What's on your Won't Do list?

[Recidiva]

Noted. However, people are short sighted. What they want NOW and what they want long term are usually two different beasts.

For example, I want a cupcake, (a chocolate cupcake with real butter cream icing and sprinkles), now. In fact, I want cupcakes constantly at my disposal. I want to eat cupcakes five times a day, every day. Will this make me happy right now? Hell yes! Will this make me happy in the long term? Um...yes.

OK, bad example.

So, I want a bowl of chocolate ice cream now...

Nope, that won't work either.

*Goes back to drawing board*

If I want a store available where I can go there and find everything I want in one trip, how is that ultimately bad for me?

This isn't a monopoly issue, it's an efficiency issue. Walmart has plenty of competition - KMart, Target, etc.

Lots of stores have caught onto the idea of convenience and being able to do one-stop shopping. I appreciate this as I also save time and money from running to seven different places to get pool supplies, gardening supplies, clothing, pharmacy, toys, groceries, pet supplies, hardware, stationary and housewares. How is this bad for me? How is that short sighted, really?

Saves me money and saves me gas and if I have a quality issue, I go elsewhere. There is a local Walmart that wraps its meat badly, so I don't go there.

 

[Keroin]

And don't get me started on the people in the rope and chain area.

Okay, maybe the last one isn't really fair. *snort*

As an aside, I went through and replaced the majority of the incandescent bulbs in the house with natural light flourescents. Regular flourescents give me headaches, but the natural light ones are fantastic. I still need either incandescent or halogen for my desklamp (better light for the colour work I do when painting), but I'm digging on the CFL's. Man, the heat difference is ENORMOUS. I actually found myself missing the heat during the winter.

Also redid the screen door on the deck and installed a screen door on the front of the house. We get a lovely breeze through the bottom floor now, and it will extend the time where we can keep the AC off. I'd like to get new windows, as ours suck, but I don't have the cash for that right now.

Hugs to you! My long, long term goal is to buy a chunk of land in Nelson where I can build my own shack and be totally off the grid - solar, wind, have my own water. That's totally feasible there.

My short term goal is to locate and eat chocolate ice cream.

Shallowness they name is Keroin.

 

[midwestyankee]

Hugs to you! My long, long term goal is to buy a chunk of land in Nelson where I can build my own shack and be totally off the grid - solar, wind, have my own water. That's totally feasible there.

My short term goal is to locate and eat chocolate ice cream.

Shallowness they name is Keroin.

I'm hurt. You know that I'm on my way with a boatload of vanilla and a mile of rope.

 

[Keroin]

If I want a store available where I can go there and find everything I want in one trip, how is that ultimately bad for me?

This isn't a monopoly issue, it's an efficiency issue. Walmart has plenty of competition - KMart, Target, etc.

Lots of stores have caught onto the idea of convenience and being able to do one-stop shopping. I appreciate this as I also save time and money from running to seven different places to get pool supplies, gardening supplies, clothing, pharmacy, toys, groceries, pet supplies, hardware, stationary and housewares. How is this bad for me? How is that short sighted, really?

Saves me money and saves me gas and if I have a quality issue, I go elsewhere. There is a local Walmart that wraps its meat badly, so I don't go there.

Um, I was making a joke. Am I losing my edge?

*Consults Comedy 101 Handbook and scratches head*

I'm hurt. You know that I'm on my way with a boatload of vanilla and a mile of rope.

I know. Vanilla will be the main course, chocolate will be dessert.

A mile of rope?! Yikes.

Side note: one of my friends mailed me some chocolate bars once. She sent then regular mail instead of airmail, because it's cheaper. I'm not sure how many times they melted and reformed but they weren't exactly "bar" shaped when they finally arrived four months later.

I ate them anyway.

 

[Recidiva]

Hugs to you! My long, long term goal is to buy a chunk of land in Nelson where I can build my own shack and be totally off the grid - solar, wind, have my own water. That's totally feasible there.

My short term goal is to locate and eat chocolate ice cream.

Shallowness they name is Keroin.

I feel bad having this conversation having seen your local buying options and knowing I have two refrigerators, a chest freezer and a well-stocked kitchen.

It's not shallow.

 

[Recidiva]

Um, I was making a joke. Am I losing my edge?

*Consults Comedy 101 Handbook and scratches head*

You're not losing your touch! I got the joke! Not losing your edge. Just took the first sentence and went with it.

Really, I feel bad talking about food options so I didn't want to do anything resembling gloating on the chocolate issue.

I don't think cupcakes or ice cream are bad. I used to, before I was in a hurricane and I lacked for food and refrigeration, now I can't really think that way again.

There are many worse things than being sorta indulgent diet wise. Starvation and desperation for two. If I'm going to be decadent, I'm damned well going to appreciate it and not run it down.

 

[Keroin]

I feel bad having this conversation having seen your local buying options and knowing I have two refrigerators, a chest freezer and a well-stocked kitchen.

*Goes out to front yard and burns Recidiva in effigy*

Nah, it's cool. I chose this hell. I used to have high pockets, lived the life, ate out every second night, had "stuff" up the ying yang, (ouch). I walked away by choice. One day I just realized I didn't own my stuff, it owned me.

So I bitch but it's just venting. (And hunger).

 

[JMohegan]

Too much damned orange. I'll stick with Lowe's and their ubiquitous blue....



This is becoming more of a problem. It seems like the little neighbourhood hardware stores are slowly dwindling. I can see it in the face of the big box places like Lowe's and Home Depot, but there's also a quality issue. When I walk into the hardware store, I expect the people working there to know more than I do about hardware. When I'm talking to their paint guy and he can't tell me which primers are sandable, I have a problem.

We've got an Ace here locally, and it is basically a neighbourhood store, but the above example of sandable primers happened there. If I go talk to the guy at Lowe's, I am more likely to get good info.

I wish we had a Southern States closer. The selection's not as good as a Lowe's, but the people there are generally very knowledgable, and they are still small enough not to be Lowe's or Home Depot.

My biggest problem with Home Depot is that, to shop there, I have to drive through miles of cultural and aesthetic wasteland, filled with car dealerships, fast food joints, strip malls, traffic, and gargantuan asphalt parking lots.

By the time I get there and back, half my day is gone and I'm ready to start smashing things or ripping my eyeballs out.

The local alternative is to hop on my bike and head over to the neighborhood store, pick up my caulk, chat with the owner about how his kids are doing in college, hop back on my bike and come home. At the end of which excursion, I'm happy, relaxed, and ready to work on the shower.

I may lose a few extra dollars, but I save a significant amount of time and there's no eyeball gouging.

 

[Recidiva]

*Goes out to front yard and burns Recidiva in effigy*

Nah, it's cool. I chose this hell. I used to have high pockets, lived the life, ate out every second night, had "stuff" up the ying yang, (ouch). I walked away by choice. One day I just realized I didn't own my stuff, it owned me.

So I bitch but it's just venting. (And hunger).

I've been much richer as well, and much poorer. Walked away from both due to not really enjoying either living for things, or living without things. Both seemed the sorta same thing, only in reverse. I've reached my happy moderation zone where I know what I have and I appreciate it. Things optional and if they're there, cool, if they're not, I'll manage.

You'll never look at a cupcake again and take it for granted, and that's a good way to live a life, I think.

 

[JMohegan]

Great info - I'm glad to see you post all that.

There are also some problems with labor exploitation issues if one purchases salmon farmed in Chile - it is a full time job just keeping up with all this stuff...

I agree, sometimes it seems confusing as fuck.

This thread inspired me to google a bit, though, and I found something that may be helpful for those who are interested.

Click me, and then click on your region, for a printable pocket guide to what's considered ocean-friendly, and what's not.

 

[Recidiva]

My biggest problem with Home Depot is that, to shop there, I have to drive through miles of cultural and aesthetic wasteland, filled with car dealerships, fast food joints, strip malls, traffic, and gargantuan asphalt parking lots.

By the time I get there and back, half my day is gone and I'm ready to start smashing things or ripping my eyeballs out.

The local alternative is to hop on my bike and head over to the neighborhood store, pick up my caulk, chat with the owner about how his kids are doing in college, hop back on my bike and come home. At the end of which excursion, I'm happy, relaxed, and ready to work on the shower.

I may lose a few extra dollars, but I save a significant amount of time and there's no eyeball gouging.

This is interesting because I hate talking to people when I go out. Introverted personality type. Shopping is something to do quickly and efficiently and finish as soon as possible and get home.

But for me also I have possible migraine triggers of strong perfume, strong lights, smoke and loud noises.

Human contact makes me sick?

 

[Recidiva]

I agree, sometimes it seems confusing as fuck.

This thread inspired me to google a bit, though, and I found something that may be helpful for those who are interested.

Click me, and then click on your region, for a printable pocket guide to what's considered ocean-friendly, and what's not.

I've had fun watching Bill Nye's "Stuff Happens" on Planet Green and watching his approach to figuring out environmental issues.

I thought it was funny when he said "I don't really know whether or not it's better to get plastic or paper bags. Nobody does." (I took his advice and bought a ton of canvas bags, keep 'em in the trunk for shopping.)

It's so hard to work in all the associated costs and then the quality of the final product.

I do know from personal experience...do NOT get razors made from biodegradable plastic. The damned heads snap off constantly.

It's nice to see products getting better, but it's so hard to separate hate from hype from marketing from reality.

 

[Keroin]

My biggest problem with Home Depot is that, to shop there, I have to drive through miles of cultural and aesthetic wasteland, filled with car dealerships, fast food joints, strip malls, traffic, and gargantuan asphalt parking lots.

By the time I get there and back, half my day is gone and I'm ready to start smashing things or ripping my eyeballs out.

The local alternative is to hop on my bike and head over to the neighborhood store, pick up my caulk, chat with the owner about how his kids are doing in college, hop back on my bike and come home. At the end of which excursion, I'm happy, relaxed, and ready to work on the shower.

I may lose a few extra dollars, but I save a significant amount of time and there's no eyeball gouging.

Reading this made me happy.

What's worth what? I love living in small places for exactly the reason above. I know every employee of every shop on this island. It means I sacrifice some privacy, time, money and selection but it also means if I don't have enough money for a purchase, Maffi will just say, "Oh come back later and pay." Sometimes we all sing along to the radio, which is quite hilarious. Me and three Maori women belting out "You've lost that lovin' feeling". We won't be performing in Vegas any time soon, I assure you.

Going back to civilization in October was surreal. I felt so small.

 

[Netzach]

I won't:

Ever read a book again and think "It's got to get better." "

Holy shit yes. Learned this one watching SNL.

 

[Netzach]

I might do heroin right before I die. Definitely so I die before crashing.

Last meal so to speak. Otherwise I don't have the temperament to do drugs.

I felt the same way about hard drugs till I was given morphine in the ER. I better get serious opiates if I'm exiting.

 

[Netzach]

I shop at Target and Walmart. I think a lot of their bad PR is combination of sour grapes and individual douchery. Not necessarily crimes against the human race that are implemented at a corporate level.

I think they've experienced catastrophic success and people don't like them for that reason alone, and the media plays that up.

And they do have decent organic selections, Target in particular. Their "Archer Farms" brands have some serious yumminess to them.

But I go to Whole Foods also. Their organic selection is higher, but I also think they overcharge for the boutique effect.

I'm in Orlando and the stores are close, good and high quality.

I shop Target and I'm not wracked with guilt about it.

No one gets out of here alive without buying slave labor something - however the difference is that Target, while not the greatest job in the world, does not break US labor law as a matter of policy, pays people and treats people as humans, in general. More so than WalMart. More so than most fast food.

(walmart keeps getting busted again and again for having people punch out and then work more)

I worked for another retail division of theirs for a while. (Target) I would work at Target if I needed a quick job. I would never ever ever work at Walmart. I can't even be in a Sam's club for more than 10 minutes without losing my mind.

So as far as offshore goes - evil. However less evil at home.

And has clean well lit stores and clothing I actually want to be seen in and yes, food that does not suck.

 

[graceanne]

I felt the same way about hard drugs till I was given morphine in the ER. I better get serious opiates if I'm exiting.

I want some more dilauded before I die. *sigh*

 

[Homburg]

My biggest problem with Home Depot is that, to shop there, I have to drive through miles of cultural and aesthetic wasteland, filled with car dealerships, fast food joints, strip malls, traffic, and gargantuan asphalt parking lots.

By the time I get there and back, half my day is gone and I'm ready to start smashing things or ripping my eyeballs out.

The local alternative is to hop on my bike and head over to the neighborhood store, pick up my caulk, chat with the owner about how his kids are doing in college, hop back on my bike and come home. At the end of which excursion, I'm happy, relaxed, and ready to work on the shower.

I may lose a few extra dollars, but I save a significant amount of time and there's no eyeball gouging.

Well, as they say, time is money. I've also realised that eyeballs are money too, and thus avoid things that make me want to gouge out said eyeballs.

Unfortunately, my hardware store is not quite within easy biking distance. I used to have a very serious electrical hardware store in that range, but it has since sadly gone out of business.

I'm a little weird about drive time. I don't factor it in all that much. Probably comes from my job, as six hours of driving is literally nothing at all for me. I don't start to approach highway fatigue until the 8-10 hour mark. As a result, I don't mind drive time all that much.

Buuut, because I am behind the wheel so very often, I am moderately avoidant of it in the first place. It's like I don't mind driving for six hours for a good reason, but dislike driving twenty minutes. It feels like a huge waste of time to make a trip for a single purpose. So I tend to combine errands and shopping with my work runs, and try not to get behind the wheel unless I've got multiple reasons for being there.

And I drive a dinky little gas-efficient Nissan.

 

[Recidiva]

I felt the same way about hard drugs till I was given morphine in the ER. I better get serious opiates if I'm exiting.

I'm warming up to Darvocet right about now.

I don't get how this stuff is supposed to be addictive though. Not having headache or surgery pain - nice. But my brain isn't saying "Gosh, I'd like some more of...whatever that was."

I'm just eternally grateful that my general anesthesia worked. I was afraid I'd still be sitting there ten minutes later saying "Uh. Guys? Ow?"

But I think it took ten seconds. So there's hope for heroin being fun, even though most medicines so far have zero effect.

I wish to Goddess the Placebo effect kicked in. Even once would be nice. So far I think "the placebo effect" is bull.

 

[Netzach]

Well, as they say, time is money. I've also realised that eyeballs are money too, and thus avoid things that make me want to gouge out said eyeballs.

Unfortunately, my hardware store is not quite within easy biking distance. I used to have a very serious electrical hardware store in that range, but it has since sadly gone out of business.

I'm a little weird about drive time. I don't factor it in all that much. Probably comes from my job, as six hours of driving is literally nothing at all for me. I don't start to approach highway fatigue until the 8-10 hour mark. As a result, I don't mind drive time all that much.

Buuut, because I am behind the wheel so very often, I am moderately avoidant of it in the first place. It's like I don't mind driving for six hours for a good reason, but dislike driving twenty minutes. It feels like a huge waste of time to make a trip for a single purpose. So I tend to combine errands and shopping with my work runs, and try not to get behind the wheel unless I've got multiple reasons for being there.

And I drive a dinky little gas-efficient Nissan.

We have a local HW up the street. If I just have to get a tube of caulk it's a no-brainer. If I'm buying a new drill or something, though, it's Harbor Freight or Home Despot time for me - I can afford to be jacked 5 bucks more on caulk or nails or whatever, but once I really need things I'm going to bite the bullet.

 

[Recidiva]

I shop Target and I'm not wracked with guilt about it.

No one gets out of here alive without buying slave labor something - however the difference is that Target, while not the greatest job in the world, does not break US labor law as a matter of policy, pays people and treats people as humans, in general. More so than WalMart. More so than most fast food.

(walmart keeps getting busted again and again for having people punch out and then work more)

I worked for another retail division of theirs for a while. (Target) I would work at Target if I needed a quick job. I would never ever ever work at Walmart. I can't even be in a Sam's club for more than 10 minutes without losing my mind.

So as far as offshore goes - evil. However less evil at home.

And has clean well lit stores and clothing I actually want to be seen in and yes, food that does not suck.

I do like Target a lot more than WalMart and that's usually where I go. I actually hate shopping in the same place over and over. And since I've made the rounds of all the stores in town (or the next town over) I'm pretty good at knowing what's where.

Funny thing is that each store has this one thing we MUST have from time to time or this fatal weakness where it's lacking one absolute necessity.

Target pisses me off because of two things - they are not always stocked with enough chocolate milk (dealbreaker for my son) and they don't carry Pop Secret Homestyle (deal breaker for me.)

They do carry Jones soda and their honey cashew crunch is something my husband would kill for. They have a honey chipotle hot sauce that we must buy in bulk if we're to survive.

So I go to Target at least once a month and stock up on necessities. But we have to go elsewhere for other things. There's a Publix that always has enough chocolate milk and popcorn and they have this peanut brittle to die for, right around the corner...

 

[Recidiva]

Well, as they say, time is money. I've also realised that eyeballs are money too, and thus avoid things that make me want to gouge out said eyeballs.

Unfortunately, my hardware store is not quite within easy biking distance. I used to have a very serious electrical hardware store in that range, but it has since sadly gone out of business.

I'm a little weird about drive time. I don't factor it in all that much. Probably comes from my job, as six hours of driving is literally nothing at all for me. I don't start to approach highway fatigue until the 8-10 hour mark. As a result, I don't mind drive time all that much.

Buuut, because I am behind the wheel so very often, I am moderately avoidant of it in the first place. It's like I don't mind driving for six hours for a good reason, but dislike driving twenty minutes. It feels like a huge waste of time to make a trip for a single purpose. So I tend to combine errands and shopping with my work runs, and try not to get behind the wheel unless I've got multiple reasons for being there.

And I drive a dinky little gas-efficient Nissan.

We have a little three-door Saturn and a motorcycle. I work at home and I get headaches so often and can't really drive myself places, I can't justify having a car of my own. We've weathered all the gas crunches very well and the bike is for stuff like "gotta pick up the dog's prescription..." It's two towns over and we just like hopping on the bike together to go get a little tiny bottle once a month. I just like holding on.

But I love the car for being able to sing along with each other.

I do like drives for social reasons, but the social reason is always the person in the car or bike with me.

I was absolutely shocked when someone around here started to recognize me (prescription lady knows my name and actually starts up conversations...unfortunately I do not recall HER name.)

I've never lived anywhere long enough for that to happen unless it was a "get hit on" situation.

 

[satindesire]

This is interesting because I hate talking to people when I go out. Introverted personality type. Shopping is something to do quickly and efficiently and finish as soon as possible and get home.

But for me also I have possible migraine triggers of strong perfume, strong lights, smoke and loud noises.

Human contact makes me sick?

You sooo don't seem introverted. You're so sweet!

 

[Keroin]

I felt the same way about hard drugs till I was given morphine in the ER. I better get serious opiates if I'm exiting.

I want some more dilauded before I die. *sigh*

I'm warming up to Darvocet right about now.

Mmmmmm, Demerol. Makes my brain toasty warm.

Unfortunately, it is being prescribed less and less, and I have not been injured badly enough to warrant heavy drugs in a few years.

Haven't had morphine yet but I hear it's the shit.

I could never do a drug requiring injection. I'm skeered to death of needles!

 

[Recidiva]

You sooo don't seem introverted. You're so sweet!

It's the Myers-Briggs definition of introversion. It doesn't mean shy or socially inept, it means that when I'm around other people I tend to get more tired and it's draining.

Extroverted people tend to get energized from being around other people.

According to the Myers-Briggs test, both my husband and I are extraordinarily introverted. Opposite in every other respect, I'm INFP and he's ISTJ. But it's the "I" that makes it easy for us to be around each other day to day and feel like we're normal in a culture that values extroversion and considers introversion to be pathological.

For me it's because I'm so very sensitive to everything about people, what they're thinking, what they're saying, what they're doing. I can't NOT put all my attention on anybody around me, and it is like constant juggling. I'm hyperaware and that's exhausting.