Now I've asked you forty different ways and it's time you come up with a fresh answer.

• Walk the Line

Life at the Evil Empire Emporium is just as unreasonable as ever. Ted tells me that today there was a "motivational" meeting where the bottom line message was - sell more stuff so the customers find it too inconvenient to leave even if they want to or else leave yourself. In other words - sales above all else, even staff retention or perhaps that is instead of staff retention.
Ted does not feel particularly valued as a corporate asset. Indeed he has bought another lottery ticket!
In the mean time the sales pitch continues:
"would you like to buy this product my computer says you declined last week; excuse me, you don't want to be asked again? Why not, damn it, just buy the thing or I'll get the sack!"

As you may have noticed from previous posts I am quite the water dog. Maybe I should encourage Ted to sell up, buy a big boat, and sail off into the sunset with me. He can bring Mrs Ted and the kids too 'cos I'm really very fond of them but I suspect that Mrs Ted would not wish to adopt a nautical lifestyle, which is a shame, although there is much to be said for it if you can avoid the modern day pirates who roam the Caribbean!