Melbourne old GPO postal hall converted to a shopping mall complex. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This time of year always meant one huge thing to me as a child – back to school! I loved, loved, loved going to school. But, back to school meant…
Back-To-School Shopping!
Shopping is the one thing I hated about going back to school. My mom would take my brother and me shopping.
Shopping for clothes.
Shopping for shoes.
Shopping for lunchboxes and thermoses.
Shopping for pencils, and pens, and copybooks, and rulers, and scissors, and…
On and on and on. The preparation for school started in late July and lasted for, well, forever! At least, to a young boy it seemed it did. It was at this time that I developed what I would call my mall headache, which I still get today. It’s a headache that has a particular feel to it, and I only get it in a mall.
This aversion to shopping of mine continues to this day. I can’t stand going into a store for more than five minutes. Even if it’s for something that I like, I have to do my best to get in, get what I want or need, and get the heck out. Now, there are some things I can stand to browse for a little longer. Books, computers and accessories, food, and office supplies are awesome to look at. But, even then, once I have my fill, I’m ready to get whatever it is I came for and/or found and leave posthaste.
I know I’m not alone in my shopping aversion. I know plenty of people (mostly other guys) who try to set a new speed record when they shop. Perhaps there’s something on the Y-chromosome that makes us that way. Perhaps it has to do with evolution. I can see that – when hunting some huge animal, the less time you’re outside the cave and in the wild, the less chance you’ll end up in some predator’s stomach.
How about you? Does the mere thought of shopping make you cringe? Or are you more like the shopaholic, who can spend hours comparing a hundred different items for the perfect fit and/or the perfect deal?
This post is for the September Back To School Blog Challenge, hosted by Matt Conlon on Join Something.
- September Back To School Blog Challenge
Here's The Beef 
I don’t mind shopping when I’m by myself. I just listen to my music & get what I need. I hate taking my kids with me, though. They whine & want me to buy them stuff they don’t need. I don’t mind shopping with my husband unless he is going to the electronics store. He spends hours looking at crap that we aren’t going to buy. But I know he feels the same way when he goes to a book store with me! LOL! 🙂
I guess that shopping for something you actually like does help assuage the pain of shopping for me. But, like you, my wife gets impatient with me when I start looking at electronics, books, or office supplies. But I get the same way with her and clothes, shoes, etc.. 😀