Shopping

Another ornament from the tree display

Black Friday. There are reasons I don't go out shopping on Black Friday. First and foremost I despise shopping. Most of the time. The reasons are:

Limited money (some years I have more than others, but certainly not THIS year)

Tired feet, aching back

The smells of perfumes and sprays give me a headache

The noise of stores and shoppers gives me a headache

The lights give me a headache

I am very picky and can rarely find anything I want

I hate stores that block merchandise with boxes of stock to be put on the shelves or those little cardboard setups - I've been known to knock over these displays to get to the item on the shelf

On a similar note I hate stores with tiny little walk-ways between clothes racks and my purse drags half the clothes along with me, thus pulling me down slower and slower until I have to come to a complete stop and rip my purse from the clinging sleeves

I get bored easily and hate to search for anything

I hate it when I can't find what I am looking for

I hate it when shoppers do not put the merchandise back on the same rack so that the size or color I want is over in the pajamas or bras where it has no business being

I hate it how they have ten of every item in every size but MINE!

I hate "bargains" and just want to pay the price on the tag (I hate hassles)

I don't like crowds (who does?)

I don't like rude people (and there are plenty out there in shopping land)

I hate how shopping turns me into one of these rude people

I hate it how the clerk who I ask for assistance never knows the answer(s) to my question(s)

I hate it when a sales person tries to sell me something else other than what I want

I hate it when I can't find a sales person when I need one

I REALLY, REALLY hate it when a bunch of them are milling around just talking when there are customers who obviously need help

I hate it when a sales person bugs me when I don't need one

I hate it when a check out person does not speak to me or acts annoyed that I am shopping and taking up their time

I can never find the right credit card or the change in the bottom of my purse

I never check the sales ads until after I bought the item and return home, then I am ticked off because I probably paid too much for the thing

I usually pick the one item that never has a price tag and they have to call someone or go search for a similar item

I always pick the wrong check-out line (ALWAYS!)

I hate it when the grocery store is out of the brand of food that I want

I hate it when a grocery store advertises an item on sale and when I get there the space for that item is completely empty - or they place the item on an end cap instead of it's usual place where I am certain to miss it

I have to unload all the crap when I get home, it can be as exhausting as shopping all over again!

Notice that I did not put parking in the list. I really don't mind walking to and from my car. It is refreshing if it is cool outside because I get really hot in stores. I DO despise those idiotic people who park in the handicap spaces and are NOT handicapped. I know the handicap is not always apparent, but there are the few that do abuse this parking space and I always wish that they have to work 30 days with handicapped people to see how hard it really is to get around.

I also realize that I make a great candidate for on-line shopping. On Wednesday while looking at my checking account balance on line, I noticed a purchase in a mall in Illinois. Since I had not been to that mall that day (let alone the state of Illinois), I was a bit concerned. I called my bank and they said they would put a "pending" notice on the debit, but I am still a bit concerned. Needless to say, I am going to be checking it again and often. It was less than $15 (thank goodness) but what if it had been $150 or more? I am not looking forward to any hassles that are created with this error.