Yesterday wasn't anything unusual, as days go. Sam and I thought we'd visit our local Costco. We didn't need much, just milk and orange juice, but well, why not?
As you may know, Costco is a wholesale retailer and you need to be a member to shop with them. That's fine. There are some great savings to be had, for sure. Sam and I miss out on most of them in that we are a family of 2 and there really is only so much you can buy in bulk at a time without looking like crazy people. Families obviously benefit more. And businesses of course.
On our arrival at the store, a staff member whizzed by families and groups of women, making a bee line straight for us. He demanded to see our membership cards. I'm on board with needing membership to purchase goods, I'm a little fuzzy about needing membership to enter the shop...But even so, why pass people, who were not vetted, so he could essentially challenge us?
I admit I was wearing a baseball cap. I must have looked decidedly dangerous and up to no good. I also have a wicked sense of humour, an IQ of 143 and just sparkle in the bedroom (I've got moves he'll never see). If only he had taken the time to get to know me before proceeding with what felt like an attack. I would have considered role-playing as his victim if he had at least bought me dinner first. Or even a snack. A Cherry Ripe, even.
The vibe felt "off". He had no reasonable response when I asked why other people were streaming in without being questioned in the same manner. Frustrated, we continued to buy our orange juice and milk. We got to the checkout and, when asked how we were, I conveyed my frustrations to the checkout operator. She looked blankly at me, then wished me a good day. No appreciation of our feedback was given, nor was there an offer of "Oh dear, let me get a manager, if you'd like?".
Apathy is spreading like a malignancy throughout our society. It has for years I suppose. It's got to the point where people, their brains and their responses are so dulled, we'd be as well being a species of zombies. That's how we must look. If we aren't tripping up on to a pavement because we can't raise our eyes from our smart phone (saw a man nearly fall over like this 2 days ago and he still didn't stop looking at his phone), we navigate human interaction in a sedated, numb fashion. People can't engage anymore. Not naturally. Not without something dramatic, startling or dangerous happening. Even then I'm sure many are just going through the motions.
"Oh, I hear your child died. How awful...Have you seen "Zoo" on Netflix?"
A species of zombie psychopaths. Nil empathy. Nil awareness.
Then, on our way out we had to show our receipt. I'm sure there was an unvoiced "or else". I'm advised this is so any scanning errors can be corrected. It couldn't possibly be that we might have risked a criminal record for milk and juice. I did have that baseball cap on, remember. And it was blue!
The woman, when scrutinising our receipt, asked if we were satisfied with our shopping experience, if we had got everything we wanted. I said "no" and she responded "ok, have a nice day".
If that is how Costco wants to operate, if that's how their staff are trained, if that's the experience they want patrons to have, I doubt I'll shop there very often. Of course, I don't buy enough there for Costco to really care in any real way. I think a high standard of customer service is a small courtesy that should be extended to me and mine regardless of how many dollars I give them.
That was that.
The day continued in a strange fashion. As many of my days often do. We went for Fish & Chips. I was desperately needing to pee. I saw a lady standing outside the shop and asked her if she knew of any public toilets nearby...She looked at me, half clutched at her chest and almost whispered that she did in fact not know of any such thing. She looked a little frightened. That bloody baseball cap again! She continued that it was only her second time here. By "here" I'm not sure if she meant Earth, Melbourne or the chip shop. I suppose I will never know.
Sam and I went in to the shop. Another lady was speaking to the guy serving behind the counter. She was blond, tall, abrupt. He was short, dark and very patient. She wanted a whole list of items, initially separate, then together, then packaged together but paid for separately, then paid for together but individually itemised...And so it went on. The man remained calm and adapted every time she spoke and changed her mind. He was lovely.
While Sam was waiting to order I went to look for a toilet. I saw a sign and through the power of my literacy and imagination, I worked out there was a toilet in the basement car park, nearby. So I pressed for the elevator. The doors opened and inside was a family, 2 parents and a millions kids. I verbalised I would wait for the next one. The doors closed. I waited. I pressed for the elevator again and again the doors opened and again there was the family, all of them, still there, staring at me. I laughed and wondered if they had pressed the button for their floor? They said they were off to the 7th floor (I'm not sure there were 7 floors) and that they had not pressed a button. At this I shook my head and gave up. I went back to the chip shop - the blond, abrupt woman thankfully gone - and waited for our order Sam had placed.
Then, still needing to pee, I tried for this toilet in the basement car park again. You will be glad to know the elevator had now been vacated. I got to the toilet in a straightforward fashion, only to find it bloody locked. So again, I returned to the chip shop, now with Sam collecting the order and went back to the car. I kept my legs crossed the whole way home without having an accident. I am a grown up after all. Well, okay, I suppose it depends on your criteria and the context...
So that was essentially how our day went. Why then, would I go on to dream last night that I was adopting 2 boys? In the dream, I went into an office, spoke with 2 women, probable social worker types and met with a man and the 2 boys. The younger boy was called Max and his big brother was called Daniel. The man, I think, was their Uncle.
Anyway, today has been quite lovely. Sam and I were off to Sorrento and Port Sea today, making a visit to see what the fuss was all about. It's a pretty little area down on the Mornington Peninsula, but far too busy. I had forgotten it was Summer Holidays and the place was crazy with tourists and holiday goers. The beaches are beautiful, little boats line the coast and there are galleries and cafes everywhere you look. We popped into The Smashing Bean for coffee. It was lovely (at tourist prices I'm glad it was lovely) and the pumpkin baguette I had was really tasty. Sam had his usual Mocha. He insists on ordering a Mocha when we go to cafes, then complains they are never chocolatey enough. He just won't order a Hot Chocolate, which would be a simple fix. Oh no, it has to be a Mocha.
We also found a cannon. You know us boys and cannons. It's a law...somewhere...that if you see a cannon, you have to honour Cher, singing and dancing on it. So we did. In full view of some European tourists. Fun!
I'm not sure what we'll see or do next, but it's exciting that this is us beginning to really see what Melbourne and the surrounding areas have to offer. A whole world of opportunity and adventure is right on our doorstep.
If you live in Melbourne, or have visited and have a suggestion for something we shouldn't miss, let me know!
Thanks. Bye for now.
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