what a day....the weather was great!
another "out the sunroof" pic!
i was off with my friend jane to get some of my credits back to the stores...walmart!! marshalls!! and t.j. maxx!! even though i've been staying out of the stores, some of the things we've bought over the last 6 months may not have been the right fit for the bicycle, the wrong color grosgrain ribbon for a project, an impulse buy of rubbermaid stacking containers.....and more...it adds up! too much stuff! we're clearing out.
o.k. the bike stuff was from biff's birthday in october....he had the bike mechanics already. darn. not because i bought him something he already had...biff knows it's the thought that counts....again! i had already given it to him!
the adorable polka dot ribbon was for grace's bedroom....the project stalled....the color was wrong for the beach colors in grace's room...turquoise and hot pink and lime green. the ribbon waited....the receipt blew away!
the rubbermaid stackables are easy to explain....anything that i can do to create order attracts me. anything...
rubberbands, paperclips, new
rubberbands, paperclips, new
calendars, white boards, new waste paper baskets, laundry bags, laundry baskets, hooks, baskets, cleaning supplies.....you name it. guess what? that stuff CREATES the clutter in our house! not really.
it's the fear of returning....i know i'm a customer and i'm entitled to a return...if it's untouched, unused, still packaged, still tagged....and i'm not talking about tiffany's. i'd never return anything that arrived in a blue box!
i can return at the best of them. i worked at the best of them...the retailers. i'm a great customer and a great returner....when you have a family and the stores are far away....the upscale stores and the larger chains and the glamor-ama malls. thankfully. that's why we like it here!
the biggest store that we had was a bradlees...a new england regional, small scale, walmart. bradlees couldn't make it...times were tough...they closed. i was in mourning! after the closing sale....like a fair weather friend, i was in there for the closing sale! i was knee deep in little tykes, ice skates, roller blades....and white socks!
my friend kate told me long ago, when i asked her for laundry advice....just toss all of the cutesy socks with hearts and flowers and trucks and trains....go white! order. anything...i went white!
after bradlees closed all those years ago....i went into a deep mourning period. just how far could i go for white socks?
and then a scary thing happened....walmart arrived. i had read about walmart in the book "nickled and dimed" by barbara ehrenreich. i was cautious.
walmart was the big bully on the block....i turned away like many others. i stayed on the safe side of the playground with the good kids. i remained true to myself....even though it was difficult not to join in with the crowd slowly drifting toward the big bully with the loud mouth and the candy that lured everyone over to the bully's side.
eventually, i'm ashamed to say....i caved. i didn't go all the way over to the bully, walmart...i tried to remain a safe distance away. still, a bully is a bully. and in girl terms, walmart wanted to be the queen bee....like queen bees and wanna be's! (a great book, by the way! and scary too...stay away from those meany queen bee's!! get out now...while you can!
a bad thing happened while i was under the finger of the queen that i had tried so hard to avoid. i got lured in....i was curious.....i purchased one thing. another. another and some more.
i made some poor choices....isn't that what happens when you hang around the queen bees or the bullies? i knew it. they had to go back. that was a problem. my poor choices made me realize the queen bee had no interest in my loyalty. the queen blacklisted me because i had returned to many of my poor choices....with no receipts. the queen was no good. the mean giant was turning me away.
that's when i had had enough. yesterday, was a big day. it was my first day of my new life. jane and i went to an out of town walmart...in trench coats and sun glasses....and wigs with different color hair. we surepticiously approached the queen bee...who had made my life so difficult....i had spent way too much time with the giant queen bee who hadn't even appreciated me and my loyal friendship. i'm on to that....the party is over.
jane and i went right up to the queen bee....we brought all of my returns...that had added up over time....with missing receipts. we stood proud. we held our heads high. we spoke up. we stood together....we could do this together!
and we did it! we gave that queen bee all of the returns that had meant nothing to us...all things....that weren't the right size, were picked up in a hurry or on a whim. we plunked them on the counter and when that queen bee behind the counter asked for the receipts, we both answered in unison,"no receipts."
we waited. it felt like a stand off! we remained quiet. queen took out her zap gun and began zapping away....she sighed...she asked for our license...that's when my good friend jane held her head high and stood up for me....she stood up against the queen...and the big bully name behind her.
jane handed over her license. it was my merchandise....but i had been black listed by the mean queen. no more merchandise credits without receipts! the other mean queen had been so nasty...we made our plan....we followed through.
it was tough. queen bees and bullies are tough. they have to be to get their way and to stay at the top. they just aren't nice. they hide behind others and have the others do their dirty work for them!
i've decided i can stay away.i'm going to do my best. i'm strong. i can pass over to that side of the playground once in awhile and maintain a safe distance. besides, i do have a merchandise credit now.
as for jane, she is only allowed one more time without receipts....her first two times without receipts were for me! now, that's a real friend. she even risked being ostracized by the mean girl!
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