ship-jumper's Diaryland Diary

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Nothing is free

Today was a PMS day. Even though I had a hysterectomy a few years ago I did retain one ovary, so I do ovulate and I do cycle. When I cycle, I get irritable and short fused at the stupidest things. However, some things are just plain stupid.

CK and I went shopping today and running around as she has to work in Toronto all week. Since I won't have wheels we needed to get me stocked up for the week. So far....no irritation.

Our approach to the grocery store entrance revealed the typical line-up of grocery carts outside. Nice and neatly lined up. Plenty to choose from. No irritation.

Then I hear CK ask me for a quarter. Ok....since she isn't the "I need a quarter for the gum ball machine" kind of woman I needed to ask why.

ME: What do you need a quarter for?
CK: To get a cart.

ME: A cart of what?
CK: A shopping cart!

ME: (Shakes head in disbelief, thinking the deaf ear is really nearing total deafness) What? You need a quarter to get a shopping cart?!
CK: Yes, but it's just a deposit. You get it back when you bring the cart back.

ME: (Deer in the headlight gaze) WTF???

I watch her and sure enough I see her go to the line-up, insert a quarter which then released the cable lock from the mechanism on the handle bar of the cart. She pulls out the cart and looks at me as if to say "Ok honey, let's go!"

ME: (Deer in the headlight gaze. Still uttering nothing)

I start to walk towards her and pushed the rewind button in my brain. IRRITATION HAS BEEN TRIPPED.

Give me a break! I mean, what if we didn't have a quarter? I don't always have change in my pocket. Lot's of times we don't have any money less the debit card on us. I'm planning on spending a hundred dollars in this store but I am screwed if I don't have a quarter as I will have to try and carry a hundred dollars worth of groceries on my back, in my shirt, in my pockets or kick the stuff in front of me. UGH!!!

More irritation sets in the more I think about this. Yes, yes yes. I understand the logic behind it.

If you pay for the cart, you'll be more likely to return it back to the line-up instead of leaving it behind someone else' car.

If you pay for the cart, you'll be more likely to return it back to the line-up and some street person won't scoop it up to move their belongings around the city.

If you pay for the cart, you'll be more likely to return it back to the line-up and some street person won't scoop it up which drastically burdens the stores enough so that they have to jack their prices sky high to make up for the loss.

If you pay for the cart, you'll be more likely to return it back to the line-up and some street person won't scoop it up which forces grocery prices to escalate and the stores won't have to pay people to gather and collect the carts.

If you pay for the cart, you won't cause the cart to be stolen and the store won't have to hire people to move the carts so the stores will make more money and someone is out of a job.

More irritation arises and I feel I need to let it go. So I do. We shop and shop and do our deal.

Then it hits me as CK reminds me of yet another factoid as we approach the registers.

CK: Honey don't forget we have to pay for each plastic bag we get and we have to bag our own stuff.
ME: (Face reddens) NO we are NOT paying for any damn bags! I'm not paying 5 cents for each bag. This is stupid. Screw it. We'll use those empty boxes by the front window instead to load our groceries.
CASHIER: Hello! And how many bags will you need today?
ME: (Says nothing as I'm ready to blow up over the fact that she is trying to trick me into buying bags. She didn't say 'and you'll need to pay 5 cents for each bag' but rather just wants to know how many I want. AND there is NO SIGN at the entrance of the store saying "Note: If you didn't bring bags with you you will have to pay us for what you need. Then I decide to reply) NO! I am using those boxes over there!

As I'm bagging the groceries I see that a lot of my items have come in bags. The different veggies we got that we bagged. Our milk (which comes in bags) comes in a bigger bag in which to hold 3 bags of milk. Irritation creeping in again at mach speed.

Did I get charged for those produce bags? Did I get charged for the bags that hold my milk? GGgggggrrrrrrrrrr!

I am sorry. While I understand the 'concept' of trying to get people to recycle and be enviro conscious and bring in their own bags to the grocery store instead of using plastic bags....this drives me nuts! They don't even OFFER you paper sacks here!

Oh remember the days when:

You had an option of paper or plastic bags
Bags were free
You could take extra bags if you wanted
Shopping carts were free
Someone else bagged your groceries
Someone else would wheel you and your cart to your car and help load up, taking the cart back to the safe confines of the store with them.

Even farther back to when I was a kid the following is remembered and I think should be brought back to life:

Bags were free
Carts were free
Your groceries were bagged for you
Carts didn't leave the store because the person bagging the groceries put your bags in numbered plastic bins. They'd give you a numbered plastic ticket thing. You'd drive your car to the door, give the person your plastic tickets, and they'd retrieve your bins and load your groceries into your car.

Carts weren't stolen or rammed into parked cars. Bags were properly distributed in the correct quantities. All of this was also done with a GENUINE smile and wish given for a wonderful day.

It kills me seeing how we have changed. And, being on my period or not I would be irritated by this and have been in the past. Today however I'm incredibly irked by the whole experience.

I brought the damn cart back to it's line-up (AS I ALWAYS DO ANYWAY) and fidgeted with two different cable lock thingies to try and figure out which one to plug in where and finally got back by stinking quarter so that CK and I could leave and go home and bring up our boxes of groceries.

Next time I'm going to go with a shit load of bags, stand outside the store doors and GIVE THEM ALL AWAY so noone needs to buy them that day. Hit 'em where it hurts eh? You can't tell me it costs them 5 cents for each of those bags. Hhhhmmm......maybe I'll spend the day there, "Buy" about 20 shopping carts and hang outside giving them to people to save them the irritation??

Something to think about anyway. Oh yeah. I forgot to mention. The name of this store?? Ahem. Price Chopper!! WHATEVER!!

7:03 p.m. - 2007-09-23

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