Human interaction, Self-checkout lanes, and Shrinking Pants
The majority of this post is in regards to a friend’s entry (you know who you are...some of it is posted as a response in there as well). This friend had written about the lack of desire for human interaction, or more the deliberate avoidance of it in general.
I am totally up there on that list. I certainly prefer electronic contact to phoning or dropping in, at least as far as me being the one making the first move. If someone else calls or drops in, well, it hasn't happened lately, so I'm not so sure. Basically, what I'm saying is that I'm a crappy friend in terms of keeping up with people. Even online. :( Not that it means I'm not thinking of people, because I certainly reminisce quite often. I just don't go the extra step. So really, if you want to keep in touch but think I must not like you since I haven’t talked to you in awhile, forget that thought and go ahead and drop me a line! I can’t really think of anyone that I don’t like…that would want to get in touch with me anyway. Now that I’m thinking about it, I can think of maybe two or three people, but it’s not even that I don’t like them, I just feel uncomfortable with the way things were left. But even they can get in touch with me again if they want. I won’t be hostile. Unless they are hostile first.
Another part of his entry was about detesting the recent implementation of self-checkout lanes, and its addition to the avoidance of human interaction. While I can see how this is true, I don't group it in the same category. The self-checkout lane is mostly a convenience (except for occasional produce or mis-scan problems). Here are the benefits I see of the self-checkout lane:
1) Depending on the store, the clientele might be of the age of "technologically impaired," and not up for the self-checkout; leaving that one checkout lane empty while the others overflow. This allows the technologically capable (such as myself, in most circumstances) to checkout quickly.
2) Grocery shopping...for the control freaks out there that like to organize for the unpack, if you go through the self-checkout line YOU have the power to decide what goes in what bag. This means you can bag cabinet items with cabinet items, freezer items with freezer items, bathroom items with bathroom items, etc. Oh, the control!!!! :::giddy laughter:::
3) If you are purchasing something you feel like keeping to yourself, or are just plain cranky, you can avoid any awkwardness. For example, if you happen to be purchasing tampons, Midol, chocolate, and a tube of Blistex...you might NOT want to interact with someone. Especially if they might say, “How are you today?” You would feel obligated to force a smile and say “Fine thanks, and you?” when all you really want to say is, “Look at my purchase. I have my period, bad cramps, general discomfort, crankiness, and to top it off my lips are dry. How do YOU think I am today? Shut the f*ck up.” And really, forcing politeness in such circumstances is just lying. It would be better for EVERYONE if you went through the self-checkout lane and kept your problems to yourself. **This actually happened to me in a store that did NOT have self-checkout lanes. Naturally, I went the polite route, but man did I long for the self-checkout.
Next topic: How to wash pants without shrinkage. Can someone PLEASE help me out here? EVERY time I wash my pants, they come out a few sizes too small. At first I was flipping out due to a slight weight gain, which indeed is still an issue with me, but it was blown seriously out of proportion due to pant-shrinkage. I realized that if I had really put on as much weight as my pants were causing me to believe, then my SHIRTS would be too snug as well. (Plus, we now have a scale, and I can put things in better perspective.)
So back to the pants problem. In the beginning of college, I was a laundry dumbass. Laundry was separated into two categories: dirty or clean. Dirty laundry was all washed and dried on high temperature. I think it was shortly after graduating college that dirty laundry was finally separated into two categories: regular, and delicate. Regular was washed in warm water, delicate in cold. Depending how much laundry there was, it would all be dried on medium, or regular on high and delicate on low. Now, the breakdown remains, but EVERYTHING is washed in cold (or occasionally, regular stuff is washed in warm water). Unfortunately, due to the sheer age of the drier, there isn’t really a “low” setting (and I don’t feel like there is a point in putting a full load in the drier on the “air fluff” setting). Everything is either dried at “Permanent Press” or hung on a drying rack. Among items dried on the drying rack: bras, dress socks, some dress shirts, ALL OF MY PANTS. Yet the problem has not been solved. Even washing my pants in cold water and then drying them on the drying rack does not prevent such extreme shrinkage as to cause serious discomfort even by TRYING to zip the fly. Is there a solution to this? Must I invest in pants that are several sizes too large (and I will not know if they will shrink to a flattering fit or not)?
Please, someone give me some advice on the matter. It’s annoying enough wearing form-fitting women’s clothing without it shrinking even more every time it gets washed.
I am totally up there on that list. I certainly prefer electronic contact to phoning or dropping in, at least as far as me being the one making the first move. If someone else calls or drops in, well, it hasn't happened lately, so I'm not so sure. Basically, what I'm saying is that I'm a crappy friend in terms of keeping up with people. Even online. :( Not that it means I'm not thinking of people, because I certainly reminisce quite often. I just don't go the extra step. So really, if you want to keep in touch but think I must not like you since I haven’t talked to you in awhile, forget that thought and go ahead and drop me a line! I can’t really think of anyone that I don’t like…that would want to get in touch with me anyway. Now that I’m thinking about it, I can think of maybe two or three people, but it’s not even that I don’t like them, I just feel uncomfortable with the way things were left. But even they can get in touch with me again if they want. I won’t be hostile. Unless they are hostile first.
Another part of his entry was about detesting the recent implementation of self-checkout lanes, and its addition to the avoidance of human interaction. While I can see how this is true, I don't group it in the same category. The self-checkout lane is mostly a convenience (except for occasional produce or mis-scan problems). Here are the benefits I see of the self-checkout lane:
1) Depending on the store, the clientele might be of the age of "technologically impaired," and not up for the self-checkout; leaving that one checkout lane empty while the others overflow. This allows the technologically capable (such as myself, in most circumstances) to checkout quickly.
2) Grocery shopping...for the control freaks out there that like to organize for the unpack, if you go through the self-checkout line YOU have the power to decide what goes in what bag. This means you can bag cabinet items with cabinet items, freezer items with freezer items, bathroom items with bathroom items, etc. Oh, the control!!!! :::giddy laughter:::
3) If you are purchasing something you feel like keeping to yourself, or are just plain cranky, you can avoid any awkwardness. For example, if you happen to be purchasing tampons, Midol, chocolate, and a tube of Blistex...you might NOT want to interact with someone. Especially if they might say, “How are you today?” You would feel obligated to force a smile and say “Fine thanks, and you?” when all you really want to say is, “Look at my purchase. I have my period, bad cramps, general discomfort, crankiness, and to top it off my lips are dry. How do YOU think I am today? Shut the f*ck up.” And really, forcing politeness in such circumstances is just lying. It would be better for EVERYONE if you went through the self-checkout lane and kept your problems to yourself. **This actually happened to me in a store that did NOT have self-checkout lanes. Naturally, I went the polite route, but man did I long for the self-checkout.
Next topic: How to wash pants without shrinkage. Can someone PLEASE help me out here? EVERY time I wash my pants, they come out a few sizes too small. At first I was flipping out due to a slight weight gain, which indeed is still an issue with me, but it was blown seriously out of proportion due to pant-shrinkage. I realized that if I had really put on as much weight as my pants were causing me to believe, then my SHIRTS would be too snug as well. (Plus, we now have a scale, and I can put things in better perspective.)
So back to the pants problem. In the beginning of college, I was a laundry dumbass. Laundry was separated into two categories: dirty or clean. Dirty laundry was all washed and dried on high temperature. I think it was shortly after graduating college that dirty laundry was finally separated into two categories: regular, and delicate. Regular was washed in warm water, delicate in cold. Depending how much laundry there was, it would all be dried on medium, or regular on high and delicate on low. Now, the breakdown remains, but EVERYTHING is washed in cold (or occasionally, regular stuff is washed in warm water). Unfortunately, due to the sheer age of the drier, there isn’t really a “low” setting (and I don’t feel like there is a point in putting a full load in the drier on the “air fluff” setting). Everything is either dried at “Permanent Press” or hung on a drying rack. Among items dried on the drying rack: bras, dress socks, some dress shirts, ALL OF MY PANTS. Yet the problem has not been solved. Even washing my pants in cold water and then drying them on the drying rack does not prevent such extreme shrinkage as to cause serious discomfort even by TRYING to zip the fly. Is there a solution to this? Must I invest in pants that are several sizes too large (and I will not know if they will shrink to a flattering fit or not)?
Please, someone give me some advice on the matter. It’s annoying enough wearing form-fitting women’s clothing without it shrinking even more every time it gets washed.