The best part about having a set plan for the next year as far as jobs go, is quitting the job search. No more checking craigslist every day, no more contemplating a return to Starbucks; the negotiating of oneself has ceased, the scream of disappointment is silenced. Suddenly the dance store doesn’t seem so terrible now that I know the end is near. Instead I ponder what last minute dancewear purchases I will make with my non existent money, I revel in the thought of no longer having to wait around the intersection of Dexter and Denny waiting to transfer to the #5, I relish the thought of having something to be passionate about.
In other news, last weekend Josh and I made our first trip as Costco members. Sure, we’ve been to Costco. We’ve tagged along with other people, staggering around the gigantic aisles, marveling over the baked goods. Going with an existing member is like being the third wheel on a date…it just isn’t the same as having your own card. Sure, there’s the obligatory offer of purchasing something with a payback promise, but I’ve never been able to say, “Yeah, I’ll pay you back for that box of pot stickers, let me pull out my cash.” I never have cash on me. It never happens. I have been the recipient of many Costco gifts, specifically from my father. I’ve received the Best Songs of the 60’s box set, the set of 12 plush Muppets, and the gigantic, hard back, full colorBarbie Fashion Through The Ages book. I appreciate these gifts, I really do…but I want to make my own extravagant purchases at Costco.
So last Sunday afternoon, it was time. The sky was gray and unforgiving…Josh wanted some sort of massive quantity, (I don’t remember what it was), so we took off for Costco. We signed up, paid our dues, smiled for the camera, and boom: Costco Cards. The line for the food was long, otherwise I would have tanked up for my first trip on a berry sundae or a piece of pizza. We strolled around, without a true purpose and took it all in.
Costco was, duh, packed that Sunday afternoon. Everyone was pretty pushy, running on their own agenda, and the kids were all pissed. I don’t think kids have much tolerance for Costco, which is understandable because even adults have a limited patience when it comes to picking out stuff in bulk.
I made a beeline for the clothing and ended up, true to history, disappointed. I don’t fully trust Costco’s clothing…like, what’s so great about CK jeans? They have all this random brand name stuff that makes me wonder if it’s hand me down, cast off, what’s up with it? And where the hell are the Chanel sweaters? Wasn’t Oprah strolling around a Costco in Chicago picking up a few of those damn angora sweaters? Nope…white Tommy capris with various ties looked kind of cute but Josh shut them down right away. They had a million underwear choices for men but when it came to women’s panties: briefs or high-cut briefs…oh, and a few random pairs of boycut shorts–which c’mon, let’s be realistic here, boy shorts are really just big ole’ briefs. Pass over the bikinis, the string bikinis, whatever just put away those grandma undies. Anyway, so Costco fell short on the clothes.
I really enjoyed the book selection, the random DVD and music cds, and I loved the odds and ends: A big globe, down filled blankets, stickers, and other random knick knacks. The furniture was kinda of cool, and I guess reasonably priced…but I couldn’t imagine spending $500 on a leather chair anytime soon.
We were very cautious with what we put in our cart–no surprise $500 bill. I put in a gigantic thing of blueberries. Josh stocked up on generic contact solution–which really is an amazing deal. We were careful with buying cereal in bulk since we had heard that it really isn’t all that cheaper than buying cereal on sale. I was unable to avoid the Granola Snack Mix–Fresh from our ovens…I’m eating it now. I’m probably eating too much. Admittedly we bought big bags of frozen pot stickers and spinach ravioli. I oohed and aahed over the cheese selection and admired the gigantic party packs of sushi. Things got tricky: Should we buy a stack of frozen buffalo burgers? What if they were terrible, would we want so many of them? Probably not, is what we constantly rationalized. We were not very adventurous, even though Costco presented us with some really nice temptations.
I aim to buy roses every time we go to Costco. They’re just too hard to resist, even though Josh grumbled about the quality. After working a summer in a flower shop, Josh has high standards for his roses. He always goes for the tightest buds, feeling the base of the flower for firmness…he checked every bouquet and found one that made the grade. They’re red and smell nice…two dozen for 12.99.
We bought the obligatory jumbo pack of toilet paper.
I was also surprised at how depressed the employees offering samples were…all of them stood miserably at their little booth, slathering spread on a cracker, or cutting up frozen pieces of popsicle…none of them smiled or made eye contact. I realized part of this was because the average Costco customer is pretty rude. “What are you sampling?” A bullish woman demanded. The tired Costco employee lifted his head and muttered, “Cheese spread, would you like some?” And the woman dismissed him, not even politely declining; instead she made a rude face and huffed off toward the bulk dog food. No one said ‘thank you.’ The samples were gone faster than they could be placed on the silver tray. It made us avoid the samples…that and we didn’t want to fight the crowds…seriously, what’s up with everyone freaking out over free food in Dixie cups?
I sort of wished I was throwing some sort of big party so I could justify buying a big carrot cake…or a salami platter, or some sort of jug of potato salad. It’s hard shopping at Costco for two…and Josh and I have pretty different tastes. Overall, Costco will be another great temptation….kinda like Trader Joe’s…only much bigger.