Christmas Shopping

Well, my wife and I went Christmas shopping this morning, we were at the mall by 7:30 and left at about 11:00. I actually got most of my shopping done in this one trip. Of course I only buy for one person, my wife, she buys for everyone else. Hmmm, I see a future blog entry on division of labor in a marriage.

Being a man shopping in the women's section of Macy's can be a rough experience. First off, the store isn't arranged properly. You want to see a properly arranged store, go to a hardware store. All the toilet parts are here, all the paint is there, light switches over there and mail boxes in another aisle. Imagine if hardware stores were laid out like Macy's and you went there looking for a shovel. OK, here's a shovel, next to a rake and a hammer. Then in the next aisle is another shovel, next to a circular saw and a power drill. Two aisles over is a third shovel, next to that one is a set of files and a motion-sensing light fixture. Why aren't the shovels together? Because the whole store is arranged by manufacturer! Each shovel is next to other items made by the same company, so if you want to find a particular type of shovel (say a garden spade or a snow shovel) you either have to know who makes that type of shovel or you wander around the whole store looking for it. Is it any wonder men don't like shopping, except in sensible places like hardware stores, gun shops, and sporting-goods stores?

Don't even get me started on "miss's" vs "women's" (I just learned this one today, I hope I got the right one! Well, that's why I get gift receipts, right?) And we won't even begin to discuss the helpful sales person (who looks to be about the same age as my CAR) who can't figure out the change if she punches the wrong amount received into the computerized cash register and has to cancel the order and ring the whole thing up again. This thankfully didn't happen today, but it's happened in the past.

No, I'm not saying what I bought for my wife for Christmas, she reads my blog. Stay tuned!