The public continues to be kind to me, if the weather is not. The meteorologist on WOR said sunny with a high of 60. Obviously, he wasn't looking out the window. Anyway, Marie stopped at the floating bookshop, and I told her I'd sold all but three of the 35 CDs she'd donated. She was so surprised. A half hour later she returned with at least 20 more, eight of which a local security guard purchased, while a mailman bought one by Joan Osbourne. And one of my regular customers, Dave, gave me a bag full of the thrillers he loves, both paperback and hardcover, of which Grizzly Bear purchased eight. Thanks, folks. But the most surprising aspect of the session was my failure to sell any of the Russian children's books I'd found in the compacter room on the fourth floor. Arlynn had spotted them and given me a call. I'm sure they will sell quickly. They are in excellent condition.
I took a chance on a new stock today, Zipcar. In case you haven't heard or you've seen one of their cars and wondered what they are about, it is a service that allows the customer to rent a car for just hours or as long as is necessary. They are parked in certain areas of the city, and when one is done the car is to be returned to the same reserved spot. I like the idea and I decided that I wasn't going to let it pass as I'd done with Google, Snapple and other services I'd used and loved long before they went public, and which I'd been too cowardly to invest in. Of course, I overpaid. It opened at $18 and I put in a limit order for 100 at $30. It's not like I had to dig into my own pocket. I used funds floating in one of my IRAs. It's not the go-go '90's, so there isn't much chance it will take off to absurd heights, but I think urbanites who do not want the hassle of car ownership will use this service regularly. We'll see.
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