It is very difficult for me to negotiate anything. Sometimes I would buy something and it doesn't work or I stop liking it, I would fill uncomfortable going back to the store and returning it. That why I have a lot of junk, that I don't want but feel bad about throwing it out. May be some day I will need it. It really works out that way one in a while but only about 10%.

I just recently had an experience in buying a car. I can't decide anything by myself. I can't negotiate the price. I can't pick up paperwork. I feel that I have panic attack even when I didn't start doing anything. So I was very happy when I saw that UMass offers the class in negotiation, and though I'm an undergrad student and this is a graduate class it didn't stop me from registering for it and I'm happy I did.

The cases are interesting. The best case I thought was the "67 fishpond Lane" and I volunteered to video tape it. I thought that my task was to buy a house for about 300,000. But then looking back at "Ted Willey" case where the player was ready to sign the contract for free and the "Appleton v. Baker" case where the sellers couldn't use the land and the buyers didn't really want to pay for it, I thought that in this case there should be some kind of catch. So I should start unreasonably low. Our negotiations didn't lead us to a deal. I started too low and Carolyn didn't lead me in her "price pool", instead she just rejected my offers.

After starting the class I started noticing the negotiations in real life. I had a good negotiation practice in real life. My roommate got a kitten. She broke up with her boyfriend recently and thought that getting a kitten would be good for her. Before considering the purchase she asked everybody in the apartment (4 girls) if we are allergic and if we mind a kitten and we said "no". I don't like the cats at all, but I couldn't say I don't want the kitten because when I asked if my sister could stay with me for the summer, everybody said yes, so I wanted to be nice about the kitten. I lived with the roommate with cats before and I don't like cats, I don't like when they run around and miay and smell. I'm very happy with the apartment that I live in for several reasons: it is very close to UMass and since I work only on weekends all I do Monday through Friday is going to school. Rita has some kind of disorder at my point: she cleans a lot, for example she vacuums every day, she also overreacts at events, for example if her boyfriend doesn't call her for a day she cries. I think that she cleans too much but I enjoy the clean house very much. To make the long story short all kinds of cat stuff started appearing in the common areas in the house: toys, food, litter box etc. I don't like it. Kitten is running all around the house and if I need to do homework or exercises on the Video, which is very popular to do in our house the kitten thinks I lay with him and jumps at me and it annoys me, so I locked him once in a room, which I think is fine. She said try not to do it, than I did it again, the animal bothers me, that seemed like a crisis to my roommate, she started yelling and screaming that she thinks it is an animal abuse, and if I can't deal with the cat I should move out. I don't want to move out and I like that she cleans and finally my friends can enjoy the cozy apartment when they come over. I thought about buying the toy for the cat, but I didn't and as the time went by Rita started picking on me. So I went to her and said that I've been feeling sick for the last week and she just bought the cat and I said that I don't want to see her cat not because I don't like it but because I wasn't feeling bad. So now we a re at peace and I ca n invite my friends to a meticulously clean house.

About the Books

I'm behind the schedule on all readings. It probably takes me twice longer than native speakers to read a page. Also there are a lot of words that I need to look up in the dictionary. I also think about where I could use various approaches described in the book. From "Getting to Yes" by R. Fisher the best lesson was "Separate the people from the problem". I always thought that people ether like you or don't like you and it doesn't matter what you do or don't do. That is what I build my life on. I thought it doesn't matter what you say on the interview or how you dress up or if you have 4.0 or 2.5 GPA. During the first 10 minutes the person that hires you either like you or doesn't and that what influences his or her decision. That why it is good to know that you can manage this "first impression" process.

My bargaining style has been "conflict avoiders". I let people take advantage of me, just so I don't have to confront them. I'm working as a performer and during my working days (Saturday and Friday) have to be very happy, positive, energetic, enthusiastic and encourage people around me be the same. When I use to work in the office I should work through the whole day with a minor headache and now I can't. Circus performers can't have headaches. So I avoid any kind of conflict. Once I was wearing the clown costume and I stopped in a gas station and gave the attendant 20 dollars to fill up my tank, then when he did it he said "20 bucks", I told him that I paid him already. He Said "Are you trying to clown me around? I take money after I put the gas in. I was sure that I played him but in order to save my "good mood" I gave him another $20 bill. I'm sick of getting into situations like that. I'm working very hard in getting more aggressive and hard as a negotiator. That's why in class discussions I'm trying to be as much aggressive and hard as possible, and doesn't feel natural at all.