Sunday, November 18, 2007

I never realized what shopping really is...

Saturday night, 9 P.M., Rancho Cordova Wal-Mart: So we go to Wal-mart because we needed to buy 1 item, a cheapy cd player for Ellen when she teaches her primary class. I go in, and I see that they have a special edition "Princess Bride" DVD on sale..in the cart it goes. "But you didn't buy clothes?" "No, but I think I'll look some more." "Because your in the store?" "No more rhyming and I mean it!" "Anybody want a peanut?"

Anyway, so after we continue and get the CD player, I'm thinking that we are done, and I slowly start back to the checkout stand. Then I notice my beloved is gone. "Hmm...I thought we were just here to get a CD player and then go...where could Ellen be...?" Ellen and I have this little whistle we do to locate each other in a store. Kind of like a mama beaver slapping her tail to warn her young, only I just do the whistle thing. I give the signal, and out of an aisle WAY at the other end of the store peers my wife, with a kind of embarrassing grin on her face. There she is, holding some duck-themed bathroom rug. It was then that I realized how different shopping is for me versus for Ellen. I go to the store with a purpose. I never go to best buy or or anywhere just to "look around" at stuff. If I don't have something to buy, I don't go. Ellen, on the other hand, enjoys shopping just for the sheer activity of strolling around looking at stuff. Last night, she determined that her bathroom needed to be redecorated in a ducky theme. So, for the next hour, you know what I was doing-helping her choose duck towels, duck rugs, a duck waste basket. I had to stop her before we did the duck shower curtain rings. I mean, we have to set a limit. After we get out of wal-mart, with much more than just a CD player, I asked Ellen about what she thinks shopping is. Then she told me that in Mandarin, the word for shopping is "to look at things and buy" and that she was doing exactly that at Wal-mart. That was my chinese lesson for the day. No complaints here, I love spending time with Ellen...I just need to plan on trips to Wal-mart, Target, or Costco taking MUCH longer than I think.

3 comments:

Rebecca said...

Funny, Trev. Randy and I do the whistle too. I love to look at things and buy. Randy likes to go in, get straight to what he needs, check out, and then go home. And I ask you, where is the fun in that!? You have to at least look at everything to know you aren't missing out!

Elissa said...

HAHAHA I knew I had a little Mandarin in me! It wouldn't be shopping if you didn't walk around and "shop"! We can't wait to see you guys in a few weeks. Love you guys.

Lacey.costner said...

lol Ducks huh???? oh goodness!! That is tooo funny!! Ryan doesn't quite understand either...however...he could spend many hours looking in Best Buy....and he would probably end up buying something too...its inevitable...lol