Some Days I Wanna Scream

Yesterday after work was one of those days. Daughter no. 2 had to go back up to her school for gymnastics. So, when I left work I went by the condo, picked her up and we were on our way. I also needed to do some grocery shopping, so I figured I would do that while she worked. Simple enough - website showed there was a Cold Storage (one of the local chain of grocery stores over here) at Causeway Point Mall. Yes, a mall. In case you've missed my ranting in previous posts - the grocery stores here are for the most part located in shopping malls. So that requires all the fun and excitement of parking, walking, etc. You'd think after almost 2 years here it wouldn't bother so much, but I guess it's the larger number of years that I've been exposed to the convenience of parking directly in front of the store that has me conditioned to believe that is the way it should be and they have it all wrong over here. So, after dropping daughter no. 2 off at the school I head to the mall. I drive around and around working my way up the floors in the parking garage until I find a spot on the 4th floor. As I enter the mall and head to the elevator it would have been smart for me to notice the set of stairs I had to go down to get to the elevators. If I would have made a mental note of those stairs it would have helped a little later on when I got ready to leave the mall. You can see where this is going I'm sure. After picking up all the items on my list that I could find - and trying not to gag from the smell of the Durian every time I realized I forgot something near the produce section, I headed to the check out counter. I went to pay with my credit card, just like I do at the other Cold Storage's I shop at and guess what the cashier told me? "We only take NETS or cash." I was like WTF! What century is this? All the other stores take plastic! NETS is kinda like the old ATM cards that banks used when they first came out - pre-visa debt card days. So...now I am off to find a stupid ATM machine so I can get cash. They were asking me what bank my card was from and I was like it doesn't matter! It's a Visa Debit card - it's from the US and it works everywhere (except for at your stupid store)! So the first ATM I find has three machines and the line is a mile long. So up the escalator I go. I go up two levels and find another ATM with no line. Guess everyone else was too lazy. I get the cash, go back to the store, wait behind another person, pay for my groceries - then, as I left the store and I am pushing a shopping cart full of groceries through the mall it hits me! I was like this seems so weird! I can't be the only person who has every had to push a shopping cart through this mall - am I? Are people staring at me? See, the one thing that is different here than in Texas where I am from - they buy a small amount of groceries with more frequent trips to the store. I didn't see anyone else leaving with a cart (or trolley as they call it). Back in Texas we buy in bulk...less trips to the store. We'll fill up two baskets if that's what it takes. We enjoy or free time a lot more I guess. Also since everyone in their grandmother has a live-in "domestic helper" here - they make them do the shopping. When I get back to the elevator (or lift as they call them), I get on and 4 more people squeeze on. We go up two levels and three more idiots squeeze in. When we get to my floor and I ask to get off - no one moves! At that point the politeness is gone and I'm like, "look, you have got to move so I can get out." The last three idiots that got one think they can just scooch out of the way, and I said, "no, you have to get out of the elevator so I can get out" - NOW! Once I was off - that was the point in which I would have remember the stairs. I had to carry all those shopping bags up the stairs to get to my car. Guess at that point I was grateful that it was more of a 'local' store that didn't carry all the things I wanted to buy or I wouldn't have made it up the stairs. I had to leave the cart there by the elevator. Good thing I only put in 20 cents to use the cart and not a dollar. Here you have to pay to use the cart and you get your money back when you return the cart. Just typing this has given me a knot on my shoulder. I think I need drink tonight!