Tuesday, November 24, 2009

World gone mad

Am I just out of step with reality, or do other people find these things weird, too?

1. There is a sign up at my local shopping mall advertising a day on the weekend when you can bring your pet to get its photograph taken with Santa. I'm considering turning up with a goldfish in a plastic bag... but you don't get a prize for guessing that 99.9 per cent of the pets that appear on the day will be dogs. I'll say it again: dogs are not people! They're not naughty or nice, they're just dogs.

2. I visited a major grocery chain store, where my purchases included two polystyrene trays of meat, firmly wrapped in clingy plastic. I produced my own shopping bag. The motherly looking check-out chick asked me if I wanted the meat trays in a plastic bag, to which I replied, "No, thank you" – the meat was sealed, my other items were sealed, and if the worst came to the worst I could always wash the shopping bag. She proceeded to place the meat trays in a plastic bag anyway. When I repeated that I didn't want a plastic bag, she gave me a disdainful look over the top of her spectacles – as if to imply that I didn't know what I was talking about – and said in a pedantic tone, "You'd better have one just in case." I gave up arguing at that point.

So, is it just me?

2 comments:

Pyry said...

1. My mall has the same sign. It's ridiculous, but I disagree on one point. I believe it will be less than 99.9% dogs, I think it will be about 80% dogs. The other 19.9% will be older ladies with their cats that she's replaced her adult children with. And of course the .01% will be you with your goldfish in a bag.

2. The last time I went to the grocery store, I also brought along my own bag. I shopped with it, filling my bag with my items as I shopped. I also got a package of meat. Everything I brought up fit in my bag, but the bagger put only about half of the items back in my bag, and used a plastic bag for the rest. (Separated the meat of course in another plastic bag.)

MakaniStormont said...

oh even worse, i have had them disdainfully and with much sighing remove my items from the unwanted plastic bag and throw the bag into the trash. they just don't get it!! no wonder we're in trouble as a world.
now, i usually just bag the stuff myself as they ring it up. no one has ever complained, and i have actually even been thanked a time or two.