Monday, December 18, 2006

Escape from Wal-Mart

All I needed was some brake fluid. And some cat food. Is that too much to ask for?

Apparently, well, yes. Because it was nuts in there. Utterly insane. After ten minutes of waiting in line to check out my brake fluid and cat food, I finally said "this is bullshit", abandoned my cart, and walked out.

I got brake fluid at an auto parts store. I got cat food at the grocery store when I bought some people food. In neither place did I have to wait in line. I'm not going near any kind of store selling toys until after Christmas. This is just nuts, how so many people are waiting until the last moment to go shopping for junk to give other people that will just get thrown away...

- Badtux the "Flippers ain't good fer standin'" Penguin

6 comments:

  1. Yeah, I tried shopping on Friday and literally left the mall emtpy-handed in disgust. It was awful. I might need therapy

    ReplyDelete
  2. My gifts better not be thrown away! Btw, shop local!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lately, I wonder if it's even worth it to celebrate Christmas. Just a bunch of crabby, greedy consumers who probably hate their families the rest of the year and since I don't bother with the religious aspects of the holiday, what's the point? I remember that I used to love the holiday as a kid, but as an adult working for an e-tailer, (shoes.. don't shoes just say "Happy Christmas" to you?"), my Christmas spirit is definitely on life support. Sadly, I did have to endure the 45 minute checkout lines at Toys-r-us, the mall, and the Target for my niece and nephew who are still young enough to believe in Santa. I did it because I love them and they still believe that Christmas is magic. For myself though, maybe I'll start celebrating this holiday in the middle of summer. Ahh well.. back to the ringing telephones.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I do not even go shopping for *anything* in the local shopping district the entire month between Dead Bird Day and Kissmoose. It's too dangerous. I'm violently allergic to perfume. As a result, I hate crowds. I normally shop during the day to avoid crowds. This holiday season is just insane. Maybe next year I'll be brave enough to opt out of presents entirely. This year, if we didn't make it, they ain't getting it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Okay, I gotta ask: Why the fuck do you still shop at Wal-Mart?

    Seriously. I wouldn't buy a gun from Wal-Mart no matter how badly I wanted to murder someone at 2 A.M.. If Sam Walton was still alive, I wouldn't piss on his ass to cool his hemmorhoids. What is wrong with you?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well, I work long hours, and most stores are closed by the time I get off work. Wal-Mart isn't, and furthermore is 5 minutes from my home, while the nearest Target or Sears store is 30 minutes from my home (those are the only "big box" stores around here). And some things I buy are only available from Wal-Mart within a 50 mile radius of my home, for example, none of the local auto parts stores carry Shell Rotella T Synthetic oil (a heavy-duty truck oil), I'd need to go to the nearest truck stop, 50 miles away, to get it if I didn't get it at Wal-Mart.

    And finally, I don't blame Wal-Mart for taking advantage of the pro-big-business rules that exist. Wal-Mart is simply an instantiation of our national sickness. If Wal-Mart did not exist, someone else would invent it, because as in the natural environment, species will evolve to fill all available environmental niches -- including the big box niche, alas. If you want to deal with the Wal-martization of the American economy, you need to change the environment, not the species.

    - Badtux the Walmart-ized Penguin

    ReplyDelete

Ground rules: Comments that consist solely of insults, fact-free talking points, are off-topic, or simply spam the same argument over and over will be deleted. The penguin is the only one allowed to be an ass here. All viewpoints, however, are welcomed, even if I disagree vehemently with you.

WARNING: You are entitled to create your own arguments, but you are NOT entitled to create your own facts. If you spew scientific denialism, or insist that the sky is purple, or otherwise insist that your made-up universe of pink unicorns and cotton candy trees is "real", well -- expect the banhammer.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.