Tuesday, October 5, 2010

When Life Hands You a lululemon Warehouse Sale...

...it's time to get a job.

Last week I had my first experience going to a sample sale. Well, technically, it was a warehouse sale. With any luck, it will also be my last experience (although I'm told this was atypical and I would really, really like to buy some discounted North Face stuff when their sale comes to town). It was lululemon warehouse sale in Hamilton, Ontario. My friends and I drove nearly an hour to get there. It was set to open at 10, so we left after school drop-off at 9, getting us there just in time for the doors to open.

Not so fast, frantic shopper! When we arrived in town, the line to get in was around the block. There was security (yes, security for a warehouse sale of over-priced "yoga inspired" athletic wear). The public parking lots were full. We parked in a suspect parking spot, paid our parking fee and went to meet other friends who had left at 8 to get a place in line. The line was even longer. People driving down the street to ask what we were standing in line for...Obama? Nope. The Queen? Nope. The Pope? Nope. Yoga wear. It was hard for me to say that with a straight face. Seriously.

We arrived at 10, we stood in line, we advanced a few steps, we stood in line some more. The security guard came by and asked us to line up single file so people could actually walk on the sidewalk. We moved a bit more. We finally got to the sidewalk in front of the convention center (yes, convention.center. Not a store, a convention center). Sweet! Almost there, right? Wrong. The line snaked around a snack stand, then down some stairs, up some stairs, another sidewalk and then the door. The woman in front of us found out the wait from where we were was another 2 1/2 hours. The time was now 11. The kids get out of school at 3:30, we had to drive nearly an hour to get back home. That's ok, there's still plenty of time. But really, all this for some yoga pants? We waited some more. Then, the lululemon cheerleaders came out to "perform". Seriously? This is what my life has become? We waited a bit longer. We chatted amongst ourselves. I said I couldn't believe I was going to stand in line at least another 2 hours. One of the women I was with said "What else do you have to do this morning? Might as well stand here." And that's when it hit me...what else do I have to do? Is this the best thing I can come up with? Standing in line for 3-4 hours to buy discounted yoga wear? The yoga pants I bought at Costco were $19. I stood in line for about 10 minutes, but I came home with yoga pants, milk, dog food and a couple of Christmas presents. I did have better things to do with my time. Even scrubbing the toilets at home was better use of my time than this. Yes, reality hit me across the face: it's time for me to get a job, because I really do have better things to do than stand in line.

2 comments:

  1. Great post Lisa. You write with such style. Now go get a job!

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  2. At least you got a good blog post out of it!

    My husband and I call that "material" as in a good story to tell at parties, dinner, etc.

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