Why I Hate Wal-Mart

(Hmmm. I know, the title of today's blog sounds like a title for a mediocre, formulaic, five-paragraph essay. I'm hoping my little rant won't turn into one....)

Anyway, I, against my better judgment, made a trip to Wal-Mart this afternoon. I've never really liked Wal-Mart because it seems too much like some type of corporate world super-power, but that doesn't really have anything to do with today's miserable Wal-Mart experience. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, the chaos began. I don't like driving in parking lots because most of the drivers don't ever respect the lines and arrows. While I generally dislike the lack of order in parking lots, today was worse than usual: not only did the drivers lack respect for the lines and arrows, they also seemed to lack respect for other cars and drivers. One driver was weaving through the parking lot (between parked cars, not just across the empty part of the parking lot like usual) and would have hit me, had I not managed to swerve just in time. Anyway, I did manage to park my car and safely enter the store. After finding a cart that squeaked and wouldn't steer straight, I proceeded to my shopping. I managed to find everything on my list, though it took twice as long as it should have. So, after my long shopping experience, I proceeded to the checkouts. Being that I didn't qualify for the '20 Items or Less' lines (and the sign in itself bothers me -- fewer, fewer!) and I didn't want to bother with the blaring, beeping, and recorded voices of self-checkout lines, I opted for a regular checkout line. Actually, I got in the cigarettes and tobacco line because that line tends to move more quickly than the surrounding lines (and it did). Nonetheless, I ended up standing in line for over 10 minutes before I even got to start loading my items on the little check-out conveyer belt. (I was glad I hadn't planned on purchasing any ice cream.) As I stood in line, I watched the lady in front of me take a soda out of the cooler, drink the soda, and then deposit the empty bottle on the rack just next to the register. Checkout went reasonably well. I was only over-charged about $6 (I think the prices were right but the items were displayed with the wrong tags on the shelves) and the check-out lady only dropped one of my peaches (which I then refused to buy). Anyway, a little over an hour after entering the store, I managed to escape from the clutches of the evil Wal-Mart. And by the time I got out to my car and loaded everything into the trunk of my car, my $0.88 comfort chocolate bar was already beginning to melt....