Dancing with the Devil

On Friday night, Trent and I stayed over with some friends in Edmonton while my parents kept the little guy for us.  Our mission, aside from having a really nice evening with some great people, and some fine food & drink, was to wake up on Saturday morning and run 'errands'.  In other words, we had some consumer activities in which to participate in (hence the sinister sounding title).  Our first stop?  West Edmonton Mall... barf.  For those of you who don't know, WEM is one of the biggest malls in the world... actually it is what Edmonton is mostly famous for (again, barf).  Usually, I try to go to that place as little as humanly possible, however we had to return a gift that Chephren had received at Christmas that didn't fit him.  So, off to an extremely expensive children's store we went.  As soon as we entered the mall the first thing that I noticed is the smell of that place - it smelled of... chemicals.  Maybe it was just my imagination (I am reading Slow Death by Rubber Duck right now).  At the children's store itself, we were literally taken aback by the prices of those tiny little clothes.  They wanted $32 for a pair of shorts that would barely fit on my arm for crying out loud!  Anyway, we did manage to make a really good decision in there: we exchanged for a long-sleeved rash top (great for swimming outside in the summer which we will be doing a ton of) and a pair of underwear for the little man - potty training will happen eventually right?  As a bonus, we were left with an additional store credit of $3.42 - which we gave to a lady in the store who was going to town and buying up the store.  She was delighted, and so were we, vowing never to step foot in that store again!

Our first mission accomplished, we were feeling pretty good about ourselves, so we stopped at a cafe for a few bagels which we enjoyed whilst sitting on their patio in the sun.  Our next stop was one that we were greatly anticipating - we had a $300 gift certificate at MEC (MEC stands for Mountain Equipment Co-op, a huge outdoor store, which to us, is the equivalent of a shopping mecca).  We had been holding onto it since Christmas, saving it for something that we actually 'needed'.  A few weeks ago, I went to see a sports medicine specialist who informed me that I have ITB syndrome (an overuse injury from running) and that I needed to be wearing my shoes with orthotics at all times (even inside), invest in yet another new pair of shoes, and possibly a pair of birkenstocks for those summer days where runners are just too hot (more on this later).  After testing out the hip/knee yet again this past week on the indoor track (I was in agony after 20 minutes), I decided that new shoes were definitely in order.  I had been agonizing over this decision for weeks, feeling like I really didn't want to break the 'rules'.  Luckily, I figured out that MEC actually sells a suitable shoe for my running needs and we were in business (gift certificate remember?)

So excited to be going to MEC with those GC's burning a hole in my pocket, I practically skipped through the front doors of the store.  Upon entering the store however, my drunk monkey brain immediately took over and I went into MEC 'auto-pilot'.  After wandering aimlessly through the first part of the store, I eventually got to the shoe section.  I tried on the shoes that I had picked out online, and threw them in the bag - so easy, just like that $165 gone - poof!  Drunk monkeys don't think like that though, and instead, my little monkey friend decided that I should invest in some new socks as well.  After throwing four of those in the bag as well, I moved on to another section of the store.  Next, we picked up some new Aladdin take-and-go coffee mugs - a reasonable purchase as well given that they are eco-friendly and practically bomb-proof.  Then, following our 'usual' path through the store (old habits die hard), I ended up in the clothing section and decided that I 'needed' a new pair of shorts.  I found the perfect pair and after modelling them for Trent (my monkey brain didn't even bother to hear his feedback), they went in the bag too.  I was feeling pretty pumped about the shopping experience until I got up to the till and (sound of a record coming to an abrupt halt) our total was $332...  Not knowing what to say/do I pulled out the plastic and paid for it... feeling the drunk monkey return to the recesses of my usually-more-rational brain.  The first thing I felt?  Embarrassed, hence why I just took my excessive purchases and ran!  Upon walking out the doors of the store?  Regret, deep, deep regret.  And by the time we got to the car I had already decided that the shorts were going back. 

A day after this experience, I am still feeling quite weak and ashamed at my behavior.  I do take some comfort in the fact that MEC will take the shorts back with no worries and that at least some of my gift certificates went to things that are important (I really did need those shoes and I also bought my parents two of those amazing cups which we lovingly use every day).  However, I am really alarmed at how quickly I fell back into my 'old ways'.  Not cool.  Here I had thought I had grown so much in the past three months, and it was discouraging to find that I haven't, not really.  The good news is that I am almost out of gift certificates (finally)! 

Now, with my Shoppers Anonymous confession time over, I am pleased to share that I am 'back in the saddle' and focusing on new horizons.  Today is my first day of the No Impact Week Challenge and today's topic is (drumroll please), consumerism - ironic hey?  This week really will push the boundaries of my experience so follow along as I blog daily about the experience.

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny."
 
Marebare