouble reaching 400 posts before the end of the month. I'm at 392 now. I still have the first week of football, the MNHS class, my 34 birthday, preseason football, and teacher inservice to blog about - in addition to all of the other daily musings I put on here.

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Since Kristie and I spent Friday afternoon struggling to get the printer we purchased with our digital camera to print from either my ibook or our Dell desktop computer, we decided to remedy the whole thing on Sunday: we went to Best Buy and bought a laptop (Hewlett Packard), a new desktop printer, and wireless internet. The Geek Squad (KoKo is going to freak when she sees them pull up in that little black and white car of theirs) will arrive Saturday, September 1 to install everything. Our salesman, really our "salesboy", Grant, insures us that my ibook will also be able to access the interent too. In addition to that, we should all be able to wirelessly print also, which will be very nice.

Grant was a marvel. He couldn't have been more than 22, but he sure knew his stuff. For a salesman, we both found him to be honest and accommodating. This was illustrated in just how many people asked for him by name and wanted to work with him. He takes his job seriously and seriously enjoys it. To know so much about something at such a young age! I wonder now, at 33 - almost 34, if I know about anything as in depth as he does about computers.

Of course, being the skeptic, something I am usually not, I found myself wondering, as he told us that he just bought the same computer we were looking at purchasing, "this must be the modern day version of 'this car used to belong to a little old lady who only drove it to town once or twice a week - for groceries and doctor appointments.'" But he sold us on it. Of course, he also sold us on all the little technical warranties and extras that go with it. After shelving out $300 for my apple care protection plan for my previous laptop computer, I found this kind of thing to be worth every cent. In my case, I had to send in my computer at least twice (the memory board died) and to have them send me a new power adaptor and three different batteries. All of that together would have cost me thousands.

I think what sold us on this more than anything - though - was Grant himself. Not only was it clear that he knew what he was talking about, but he also went out of his way to explain things. He constantly referred to his personal experience. He also asked us about our lives. I can't tell you how refreshing this was - compared to calling in and talking to people in India or who knows where about my credit card statement.

Then it struck me - Grant would make a hell of a teacher. I mean what are we really besides salesmen? His performance - for lack of a better word - was what I strive for every day. It's great to be fluent in your subject area, but if you can't put some pizzazz into it, are the kids going to buy it? Had Grant stood there and spouted about Intell Pentium proccessors and microtechnology and gigibites and other jargon, we'd have lost interest and went home without spending a dime (well, I take that back - I bought two movies). But he knew how to connect that foreign jargon to experience. He then knew how to connect that experience to our lives. For instance, he was filling us in on how the particular laptop we were looking at (though it had to be ordered from another dealer - the Best Buy in GF was sold out of them) was superior to another laptop in stock because it circuitry (I forgot all of his jargon) allowed it to run faster. This meant it wouldn't get as hot. That resulted in a cooler running machine, which ultimately resulted in a longer lasting machine. I asked him how long it could last compared to a traditional desktop computer (here I was pulling experience from my life into the situation - since our computer specialist at our school advised our department to get desktop computer rather than a portable lab of ibooks because desktop computers always last longer). Grant prompt took us over to a desktop computer, popped open the hardrive of the computer, exposing the machine's guts and said, "See in a normal desktop computer, the wiring and circuitry has a lot more room. This reduces heat. Sometimes computers - when runnign a lot of programs - can get up to 300 degrees. Now you don't get near this kind of space in a laptop," and he marched us over to the display laptop and flipped it over. Sure enough - not nearly the same amount of space. "So when you're running your laptop, you want it to stay cool. Otherwise, temps could melt the metal __________ (insert the computer speak term here."

He had us then. That is what a teacher does on his best days.

But Grant didn't stop there. As he helped us ring up our bill and all the services, he noticed that he forgot to include one program. So he said, "Listen, if I have the Geek Squad install this for you, it's going to cost you another $30. But it's pretty easy to install. If you have ever installed software before, you will have no problem with this." We agreed and saved the 30 bucks.

But it didn't stop there either. On our way to the Blazer, Kristie and I discussed our purchase when from behind us who should be joggin to catch up to us? Grant. He had the program that he had forgotten to include in his hand.

Just like a teacher meeting individual students' needs - maybe someone needs a pep-talk or an extra day to finish something or even just a pat on the back - Grant did what the best teachers hope to do.