Retail runaround
By Wade KwonTonight, I was reminded again about the joys of shopping.
All zero of them.
I like finding bargains, especially in the uncrowded, open-all-night, traffic-free land of the Internet. Most times, I barely tolerate shopping, even if it’s something gadgety for myself.
And if I’m being dragged along, I will be the most miserable bastard you ever met.
While I’ve learned to curb my rougher edges during these retail sessions, I find the whole exercise to be utterly pointless. I don’t care what you’re buying, how much you’re saving, how cute it is.
I don’t care about stuff for me, so I can hardly be bothered to work up any enthusiasm for your purchases.
I’m generally an even-tempered guy, but put me in a mall for hours and I sulk to no end. I can’t help it. Your shopping trip equals my misery.
It doesn’t even matter if we’re shopping for me, or we’re in a store I like. I read someone describe her time working retail thusly: “I quickly found that there was nothing gratifying about helping people spend money, and I wanted to do something that would really help people.”
Our family business was retail. I worked it. I hated it.
Don’t read too much into that. I consider myself fortunate enough to have discovered early on that the grind of retail was not a good fit for me.
Each time I set foot in a store, a supermarket or mall, I’m reminded of how much I dislike both sides of the transaction. Lloyd Dobler, “Say Anything”:
“I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed; or process anything sold, bought or processed; or repair anything sold, bought or processed. You know, as a career, I don’t want to do that.”
The moment I begin to shop, I know I could be doing anything else at that moment. Something fun, something carefree, something not trapping me in a place that wants me to drop money by the fistful.
Capitalism is good, up to a point. Consumerism is horrible. And my participation is always under protest.
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- Retail runaround
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- 08.20.06 | 11.55 pm
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