The Penny Situation

William loves money.  He loves to play with it (see pic).  He loves to count it and do math with it.  Most of all, he loves to buy things in vending machines with it.  There are vending machines everywhere in Japan.  It's nice, because you can buy a cool drink anywhere when you need it.  

His favorite drink is Qoo.  I think it's a green apple, or melon flavor.  

Tim usually has change in his pockets, and William loves to claim some of them as his own.  He has quite a few yen.  Yen are worth about a penny, and are really light.  

We don't use pennies over here.  On base, they primarily use American currency.  But, they round up or down to the nearest 5 or 10.

I have a friend who is convinced that they are ripping us off.  She calls it the 'Penny Situation' and insists that somehow they are getting the better end of the deal.  Actually, she's got the funniest rant about it.

I am remembering the death of the centime in France.  Basically, France, before they went Euro, realized it was pointless to have centimes (at the time, I think it was valued at less than a cent).  So, shopping totals were rounded either up or down, to the nearest 5 or 10.  The 5 centime coin as the lowest denomination.  It worked in your favor as much as it worked against.  

The only thing I've noticed here, is that if something would ring up to $5.02, you HAVE to give them at least $5.05 for them to ring you up and finish the transaction.  They will GIVE YOU BACK the .05 (because it rounds down), but they seem to think that they need it in their hands in order to put that sum into the cash register.

For me, THAT is the 'Penny Situation.'   Hello?  Put $5.05 in as the cash I've given you, and it will round it down to the $5 I've handed you.  I have actually had to pull out a $20.00 to buy something that was $5.02.  My $5 bill wasn't good enough, she wouldn't ring it up.  Of course, I got $15 back.

Sometimes, as I wait in long lines at the NEX, I wonder if we're being held up as each poor fool who is buying something is being made to come up with that additional .05 before they'll ring them up, then has to take the time to re-pocket that same .05.  I am considering starting a nickel dish here, kind of like the penny dishes you see at mini-marts back home.  But this one needs only ONE nickel.