Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Her shopping impedance

Last weekend, two people of immensely different shopping disposition were standing in an aisle of a busy department store to shop for a man whose closet is devoid of suitable dress shirts. They had agreed to have a harmonious shirt shopping outing and had pledged to be patient with one another. Good luck.

He hates shopping. Of any kind. Its a repugnance that seems hard wired into males. To make matters worse, he also needed a belt – a simple leather one. Finally she decided to prevail.

They go into a store which he can tolerate better than most others because the men’s department is large and relatively less crowded in mid afternoon. She, of course would’ve preferred a vast discount store where everything is jumbled, but the lure of bargain awaits.

He has a familiar pained look on his face. He winces at the holiday music and glances at his watch even before they reach the shelves where his size is housed. She stands back, knowing that this is the moment of truth. If she intervenes he’ll scrowl. She looks steadily at this reluctant customer looking through the variety of wares, seeking that basic shirt, which he hopes will last long, thus eliminating the necessity for more of this torture.

After 30 seconds he finds that shirt. He examines it for another 10 seconds and is about to walk to the nearest cash register. She is challenged to keep her shut, which is no small feat. ‘Don’t you want to try it and look for some more?” she asks in disbelief. The answer is a resounding ‘No”. One shirt, no try on, no stripes or plaids, just a button down basic solid blue.

By now, they are off to the belts. Once again he takes less time than it takes her to clean her specs. He pulls one brown belt down from all others. He checks the size and the price.

The deed is done. Their shopping outing has taken less than 20 mins, including escalaters, selection and payment. All this in the height of holiday season.

On the way out of the store she can’t resist and stops at the aisle of clearance sweaters. He stares and coughs loudly. She is in the presence of a shopper who has neither the time nor the patience for browsing. Next time she decides to just wait in the car.

She is none other than yours truly and that shopper is none other than a typical ‘man’
Posted by Dewdrop :: 9:40 AM :: 21 Scribbles!

Scribble your mind!

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