The receipt that almost got away
Today, in honor of Independence Day, I did something incredibly American - I shopped. For many hours.
AF and I began our adventures on the Upper West Side with a failed visit to Ann Taylor - which was closed - and a more successful visit to Staples, where I bought chalk - in case the school doesn't have any tomorrow. (Did I mention I begin my new job tomorrow?)
Then we headed down to Loehmanns (or however it is spelled) where we spent... was it four hours? That store has that effect. After trying on tons of clothing, I managed to purchase an entire two skirts.
After a quick lunch at J-2, AF and I parted ways, and that was where my adventure truly began - with a trip to Conway, where I bought four skirts, at least one of which I knew I was going to return (I bought two in different colors and need to make a decision which one to keep). I was satisfied with the knowledge that I have 30 days to decide.
Then I got to H+M - and discovered that I had lost the receipt.
This was a bad thing.
At first, I didn't panic. After all, my gut was telling me all was not lost - or rather, that the receipt was not lost. If it had truly been irretrievable, I would have had that icky, sinking feeling in my aforementioned gut. The kind that means, react how you want - it's not getting found. Say goodbye to whatever it is that is missing. (Incidentally, I get that same feeling when I have forgotten to pack something like my toothbrush - or when I have made a particularly bad decision.) This time, there was a noticeable absence of such a feeling in my gut.
I still panicked. At first, I was calm. I looked around the dressing room at H+M, shook out all of my purchases, then searched the store... then, I started to ignore the absence of the sinking feeling in my gut, and began to panic. A frantic walk back to Conway followed, in which I turned over every stray paper on the pavement, and wondered if my receipt hadn't decided to float over to the East River to watch the Fireworks.
Then I got to Conway, and, in a total panic, began to ask people what I could do - would I still be able to at least get store credit - no, just an exchange. Could they print me another receipt? Of course not. (Macy's, by the way, can apparently do this if you have paid by credit card. But not Conway.) So I was freaking out in a big way. Of all the receipts - this one was one I knew I would need again.
In desperation, I searched the floor by the cash register - where I had stuck the receipt in my shopping bag specifically so that I would not lose it. The bag was even stapled shut - not that this had stopped the receipt from falling out, it seems...
I stumbled toward the exit, incredibly upset, still searching the floor - but no longer expecting to find anything - and then, about ten feet from the door - and not even the door I originally exited through, there was a piece of paper. I turned it over - and I was very happy and relieved.
Then I went to Macy's.
AF and I began our adventures on the Upper West Side with a failed visit to Ann Taylor - which was closed - and a more successful visit to Staples, where I bought chalk - in case the school doesn't have any tomorrow. (Did I mention I begin my new job tomorrow?)
Then we headed down to Loehmanns (or however it is spelled) where we spent... was it four hours? That store has that effect. After trying on tons of clothing, I managed to purchase an entire two skirts.
After a quick lunch at J-2, AF and I parted ways, and that was where my adventure truly began - with a trip to Conway, where I bought four skirts, at least one of which I knew I was going to return (I bought two in different colors and need to make a decision which one to keep). I was satisfied with the knowledge that I have 30 days to decide.
Then I got to H+M - and discovered that I had lost the receipt.
This was a bad thing.
At first, I didn't panic. After all, my gut was telling me all was not lost - or rather, that the receipt was not lost. If it had truly been irretrievable, I would have had that icky, sinking feeling in my aforementioned gut. The kind that means, react how you want - it's not getting found. Say goodbye to whatever it is that is missing. (Incidentally, I get that same feeling when I have forgotten to pack something like my toothbrush - or when I have made a particularly bad decision.) This time, there was a noticeable absence of such a feeling in my gut.
I still panicked. At first, I was calm. I looked around the dressing room at H+M, shook out all of my purchases, then searched the store... then, I started to ignore the absence of the sinking feeling in my gut, and began to panic. A frantic walk back to Conway followed, in which I turned over every stray paper on the pavement, and wondered if my receipt hadn't decided to float over to the East River to watch the Fireworks.
Then I got to Conway, and, in a total panic, began to ask people what I could do - would I still be able to at least get store credit - no, just an exchange. Could they print me another receipt? Of course not. (Macy's, by the way, can apparently do this if you have paid by credit card. But not Conway.) So I was freaking out in a big way. Of all the receipts - this one was one I knew I would need again.
In desperation, I searched the floor by the cash register - where I had stuck the receipt in my shopping bag specifically so that I would not lose it. The bag was even stapled shut - not that this had stopped the receipt from falling out, it seems...
I stumbled toward the exit, incredibly upset, still searching the floor - but no longer expecting to find anything - and then, about ten feet from the door - and not even the door I originally exited through, there was a piece of paper. I turned it over - and I was very happy and relieved.
Then I went to Macy's.