Things to do after a holiday break.

[gamerchick02]

Oh the week after a holiday.

I came back down to my apartment on Tuesday.  Traffic wasn’t bad, yay!

Worked Wednesday.

Played some video games on Wednesday night.  Got a massive headache that proceeded into Thursday.  Considered calling/emailing in on Thursday but didn’t.  Worked Thursday.  Worked Friday.  My late meeting was cancelled on Friday at the last minute so I could go home at 4.  Came home, listened to the Bugcast, chatted with some of the people, then had dinner and cleaned up.  I took a phone call from my mom and then made my grocery lists.  Then got sucked into tumblr posts until MIDNIGHT.

Cue this morning.  I get up around 8 which isn’t too bad.  Get around, get my stuff together, and go to Meijer.

Meijer.

I went to the one on Brown which I tend to regret because the store is merely ok.  At least they had everything I wanted (even though I forgot popcorn of all the things) and I get to the checkout.

There are only 3 registers open.  Granted, all of the self-checkouts are open but I hate using them because usually some asshole is behind me and I can’t scan, bag, and pay all at the same time and they like to shove in on my bagging process.  Also everything gets jacked up at the bottom and I need to sort all my cold things out so they get bagged together.

I digress.

There were only three registers open so that means there’s a wait.  I don’t care; it seems like the guy doing the checkout is unphased by the line so I try not to be too irritated.  He’s not the best bagger in the world but I roll with it because I’m fucking picky and I know that I shouldn’t tell him how to do his job.  I can rebag if need be, but he puts all my cold stuff together so I have no problem.

I come home and take care of everything.  Then I sit for 15 minutes and read my phone and listen to the Mary Poppins Returns soundtrack because I like it and chill before I go to Trader Joe’s.

I love Trader Joe’s.  It makes me want to actually shop.  It makes me feel good to go into and buy things from there.  The people are nice (customers sometimes aren’t but whatever; staff is top-notch) and they fucking open registers when it’s fucking busy!  Amazing.  Meijer could learn a thing or two from them.  I get there and back in less than 45 minutes, including my drive to the location in Rochester Hills.  HUZZAH!

Home again, unpacked, taken care of, and then time to eat.  Had lunch, and now I’m halfway through my laundry.

No cleaning because I cleaned before I left for the holiday break, and barring some dust, the place is still pretty clean!

My mom and brother are visiting tomorrow (or we’re going to Detroit, it’s not clear) and I’m mostly done with what I need to finish!  Laundry should be dry by tomorrow night.

HUZZAH!

 

 

Comments

[raine]

Oh man. I haven't shopped at a Meijer in over 20 years. I remember when they opened a store in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where I was attending college, and I used to love the fact it was so brightly lit, open 24 hours, and had everything.

[gamerchick02]

I love that it's all of those things!

And I'm used to the layout of this one, so I can usually get my stuff in 40 minutes or so. It's just that sometimes they're out of things (like frigging milk. wtf?) and the checkout can be so dang slow.

I've gone to the other one on Adams in Rochester Hills, but the layout is different and it's slightly farther away. They do seem to have everything, but when I go there I forget things because I don't know where everything is! It's a catch-22.

[raine]

Oh, yeah, I remember that happening at the Meijer I shopped at! It was basic things that they were always out of that I was like, wtf? Also, I think they're one of the retailers that do mirror image layouts in stores - like if the grocery is on the right in one store, it's on the left on the other.

I miss 24-hour buy-everything stores, especially on late evenings when I realize I'm out of something or I'm sick and need to pick up cough syrup at a decent price. I live in the Seattle metro area, and 24-hour-everything is still a rare thing to find here, but that's been slowly changing as the area has grown and more people are working all hours.

[gamerchick02]

Really, wow?

We have 7-11, Meijer, and Wal-Mart that are all 24 hours. I think CVS is too but I'm not sure.

The Meijer in Rochester Hills is just.... weird. I don't know how to explain it. Seems like they have it set up more like a Kroger than a Meijer. They have good produce and plenty of stock though, so I can't complain.

I actually prefer that one to the one on Brown in Auburn Hills, but go to the one on Brown because I know the store and can get in and out quickly (barring slow checkout).

Re: 24-hour retail

[raine]

It's not as big of a thing here as it was when I lived in the Midwest and in Florida. I've lived in the Seattle area 17 years and while we do have some 24-hour locations for things, they tend to be more spread out than what I got used to living in smaller metropolitan areas. For a long time, the big chains just didn't have as big of a presence here. When I moved here, there were only two Walmarts in the Seattle area; CVS has only been in the area less than 5 years. Costco's the big warehouse chain (not Sam's Club) and they're known nationally for paying people fair wages. A lot of local chains simply do better on this side of the mountains (as we say here) from Eastern Washington and parts farther east. The tradeoff has been not as many 24-hour locations for things; I once drove 20 miles to find the nearest 24-hour pharmacy. We do have Kroger here, represented by QFC (grocery) and Fred Meyer (little bit of everything, more on the home goods/clothing side than grocery). But yeah - speaking as someone who grew up in the Missouri/Illinois/Indiana area and then moved to Florida before moving here, it still feels surreal to know that if I wanted something at midnight, I'd have to go out of my way to get it.

Re: 24-hour retail

[gamerchick02]

I get you!

I don't usually go out late at night (because I'm not a late night person) but I do recognize that having 24 hour stores are important especially for anyone who needs medicine late or works at night and needs to go get things either before or after.

Seattle sounds like a really cool place to live! Auburn Hills isn't... as cool. It's nice, but I'd rather be elsewhere, haha! My job is here and it's ok. I'm trying to make the best of it.

Re: 24-hour retail

[raine]

"Cool" is relative. I love living here but I couldn't afford a house in the city proper so I'm out in the 'burbs. ;-) That said - if you ever want to change, I work for a really supportive mechanical engineering firm and we're always looking for talented engineers.

Re: 24-hour retail

[gamerchick02]

Whoa that would be cool!

I have a lot going on here in MI and I don't really want to leave (if that doesn't sound dumb...).

I'd also be away from my mom and her side of the family, which I love to get together with.

My brother has recently moved to Indiana to be with his girlfriend (which is cool) but I don't want to uproot myself right now.

Thanks though. I'll totally keep this in mind!

Re: 24-hour retail

[raine]

Totally understand, and no, that doesn't sound dumb! If you ever change your mind, let me know. :-)