Wimping out

I called our cable provider to make some changes to our plan today. I dropped a second phone line and canceled one cable box in the basement that we never use. Then I tried to cancel the cable all together because I know my kids will waste half the summer away sitting mindlessly in front of the television.

The lady on the other end of the line was appalled. "You mean you want no TV at all?"

"Yes. That's what I mean."

"Even though on June 12th, you'll need cable to get even local channels?"

Crud. I hadn't thought of that. Now, I know all about the digital cable conversion and the converter boxes that you can get to pull in the local channels. But I started getting all wishy washy. What if the stores are sold out of the boxes? What if the box doesn't work and a tornado is headed right for us and we won't know it?

"Ok, well, then I want to go down to the basic cable."

"That will be only channels 76 below, ma'am."

"Yes, I know. That's what I want."

"Well, if you do that, you'll be disrupting your phone/internet/cable bundle, so your pricing will be affected."

To make a long, wimpy story short, I ended up hanging up the phone with the same cable arrangement I had when I called in the first place.

Then later in the day, I went to pick up my prescriptions from Costco. I had intended to move the scripts to Walgreens for the next refills because I can use the pharmacy drive-through and because Walgreens pharmacy is open earlier and later than Costco's. The scripts I picked up tonight had been waiting for over a week because I never could get to Costco when the pharmacy was open.

So I went in, determined this would be my last Costco Rx pickup. But then the pharmacy tech walked up to me and said "I'll be right with you Ms. M..." Wow. She knows my name. Suddenly this big box pharmacy seemed a little smaller and more intimate.

"But the hours of the pharmacy here are not good," I told myself.

"Yes, but she knows my name. That's personal attention," I argued back, my resolve crumbling.

So I left there not letting them know we'd be changing pharmacies because of course, now I don't know. Maybe the hours aren't such a big deal?

I don't know why I have such a hard time standing my ground. I think it has to do with my role as a people-pleasing firstborn. I don't want anyone to think badly of me. I'm trying to toughen up a little bit. Someone at work recently told me "If it's not 100% yes, then it's a no."

Hmmm...that sounds 98% good.

A supersize revelation

Like many American families, we often hit Costco on Saturday mornings to re-stock our pantry and to scam the free samples available at every turn. On a recent excursion, we walked into the store, pausing for a few minutes to watch Speed Racer on a line-up of big screen TVs. Moving on, we began to pile our oversized cart high with:

• a giant carton of 3 dozen eggs;
• a box of frozen waffles that could feed our family of 5 for several weeks;
• a super-sized pizza;
  
• a bag of frozen mixed vegetables the size of my bedroom pillow; and
  
• a 2-pack of ibuprofen that might have been intended for the entire defensive line of the Indianapolis Colts

On this particular morning, I exercised great restraint and told the kids that we could not buy:

• a box of muffins, each bigger than a softball;
• a tub of chocolate chip cookie dough that would make enough cookies to put the local Girl Scouts out of business;
• an economy-sized bag of potato chips; and
  
• a bag of Halloween candy big enough to treat every kid in the neighborhood, twice.

There were, of course, other things that were on my shopping list that I didn't purchase at Costco, including reading glasses -- I barely need one pair, let alone 3; paper plates -- where would I store 1,000 paper plates?; and a box of 500 band-aids.

No trip to Costco would be complete without a quick trip up and down the book and DVD aisles, and then a pass through the tables of clothing. With Fall weather approaching, I thought I might pick up a few new shirts for myself.

That's when I discovered that this mecca of supersize, oversize and economy size apparently does not believe in plus size. In light of that revelation, I'd like to suggest a new slogan for the wholesale giant.

Costco: Big on stuff. Small on fashion.