Thursday night at 5 pm, after Thanksgiving lunch, my mom and I went to the local Walmart. Not for discounted holiday shopping, oh no: for a plain old air mattress for my cousin. I would have gotten one last week, but they didn't say they were coming until the last minute. Anyhow.
My friends, I have never seen such a sight. Camo jackets as far as the eye could see! All the registers blocked off awaiting 6 pm! Hordes of people prepared to wait a full hour for an array of discounted electronics, toys, household goods, and socks! It was like a living commentary on consumerism, poverty, and the rural south all in one.
My mother and I extracted the air mattress from a shelf with the help of some bystanders, made a circuit until we found the only open cash register, and fled into the night. We hopped in the car, buckled up, and...
...heard the clicking wheeze of a starter turning over, and over, and over.....
Eventually my dad came and jump-started the car but, dear readers, I have seen Hell and it is a Walmart parking lot after Thanksgiving.
If at all possible I now avoid physical shopping. It turns out I hate people, and I hate shopping, and the two combined are an abomination. Sadly I find it impossible to buy either shoes or bras without being there in person. My lack of awareness of shopping seasons meant I thought going bra shopping on a Saturday near the end of November would be perfectly fine. I was wrong...
ReplyDeleteFriend, I feel your pain. "It's not even black friday yet, how bad can it be?" Very. Very bad. (I am very slight of bosom and have gone to stretchy half cami things. Still have to shop for food though.)
DeleteGrocery store pickup is amazing! The $5 fee is worth not spending an hour walking through the store. I am also a fan of Zappos for shoes, but my feet are ridiculous and stores don't carry my size anyway.
ReplyDeletePatrick has been lamenting that everything is going on sale right now. "I want this thing and have been thinking about it for 8 months, and now it's on sale. But I just bought this other thing! I'm sorry I buy things." Spending money hurts him.
I would gladly pay for grocery pickup OR delivery if there were anywhere within 50 miles that did it! A missed income source for sure. Maybe one day soon we'll join the 21st century.
DeleteI too have a thing I just bought on sale (robot vacuum + three batteries for the power tools) anc am unsure if I should buy ANOTHER thing on sale! (A kitchen faucet.) Spending money also causes me pain. Except in Australia, I was cool with being on vacation.