Safeway Egits

I started writing this post a few days ago. I was feeling old. I wasn't carded at the store the other day. It was either because I looked old, because I had about 20L of wine or because the cashier was about 14.

There I said it. The cashier looked about old enough to just about begin to start shaving. So maybe that's where I am getting old.

But I ended up thinking of a different Store story. (Cue wobbly cut scene ala Wayne's World - but no stairway to Heaven!). At the local store here they have 4 of those self check stands. You know, those ones where you are supposed to check out yourself so that they can have just 1 cashier doing to the work of 4 to keep their costs down and make you think that the lines are moving quicker. That is despite the fact that it takes the 4 people in front of you a week to work out how to locate the type in code for loose kumquats or some other weird loose produce they are buying. And the one one cashier is off yapping to their friend over on checkout 12 - which when you consider self check is checkouts 1 through 4 makes you realize that they were way over the other end of the store.

So there we are, like sheep waiting to be sheered (or dumped in the sheep dip tank - choose your metaphor). And everyone just knows that the line for these checkouts goes up aisle 13 (unlucky for some). Gubbin's here is waiting 1 back from the front of the line. All of a sudden (dramatic moment), someone finally finishes checking out. Before we can move, some big dude (no other details given - its California after all), from nowhere, wheels a cart of about 200 items into the empty space, to the dismay of all of the rest of us.

Now normally, I wouldn't get into this. But I'm tired and thirsty and just want to get home that day. It had been a long day - work had been crappy and well I had other things I had to do. "Excuse me - the line is over here" says I. Dude looks up at me, grunts and carries on checking out. Strangely at this time the cashier had wandered back over. Uh-oh. Now they have to do something. Now kudos to them, they actually go over and tell said big dude that there is a line and he needs to move. "I'm in a hurry" he says. "Leave me alone". He carries on checking out.

Now by this time the line has moved a bit and I'm now all but done checking out. At this point the guy sees me and comes over to start getting in my face. (So much for being in a hurry). Luckily the store managed is on site at this time. It gets into a bit of a "this guy says there was a line but there wasn't - I'm in a hurry - leave me alone". To which I counter "so why are you over here in my face" (almost in parallel to the store manager saying the same thing).

As the story goes I just grabbed my stuff an left at that time. But it got me thinking. Are people really that clueless? If they are, should we give them a clue? Are there enough to go around?

The last time I was in the line, the guy in front of me was Shaun Hill (apparently some pro footballer or something - more of a Sharks person these days even with all the 49ers training less than a mile from the house). Would he have done the same to him? I mean I'm 6 foot and this guy was easily 6' 6" (round).

But I won't tell that story. Instead - the LCD TV broke at home today. I do have a Wii but it had nothing to do with a flying wiimote. Typical really or I could sue Nintendo for $5M or some other frivolous amount. It shattered while cleaning it. I guess, in my male mind, that gives me a great reason to never clean a TV again. It also meant it was a great day to go out and get a replacement model (thank goodness for end of year sales), which was 2 models above the one that broke. Male gene's have some advantages. A new Sony LCD TV for no real reason is a good thing in them there genes.

I think I made it through today without complaining. A Christmas miracle!