December 03, 2006
Despite what I'm about to write about, I've had an amazing day with ephiphanies that I can't describe online. Suffice it to say that they left me smiling even after what I'm about to describe.
Much to Lilo's dismay, given his constant talking while I was working on the room this morning, I'm very pleased with how the room is coming along. I spent yesterday sanding, and preparing for the second coat on one wall. It was a big wall, so shutup. Before I went to bed, I put a second coat on a section of the wall to see how it would take. This morning, it looked great, so I attacked the wall. Well, it didn't go as well as I would have liked, but I kept fixing it as I went along, and by noon, I had the second coat on that wall, and stood back and viewed it with satisfaction. I'd decided part way through that I'd have to do a third coat, but that was ok. A decision had been made, and frankly, I can fix anything... Just ask Annie. After the coat of plaster, I jumped in the shower.
I turned the dryer on, and headed down the road to hit some stores before I picked up my Pickle. I knew I was early, but figured I'd fill in the time with the myriad of stores I need to hit before Santa comes. I knew what I was in for... or so I thought. I went to Home Depot first. Ok. That wasn't Christmas, but I needed some stuff, and God help me, I've had really good luck with Home Depot the last few times I'd been there. Today was no exception. With a Christmas song in my heart and voice, I headed to my next stop: Toys 'R Us. I finally found a place to park, and walked in. I almost turned around and left. The lines were stringing out to San Francisco... 30 miles away. I decided that if I found one particular item, I'd brave it. I found it within a couple of minutes. Damn. I was moving through the aisles and saw a lady that had that glazed look on her face of being lost and needing to be driven to a bar. I laughed and told her that I thought about leaving when I arrived. She responded with, "it's going to be like this all the time, you might as well just suffer through it..." I ventured deeper into the store. I found one thing, and then another. But one of the things I was looking for, I simply couldn't find, and it was important to me. It was something that there should have been a whole aisle devoted to, but I freakin' couldn't find it. I looked long enough that I had to use the bathroom. I found a display on a shelf and just plopped my stuff on the empty area outside the display. I knew it would be there when I returned, and it was. Why did I know that? There were no employees on the floor. They were all working the registers. Hell had set it's ugly doorstep on earth, and had done so by the fact that there are too many shoppers that should have to take classes on shopping with children.
There were toys all over the floor. Either parents who had picked them up and just thrown them down, or kids that decided to play momentarily while the parents were busy, and didn't put them back. I stepped over dolls, games, and puzzles constantly. I'd have put them back myself, but most of them were so far from where they were supposed to be that I wasn't about to start working the stock. Kids were riding scooters and bikes around the stores, and then they would leave them half way across the store. I was looking at a display, and tried to move out of another customer's way when I tripped over a small bike. I will never understand the inability of people to think about their impact on others.
The 'thing' that I was looking for had not yet been found. I searched, and searched, and finally started scanning aisle to aisle. I know it doesn't make any sense, but I figured I'd just start on one side of the store, and move to the other. I left the baby aisle, and there it was. Just as I expected, a long shelf set of items dedicated to Play-Doh. I found what I wanted, and moved to the checkout area. I walked around the corner expecting the worst. Much to my surprise, after my long search, the lines had diminished. I found one that looked like it was moving well, and not too long. I might make it to the mall. In no time I was third in line. I stood there. And I stood there. And I stood there. The lady in front of me turned to me and rolled her eyes. She had left another line to be in this one because it appeared to be moving. We stood some more. I don't know what the lady in front was doing, but their was obviously a problem. After about a half hour, it was the lady in front of me's turn. She had one thing. It rang up at three dollars. My eyebrows raised. It wasn't an expensive item, but it should have been more than three dollars. She also raised a note of concern. She didn't have cash, and unfortunately had to charge it to her credit card. She picked up her item, and was reaching out for her receipt when the register attendent exclaimed that there had been an error with the scanner. She would have to go to the customer service line and have it corrected. You have got to be kidding me. The lady was pissed, but I would have been saying, "shoot me when I walk out the door, I'm not going to another line for this."
Yes, it gets better. While standing in line all this while, I started shifting my feet to balance the parcels I was carrying. I was three feet from the cash register. I lifted my foot... and it stuck. I pulled harder, and pulled it out of a wad of gum. I'M IN THE FREAKIN' CHECKOUT LINE! I muffled my irritation, and moved my foot out of the gum. I then shifted my feet again. I'D DONE IT AGAIN! There were two piles of gum right next to the checkout line, and I stepped in both of them. I want to find the people that did this, and put hot coals to their feet.
I finally exited the store, and decided that I didn't have patience for the mall. I went grocery shopping and even had a few moments in the grocery store listening to the store music, and the mist falling in the produce aisle. It was very soothing. Unfortunately, I had one of those weird moments when I left the toy store... I often sing to myself, and change the words to suit me. I started singing. 'Well, the weather in there was frightful. And, I'm feeling homicidal." No, I'd never have that in me, but I laughed all the way to the truck that I kicked that out the moment I left the store...
Still excited about the Christmas spirit...
Much to Lilo's dismay, given his constant talking while I was working on the room this morning, I'm very pleased with how the room is coming along. I spent yesterday sanding, and preparing for the second coat on one wall. It was a big wall, so shutup. Before I went to bed, I put a second coat on a section of the wall to see how it would take. This morning, it looked great, so I attacked the wall. Well, it didn't go as well as I would have liked, but I kept fixing it as I went along, and by noon, I had the second coat on that wall, and stood back and viewed it with satisfaction. I'd decided part way through that I'd have to do a third coat, but that was ok. A decision had been made, and frankly, I can fix anything... Just ask Annie. After the coat of plaster, I jumped in the shower.
I turned the dryer on, and headed down the road to hit some stores before I picked up my Pickle. I knew I was early, but figured I'd fill in the time with the myriad of stores I need to hit before Santa comes. I knew what I was in for... or so I thought. I went to Home Depot first. Ok. That wasn't Christmas, but I needed some stuff, and God help me, I've had really good luck with Home Depot the last few times I'd been there. Today was no exception. With a Christmas song in my heart and voice, I headed to my next stop: Toys 'R Us. I finally found a place to park, and walked in. I almost turned around and left. The lines were stringing out to San Francisco... 30 miles away. I decided that if I found one particular item, I'd brave it. I found it within a couple of minutes. Damn. I was moving through the aisles and saw a lady that had that glazed look on her face of being lost and needing to be driven to a bar. I laughed and told her that I thought about leaving when I arrived. She responded with, "it's going to be like this all the time, you might as well just suffer through it..." I ventured deeper into the store. I found one thing, and then another. But one of the things I was looking for, I simply couldn't find, and it was important to me. It was something that there should have been a whole aisle devoted to, but I freakin' couldn't find it. I looked long enough that I had to use the bathroom. I found a display on a shelf and just plopped my stuff on the empty area outside the display. I knew it would be there when I returned, and it was. Why did I know that? There were no employees on the floor. They were all working the registers. Hell had set it's ugly doorstep on earth, and had done so by the fact that there are too many shoppers that should have to take classes on shopping with children.
There were toys all over the floor. Either parents who had picked them up and just thrown them down, or kids that decided to play momentarily while the parents were busy, and didn't put them back. I stepped over dolls, games, and puzzles constantly. I'd have put them back myself, but most of them were so far from where they were supposed to be that I wasn't about to start working the stock. Kids were riding scooters and bikes around the stores, and then they would leave them half way across the store. I was looking at a display, and tried to move out of another customer's way when I tripped over a small bike. I will never understand the inability of people to think about their impact on others.
The 'thing' that I was looking for had not yet been found. I searched, and searched, and finally started scanning aisle to aisle. I know it doesn't make any sense, but I figured I'd just start on one side of the store, and move to the other. I left the baby aisle, and there it was. Just as I expected, a long shelf set of items dedicated to Play-Doh. I found what I wanted, and moved to the checkout area. I walked around the corner expecting the worst. Much to my surprise, after my long search, the lines had diminished. I found one that looked like it was moving well, and not too long. I might make it to the mall. In no time I was third in line. I stood there. And I stood there. And I stood there. The lady in front of me turned to me and rolled her eyes. She had left another line to be in this one because it appeared to be moving. We stood some more. I don't know what the lady in front was doing, but their was obviously a problem. After about a half hour, it was the lady in front of me's turn. She had one thing. It rang up at three dollars. My eyebrows raised. It wasn't an expensive item, but it should have been more than three dollars. She also raised a note of concern. She didn't have cash, and unfortunately had to charge it to her credit card. She picked up her item, and was reaching out for her receipt when the register attendent exclaimed that there had been an error with the scanner. She would have to go to the customer service line and have it corrected. You have got to be kidding me. The lady was pissed, but I would have been saying, "shoot me when I walk out the door, I'm not going to another line for this."
Yes, it gets better. While standing in line all this while, I started shifting my feet to balance the parcels I was carrying. I was three feet from the cash register. I lifted my foot... and it stuck. I pulled harder, and pulled it out of a wad of gum. I'M IN THE FREAKIN' CHECKOUT LINE! I muffled my irritation, and moved my foot out of the gum. I then shifted my feet again. I'D DONE IT AGAIN! There were two piles of gum right next to the checkout line, and I stepped in both of them. I want to find the people that did this, and put hot coals to their feet.
I finally exited the store, and decided that I didn't have patience for the mall. I went grocery shopping and even had a few moments in the grocery store listening to the store music, and the mist falling in the produce aisle. It was very soothing. Unfortunately, I had one of those weird moments when I left the toy store... I often sing to myself, and change the words to suit me. I started singing. 'Well, the weather in there was frightful. And, I'm feeling homicidal." No, I'd never have that in me, but I laughed all the way to the truck that I kicked that out the moment I left the store...
Still excited about the Christmas spirit...