Shopping Misadventures

Misadventures is really a misnomer.  Other than two run ins with rather nasty women, both vehicle related, I had a pretty good experience on my frantic shopping marathon yesterday.  Considering I essentially started my Christmas shopping at 2:00 p.m. yesterday, things went exceptionally well.

I didn't have a long list and I thought I had a pretty simple list.  With one exception, this turned out to be the case.  But, that was one heck of an exception.  I visited no fewer than ten stores and three shopping centers, including the Galleria, in search of this particular item and still ended up empty handed.  I was, ultimately, successful, but only after about an hour of quality time with Google.

Yesterday was completely crazy but mission accomplished with no casualties.  Don't get me wrong, everywhere was super crowded, but people we nice, sales people were friendly and helpful and even the parking lots weren't horrible.

I also witnessed marketing at its finest on my late night trip to the Galleria.  Heading out I came upon hundreds of people lining up in front of the Westin's parking garage. At first I thought this was Occupy the Galleria, but no, it turns out that people started lining up on Tuesday to purchase SHOES?!? Sorry, I don't get it.

As for the vehicle issues.   Apparently I am a b*tch because I attempted to explain to a woman, screaming at me to get out of her way, that she was, in fact, attempting to drive the wrong way down a one way (which is why there wasn't room for two cars, duh!).  AND I am evil because I pointed out to the neighbor's home health aide that she had parked in my driveway.  Actually, she hadn't so much parked in my driveway as parked sideways in both my driveway and my neighbor's driveway.  I wasn't really impressed with her "I just had to run back in and get my cell phone" excuse and when I failed to comment on it, I got a nasty "Happy Holidays".  To which I responded, very cheerfully, "Merry Christmas."  Look lady, I'm tired, I have to pee and you are prohibiting me for parking my car, so now I'm blocking traffic. I don't think pointing out that you're blocking my driveway, in the hopes you'll never do it again, is out of line.

Where's Ashton?

It's a key in lock, big deal, right?

Not exactly. It's a key STUCK in a lock.

Let's back to the (sort of) beginning.

I locked myself out of the house at 5:30 a.m. Friday morning. (Big THANK YOU to Trix for bringing my spare key over). So, Sunday I set out to Home Depot to buy an idiot-proof door knob. Sadly, they do not carry idiot-proof door knobs at Home Depot. But, I decided to get a few more extra keys...one for the gym bag, one for a neighbor, etc, while I did a wider search for an idiot-proof door knob. Easy-breezy, right? (ha!) Not so fast; when I tested the key, it got stuck in the lock. STUCK.

So, after work today I took the key, in the door knob, back to Home Depot where the very nice man gave me a new door knob keyed to my existing house key and three new keys. So, I go home to install the new door knob. One (minor) problem. I couldn't open the door without the old door knob, which the nice man kept to return in the place of the new door knob they gave me. So, I had to go back to Home Depot to get my old door knob.

The nice man wasn't so nice at this point. First he looked at me like I was an idiot when I told him I couldn't get the door open without the old door knob and said "you have to change the switch plate." Um, dude, I can't change the switch plate if I CAN'T OPEN THE DOOR." (Side note, I managed to not loose my cool at all, even offered to bring the old door knob back this weekend.) He was very concerned that he wouldn't have anything to return to his vendor in place of the door knob he gave me. After I offered to bring it back, he just threw up his hands and walked away telling me to keep it. I'm impressed with myself for not loosing my cool since I think he may have forgotten that Home Depot CAUSED my problem.

Then when I get home to try to install the door knob, I discover that my foster, Buffy, has decided to redecorate the spare room with what was my Gone With The Wind Poster, glass and all. So, rearrange dogs, clean up glass, install new door knob...the fun never ends.

So, I ask again, WHERE IS ASHTON (Kutcher)? Surely, I'm being punk'd.

Tiny Triumphs

My theme for 2010 was "Doing Things Differently" and I've had modest success over the year. I have fallen into old patterns more than I’d like to admin but I did smash an old, extremely self-destructive, pattern to bits last week.

I had an quasi-professional holiday party right after work and ran my hose pretty extensively during the day making a stop for a new pair a necessity. Fortunately, there was a lingerie shop right across the street, so easy, breezy, right? Ha! Yes, I did know that this was a high end shop, but I still wasn’t expecting the $58 price tag staring back at me from the back of one pair of black pantyhose.

Now, the old me would have done one of two things, made up an excuse or just put them on a credit card because I wouldn’t want anyone to think I couldn’t afford whatever overpriced item was in question. (even if that, in fact, was the truth). However, without blinking an eye, I handed the package back to the nice sales girl and when she looked at me questioningly I replied without a hint of embarrassment that I did not need $58 pantyhose, thank you very much and blew out of there without a backward glance. It felt pretty good, actually. There’s nothing to say I won’t regress, but I’m feeling pretty good at the moment.

The real kicker came a little later when I ran the new hose I picked up at Ann Taylor while I was putting them on – boy am I glad I hadn’t paid $58 for those things. So, my bare legs and unspanxed thighs (I have no problem going bare-legged, but if I don’t have hose on, trust me, I’m wearing spanx under that skirt) went to the party and I doubt anyone noticed (but me).

{Seriously, $58 for a pair of pantyhose???}

Customer Service - The Flip Side

I ran in to Target today on my lunch hour to pick up a few things and I wasn't in the best frame of mind. That started to change shortly after I arrived. I noticed a lot of busy, happy red-shirted people scurrying around. Two even asked me if I needed help. I witnessed a team meeting (the team didn't look very enthusiastic, but the young leader was giving it his all). I also heard two calls for register back up and one for restroom check. Someone was really paying attention. I don't know exactly how or why, but being around all these hard-working people who seemed to really care about doing a good job was energizing.

Then when I was in the check out line it happened, not once, but three times....proactive customer service. The woman in front of me had picked up three-piece baby outfit that only had two pieces. The clerk not only noticed it, she pointed it out AND offered a discount after the customer said she wanted it any way. Then it was my turn, where the clerk offered me a $.05 discount for bringing my own bag.

I always love Target, but this was so refreshing it made my whole day.

Bad Decisions

I've run in to a bit of a wardrobe problem with my new (temporary) retail gig. You see, most of my dress slacks are hemmed for a minimum of a 3" heel (yes, I torture my feet on a regular basis). But, there is a big difference between rocking a great pair of heels when you spend most of your day sitting in your office and spending 6 or 8 hours on your feet. In addition to the length of my pants, my wardrobe is also limited by some recent weight gain. Yet, I can't justify a shopping trip for my short-term, $7-per hour adventure in retailing. So, when I ran out of clean, short(er) pants I decided I could handle a six hour shift in a pair of "comfortable" heels. After all, these are boots I regularly wear all day, travel in and have worn on marathon treks to the mall. without a problem. But, I learned the hard way, that none of that compares to standing behind a cash register for six hours. It's been several days, but my feet are still throbbing.