No, you cannot make me work for free

As we all know, a leap year only comes along once every four years.  Poor children born on this day, no Facebook notification of birth, no free Starbucks coffee postcard, no 21st birthday party as 21 it is not a multiple of 4.  So sad.  Those who look at the glass half full would say this is a lucky day, an extra day of life to do something out of character.  After watching tonight's Modern Family, and the strange occurrences of my own leap day, I was enlightened by a good friend that this day also represents a day our payrolls decide to ignore.  Silly trick, really, but think about it!  You just worked 8 - 10 hours absolutely for free.  Too late to stick it to the man at this point, he already took your day.  Mark your calendar for 2016, looks like you're on vacation.

No, you cannot pick crops at the drugstore

The pharmacy mogul Walgreens would like to enhance your shopping experience in February by celebrating Black History Month.  At this location, looks like the store manager sent his 19-year old stock clerk out in front to place signage showing their support.  According to the Walgreens.com FAQ section, the average store is 14,500 sq feet and carries approximately 18,000 products.  Obviously said stock clerk decided to have some fun in the beauty aisle.

Obviously said stock clerk is no longer stocking...

No, you cannot plan a wedding in 60 days

Weddings are the ultimate event.  The amount of planning, people and politics that go into one is something that cannot be rushed.  Today Gilt City, the site which brings your city to your doorstep for half the price, offered quite the deal.  Picture it- 100 of your closest family and friends participating in the after party of your nuptials in the infamous Oak Room at The Plaza Hotel, equipped with cocktails, dancing, flowers and more- all for the low price of 55 grand.  Reading through the list of included swag, this is essentially a great deal for such a renowned New York location.  But then there's always the fine print:

• You must redeem the coupon by April 30, 2012
• March 2nd, March 31st, and April 20th are already taken
• The voucher does not include tax which will be charged separately by the vendor

These three limitations translate into the following:

• You better already be engaged because you only have 60 days to plan a wedding- good luck.
• You actually only have 8 dates, including this weekend, to choose from.  If you don't have a fiance just go find some guy at a bar because this is guaranteed to be the best party evvveeerrr.
• Your honeymoon will consist of a carriage ride around Central Park and a quick trip to Nathan's because NYC sales tax will cost you another $8,000.

Having a wedding at The Plaza would be many a girls dream, though somehow doing it through an online coupon takes away the sparkle just a tad. Seems more like they had a few open weekends to get rid of rather than truly wanting to host your special day.  I mean, how enthusiastic do you think that included wedding planner will be on no commission?

No, you cannot make my coffee fat

One of the steps to becoming a true New Yorker is taking your coffee black.  I've just about made it to that point, only adding a quick splash of milk to curb the edge.  Today I heard a commercial about a new flavor of International Delight coffee creamer in the form of Cold Stone Creamery Sweet Cream.  Upon further exploration, I found the rainbow of other cake-in-a-cup options including Cinnabon, Almond Joy, and Southern Butter Pecan.  I admit to having a sweet tooth but these flavors err on the side of absurd.  Black coffee has maybe 5 calories; adding any of these to your caffeine fix will throw in up to 7 times that plus all sorts of ingredients you can't pronounce.  Way to try to spin this one, International Delight; if I'm going to consume a bunch of crap any way it may as well taste good.  Bring on the waffle bowl and cookie dough crumble, please.