Mission: Craft Store

When I went to work this morning I had no idea I would be appointed to the Elect Allison as Class Secretary Committee, but indeed I was tapped without my knowledge.

My first (and hopefully only) task: Procure poster making material.

Okay, so off to the craft store after work for this staffer. I'm comfortable in a craft store like a duck is happy in the desert. Its not that I don't like these joints, Lord knows I've logged enough time in them due to my scrapbook maniac wife, its more that shopping for anything is just not my forte.

Shopping in a craft store might be even tougher because there's all kinds of do-dads and thingies to distract you. Also, the specific thing your looking for is hard to find because there's so many derivations of everything. Oh, you want poster paper? Well that's right here amongst the drawing paper, drafting paper, canvases, fabric boards, foam squares, dry erase and magnetic boards.

Sure it is.

That, plus the fact that I'm probably the only XY chromosome in the place makes me a dry duck. I eventually found the right stuff. Wanting to be a good staffer I bought some stencils and other supplies as well.

When I went to pay the guy in front of me explained to the clerk that she had accidentally charged him $66.69 for 2 rolls of wrapping paper and he didn't realize the mistake until he was in the parking lot. She knew right away what she had done, but struggled a bit with coming up with a solution. She got out a calculator, there were calculations and recalculations....She eventually decided on a course of action that would credit his debit card the difference between this and that.

She had his receipt and, at some point, several (seemed like too many) other receipts. It was complicated. Eventually he swipes his card and gets a credit back. The clerk called the manager and explained the process to her, that seemed a little after-the-fact, but whatever.

The manager said she probably should've done X instead of Y. The clerk assured her it would be fine. I wasn't so sure.

The man got his credit but wait, its not enough...more calculations....something about taxes....the second credit finally makes him financially whole again, all is good.

Then she goes into the cash drawer, with the manager still standing there, and starts counting out dough for his refund....I thought this wasn't right, but there might have been something in the advanced financial transaction that I was missing. As she was about to hand over the green the man says, "Isn't this on my card?" Giggling..."Oh I'm glad you said that." She takes the cash and sets it next to the register and goes three registers over to get him another copy his receipt.

He is off and finally....its my turn.

I set my supplies on the counter, they now seem meager in light of recent events. She totals up 4 poster boards, two stencils, a small plastic tsquare and a pack of gum. She rings it all up...there's a pause...she's talking and giggling to herself.

I look at the register readout screen, it says $314.66.

I'm thinking that's pretty high.

She knows what she did and fixes it immediately. She was so nice and bubbly that I didn't even get frustrated waiting for her. I just considered it a little free entertainment.

After too much walking around aimlessly looking for the right thing and too long waiting to pay for it, I'm on my way. I deliver my hard earned supplies to the candidate. If she wins I am definitely expecting a high level cabinet position to come my way.