Grandma Mabon and I picked sweet corn at her brother's farm this morning. We cooked and froze it this afternoon.
Before today, I had never been cut by a corn plant, although I was well aware of how sharp the plant can be. In the process of breaking and removing the shank (the end part that connects the ear to the stalk) on an ear this morning, I got cut very badly on my right index finger. The cut is about half of the width of my finger, and roughly an inch deep. Think of the worst paper cut you have ever had, and multiply it by the a ridiculously large number of your choice. That is what a serious corn cut feels and looks like.
It took about an hour of solid pressure to get the bleeding to stop, during which time Grandma and I looked at a car I am considering buying. No official deal was made today, but the dealer and I did talk pricing. Apparently I am a ballsy negotiator. I was in the room dealing with the guy by myself, but Grandma was outside the door and heard a good portion of the conversation. I told Tony (the dealer) that I am seriously considering the car and that I wanted to talk conditions and pricing. I laid out for him what has to happen before I would even think of giving him a check. He then said that, with my conditions in place, the lowest he could go was $X.
This is the point where I asked him how he arrives at his asking price. I don't think Tony gets asked this much. He stuttered a bit, then told me his prices are based on the expected market value for the car, given its condition, years, and mileage, as well as regional trends in pricing for similar cars.
I told him that method made sense to me. I also told him that I, too, had priced out the car using several different sources, and that the asking price from the two most well-known sources was considerably lower than his price. I mentioned I had looked at the Blue Book value, which was $1000 below his price, as well as Edmunds Market Value calculations. He wanted to know what Edmunds price was. I told him I wasn't going to tell him because it would make him cry (about $2000 lower than his price).
It was at this point he started crunching the numbers, figuring final cost with tax, title, and license. I sat back and let him, because he was giving me a lot of information that I needed, and I didn't have to ask for it. Once he finished he asked me what I thought of the final number. I purposefully hesitated, looking at my own notes and taking some time to see what he would do next. When I took awhile to answer, he changed his question to, "What were you thinking for price?"
I told him that I could afford $X, cash. He said he couldn't go that low. I pointed out it was straight cash - immediate money in his pocket. He thought about it and told me he could sell me the car for $100 more than the offer I had given. I said I could live with that.
When it was all said and done I brought him down nearly $1000. Nothing has been signed for this deal and his mechanics still have some work to do so my questions and concerns are addressed, but overall it was a good day at the dealer's.
Grandma and I left the car place and headed back to Waterloo to her house. We got in and started shucking corn, with Grandpa and Uncle Joel's help, around 2 p.m. We finished all of the corn a little after 4, at which point the work became just Grandma's and mine.
Given my large cut had broken open and started bleeding during the shucking process, Grandma took on the job of cleaning the corn. Then it was my job to cook it and cool it. Grandma cut it off the ears, at which point I packaged it in quart-size freezer bags. We kept up this system the whole night, finally finishing around 9:30 p.m.
We ended up with 60 bags of corn. Grandma kept 20, we sent 20 to my aunt Sherre's house, and 20 came home with me. Grandma's brother still has corn that needs something done with it, but we are not volunteering for that task again!
I am starting to wonder if employment is overrated. Here I am, unemployed, and I'm learning and doing something new practically every week. This week I have learned how to pick and freeze corn and how to navigate a car deal. And this is only Monday!
Love!
~g
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