Yes, it’s another full-moon weekend.
It’s not that I shop a lot, nor that the full moon brings out the animal shopper in me. My job is so busy and so stressful that I can’t shop at all during the week, and on most weekends, I’m too exhausted to go out. But there are things that I need – well, like wine, for instance.
For whatever reason, my shopping trips just manage to coincide with the full moon more often than not.
Our weather has grown fall-chilly, and I only have two weights of jackets – rainy summer and freeze-your-ass-off winter. Time to get a fall-weight coat, so off I went.
But first, I needed a haircut. When I was working just four days a week, I could go to the salon on my day off, but now everything has to be squeezed into those two weekend days. The cut at least was quick – although, despite the fact I told the stylist to just wet my hair down, she shampooed it. Hey, I’m not paying for shampooing! Oops, she said, just habit, we won’t charge you for it.
Now it was coat-shopping time. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate clothes shopping of any kind? Nothing ever fits, nothing is ever in my price range, and I really hate dealing with other shoppers. I could be home playing videogames instead, and if I were retired, I could do that and probably wouldn’t need a coat in the first place.
But such is life. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet.
As I was traveling up the Boulevard heading towards Kohls, I passed Sears – and suddenly, I remembered they occasionally have stuff I like and can afford. The Coat Department used to be on the first floor, but when I got there I was told by a store employee that the coats are all upstairs now. It was a pretty good Coat Department, too, and I found a car coat almost immediately – a nice thigh-length weather-resistant tan, lined in fleece, and perfect for rainy fall days. And marked down to 45% of its original ticket price!
But now I had to find a checkout. On the entire second floor, there was only one checkout open – and it was in the Tool Department! I waited in line behind all those men buying thingamajigs and widgets, only to discover that the Tool Department cashier did not have the ability to take that sensor tag off the coat. I had to go downstairs for that. Fortunately, the checkout in the downstairs clothing area was not busy – but I did complain to the cashier about the lack of open checkouts upstairs and that they would likely lose customers because of it. The cashier whispered that it’s been a problem for that store – the upstairs employees simply don’t man their posts like they should. Alrighty then – it’s a management problem, not mine. I got my coat, and was on my way.
I still wanted to go to Kohls, and the Wegmans next door to it, so headed further up the Boulevard. But then I passed the Burlington Coat Factory. Suddenly, I remembered having very good luck at Burlington several years ago when looking for a winter coat, and the turnoff was right there! How could I resist?
Burlington does have a very good selection of outerwear, and it didn’t take very long to find a second fall-weight coat that was in my price range. This one was a thigh-length black, but not weather resistant; however, it was soooo comfy. I figured I could take both coats home, make a decision as to which one I liked better, and return one. I could even ask hubby which one he liked best, and then decide to keep the other one (’cause he’s almost always wrong).
It was Saturday afternoon. The weather was quite nice. Burlington was very busy, with both American and Canadian shoppers. The checkout lanes were packed. And these were not the same types of shoppers you would find at, say, Nordstrom or Macy’s, or even for that matter, Target. Even Walmart might have been a little high-brow for some of the folks in line with me. Fortunately, except for the screaming babies, everyone seemed pretty mellow and patient this particular day.
Finally got to the register and swiped my credit card.
Well, guess what – in its infinite wisdom, my bank had opted to go to chip cards, and I had managed to find myself at the one register that didn’t have a chip card reader. The young checkout girl told me she would have to take me to a different register, and she picked one at the far end of the counter. Not really a problem, except that the young couple with baby at that particular register were buying something like two years’ worth of clothes for the baby, the baby was fussing, and their Canadian credit card had just been rejected. There was the usual conversation between husband/wife (boyfriend/girlfriend? I have no idea), about trying to use a different credit card, but wait – we just maxed that one out at [store down the street]. I actually felt kind of sorry for them – they seemed like a very nice young couple, and they were doing their best to juggle fussy baby and maxed-out credit cards without losing their cool.
While they were going through purses and pockets, my checkout girl ran my purchase through, and said, “You’re all set. Have a nice day.” Well, ok, but don’t you think you should give me the coat I just bought and which was left on the counter by the first register? Oops, yeah.
I never did get to Kohls and Wegmans. By the time I left Burlington, I was worn out. A quick top at the Tops near my house, and I was home just after dark.
BTW, hubby had no opinion about either coat, so I’m keeping both.
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Images by Cordelia’s Mom
Cordelia's Mom, Still 
Know where you’re coming from! I hate shopping, period. Doesn’t matter what for now, it’s a chore. A lot of people over here order their groceries on line, and if their bill is over a certain amount (like £50 or £75 which we never spend in one go) delivery is free. It doesn’t appeal to me as I like to squeeze my own veg and bread, and shop to a budget, not necessarily a list. Sometimes the alternatives selected aren’t even related to the original, and I’d have a hard time trying to boil up a pair of slippers instead of a stewpack ! Glad you got, and are keeping, both coats.
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Groceries are one thing I won’t buy online. If nothing else, I’d worry about freshness. I did once order some candy online because it was a holiday item that was no longer available in the stores, and my husband really liked that particular candy. It seemed fresh enough when it came in, but I still worried.
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Groceries are too personal to let someone else pick it. We shop for friends should they be poorly or we’re visiting, and I always pick only the stuff that I would have for myself.
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Now I’m exhausted! Nobody enjoys shopping, but I do enjoy bagging that perfect thing especially when it’s on sale. Sounds like you have choices. Now to juggle coats according to this crazy weather. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
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Thanks. I figure I’ll wear the tan one on rainy or misty days, and the black one on dry, colder days. I’m sure I’ll get plenty of use out of both, and the price of both together was still less than the ticket price of the first coat!
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Good choices. Now you can wear both coats at the same time, using the layering system, and never be cold again.
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You never know. If I wind up homeless, I’ll definitely need to layer those coats, and I’ll be especially happy to have them.
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I have done much shopping at Burlington over the years. You just never know what you are going to find. Woohoo for two coats!!!!!!
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Burlington is especially good when buying coats for the kids. They can usually find something they like, and the prices are low enough that you don’t mind when they grow out of them so quickly. For me, I find that Burlington usually carries the larger size I need – stores like Macy’s or JC Penney tend to cater to the younger, trimmer crowd.
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I was there with you, shopping under the full moon. Crazy! You can never really have too many coats, especially when you have a dog! I have one that I put on behind closed doors because Duncan’s black hair doesn’t work on tan (which matched Our last dog better!
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You’ve got that right, Elyse. The black coat definitely can’t be worn around Cody. I’m using my old coats for dog-walking (and hugging).
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This is why I shop on line. I have certain vendors that the sizes and products are consistent enough to trust. I hate going to stores. Especially Wegmans, but then I won’t shop else where for food. Creature of habit.
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I do have one on-line women’s clothing shop that I use. That particular store always has my size, and the sizes are always accurate. Plus, I can try the stuff on in the privacy of my own bedroom.
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Video games is a great way to unwind. When I used to work and I had a stressful day, I would come home, boot up my computer / console / whatever, stick in a game, enable God Mode and blow the living entrails out of everything. It could be quite exhilarating.
I misread your line at first when you were in line behind the tools lol.
As for two coats – you can never have too many,
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Well, maybe some of them were tools. 🙂 Most evenings, I like to play hidden object games or mild adventure games, but when I’m really stressed and really tired, I like something totally mindless like Snood.
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I, too, enjoy having many coats to choose from 🙂 I like to think about how many more coats I can buy when the children’s coats are no longer in the coat closet!
I thought these shopping mishaps only happened to me, to I am relieved, but sad for you.
I will be doing my grocery shopping tonight when I leave work, so I hope everyone is looking forward to sammiches and chips.
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Shopping after work is the pits, isn’t it? You’re tired from a long, stressful day, then have to deal with the store clerks and other customers, then get home and have to put the stuff away, cook dinner, clean up, etc. And of course, it’s extra hard when little kids are involved. But somehow we all manage to get through.
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Burlington Coat factory was my default shopping location for office clothing. Not so much coats, but suits, and business clothing. You can get a lot of stuff for remarkably little money.
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Unfortunately, our Burlington isn’t that upscale. Ours mostly carries sportswear and stuff like designer jeans that were in style two years ago. I pretty much only go there for the coats.
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The stores that respond to low traffic by reducing stock and limiting open chrck-out stations are driving themselves out of business. Our local Sears died this snd its very frustrating. I feel your pain.
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Reblogged this on Cordelia's Mom, Still and commented:
Two years later, I’m still wearing those coats. Guess it was a good deal after all. Enjoy this re-blog – I hope to take the weekend off from WP.
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And they wonder why we shop online!
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Never mind that there are so few brick-and-mortar stores left. Since that post first ran, Sears has closed in our area.
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So many stores are closing around here, CM. It’s shocking and sad. I grew up shopping in malls and it was quite the treat to do so. There was this special smell and ambience that I was enthralled with. Now I do most of my shopping online. That way I don’t have to deal with checkouts that are inconvenient.
Regarding clothes …. I’ve begun to when I pull something out of my closet and if I no longer like it, or the cloth has grown thin, or there are holes, or the waist pinches, out it goes. My clothes, albeit quality for the most part, are a good 20-30 years old. I have no good black pants cuz all of mine are way out of fashion with huge cuffs. Perhaps the big cuffs will come back in style? One can hope. 😉
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The only time I really enjoyed shopping was when my daughters and I went out as a mother-daughter group and then enjoyed dinner after. That was fun. These days, the only things I don’t buy online are shoes and most clothes (and groceries – I would never buy groceries online).
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I do buy cat food online, CM, which due to the type of food I am buying, is getting complicated. That is a LONG story. 😉
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