Get Off Your Lazy Bum
- Winter 1994/1995 my best friend and I shared an apartment on top of pill hill in Portland. A bad snowstorm hit and being fresh out of college we didn't bother to have silly things like canned goods and food on hand. We called the pizza delivery guys and they laughed at us, so we were forced to do some emergency shopping at the Plaid Pantry that was within walking distance of the apartment. (This was pre-Swank). This experience led to the Swank Rule of Housing Location #2: You must be within walking distance of a grocery-store type establishment.
- Christmas Day 1999 I was preparing for the First Annual House of Swank Boxing Day Dinner and ran out of eggs, so was forced to the local 7-11 to restock so that the preparations could continue for the feast to be served the following day. I also discovered that the Italian Sausage I had purchased earlier in the week had been inadvertently left at the store, but 7-11 couldn't help me there. Thankfully the Mom and Dad Grocery is always well stocked with ground beef.
Situations in which other alternatives weren't available. In my youth there MIGHT have been occassions when we went to 7-11 because we were desperately in need of milk, and it would take 1/2 the time to get to the 7-11 than it would to go to the grocery store.
So back to this morning. I'm buying my Big Gulp, and I notice someone that lives in my apartment complex is in the store buying milk. We only live 1/2 mile from the closest grocery store, so I hit the trip meter on the car to figure out if 7-11 is closer to home. It's not. It's further away. So why would someone go to 7-11 to purchase milk when the local grocery store is closer? It can't be price, because you know prices at the convenience store are jacked up. It's not the travel time, because the grocery store is closer. Speed of service can't be a factor because a) it's 10:30 on a Sunday morning and b) the grocery store has U-Scan, which take less time than a checker can if you have half a clue.
The only reason I could determine as to why someone would go to the 7-11 rather than the grocery store in this situation is because they are a completely lazy person. From your car door to the front door of the 7-11 is maybe 5 steps. Once inside you're within 10 steps of everything they stock. At the grocery store you're going to be at LEAST 10 steps from the door, but probably closer to 30-40, because the spots right next to the door are always occupied. Then it's probably another 30-40 steps to the back of the store to the dairy cases. HOW CAN SOMEONE MANAGE TO WALK 100 STEPS WHEN THEY'RE WITHOUT MILK!!!!
People really do perplex me sometimes.
posted by Swankette at 9:48 PM
4 Comments:
7-11 saved my sanity as well as my stomach during a really nasty blizzard. I will never EVER mock a 7-11 again, such was (is!) my gratitude for this one having been open during a blizzard that shut everything else down for several days.
re: milk - perhaps this person is deeply grateful (or flirting with an employee?) and expresses it through use of a charge card?
I don't think 7/11s take charge cards here, Lemming. Do they in your part of the country? Of course, now Wendy's even takes them, which is amazing.
TRP - this 7-11 was (presumably still is) located in a large East Coast city. I've no idea why they took plastic if other 7-11s do not. As I was out of cash, too, I'm just very grateful.
January 1996. Just picked up the keys to a new apartment on Hawthorne. A friend's band was playing up the street at the Mt. Tabor Theater. It was late in the day, so we figured we'd go turn on the heat, look around a bit, and bop over to catch the concert.
The show was great (ahh, Slake, we miss you so!). We walked out of the pub afterword to see that *everything* was covered with an inch-thick coating of ice. Hooray for Portland ice storms. Considering the old apartment was across the river and the doors of the car were frozen shut, we weren't going anywhere.
Ah! 7-11 is across the street. Slipped and slid across Hawthorne, bought two toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste. Spent the night sleeping on the floor of the new (sic) apartment in front of the wall heater under Al's long leather coat.
Yay for Sleven!
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