Mass Murder Averted

Today we went shopping in North Van. We often go to Park Royal because it has the stores we like and there are less people. The mall today was fine, but since I was out late last night, my energy levels were low to begin with. I ended up taking a nap in the car while everyone else continued their shopping. I did score a cool pair of sandals for this summer (Yay cool feet).

But then came Wal-Mart.

I am a very patient person, but when I'm tired and hungry, watch out.

Lucky for most, I express frustration through humor. For example: While we were circling the parking lot in search for a spot, some jackass behind me honked because I failed to mow down pedestrians. I responded by driving even slower, letting two other cars turn, and when he tried to pass me I blocked him and drove ahead. Everyone in our car was laughing while I could see Mr. Impatient fuming in my rear view mirror. Honk at me in a busy paring lot? Jackass.

Wal-Mart was a zoo as usual inside. Chris and I were not looking for anything in particular, so we decided to wander while Sarah and Justine shopped. We just wandered aimlessly and looked at stuff. I like stuff. We drooled over some large flat screen TVs (clean up in electronics).

I finally succumbed to my hunger and stopped in the McDonald's for a snack. Big mistake.

I find that most McDonald's employees are sufficiently competent, and I know how shitty it is to work an entry level job for minimum wage. So I am often forgiving or at least I don't set my expectations too high. But the woman that took my order was about as useful and intelligent as a bag of hair. I can't even describe how she screwed up, because it didn't make any sense. All I could say to her was "standing there with your hand in the air is probably not going to work". All I had ordered was one of the new Mac Snack Wraps. This is probably not the best name to give a new item when a large percentage of your employees have a limited grasp on English as it is. For such a simple order, it took forever. Then when I sat down to eat it, I discovered that they had gave me a grilled chicken wrap by mistake. Simple mistake I guess, because both items have the word wrap. I was too pissed to even deal with it and ate the chicken wrap anyway.

We wandered Wal-Mart for a while longer, and reunited with Sarah and Justine. As we approached the checkout hell I had reached my limit and just left for the car. I had the feeling that if I had waited in the checkout queue I would very likely kill an inept Wal-mart employee or two, and several innocent bystanders in the aftermath. 

The peace and tranquility of my car was instantly soothing. I waited patiently for Sarah, Justine and Chris to make their way through the checkout, drove over to the exit to pick them up with their purchases, and happily headed home for the day.