Thursday Thoughts

I order a lot online these days. Especially gifts, because that way I can have them shipped directly to the recipient rather than me having to languish in line at the post office. There's always a line. It's nice not having to mess with the P.O. anymore now that I have an agent and the query/partial/full fiasco is OVER.

But I digress...

Anyway, regarding online orders: Has anyone else noticed the online ordering process seems to take longer these days? It's like running the gauntlet when you try to check out. Here's a scenario to demonstrate what I mean:

Me: Click check out button

Online Order Thing: Please check your order to make sure all items are correct and click continue.

Me: Click continue

OOT: Please confirm all items are correct and click okay.

Me: Click okay

OOT: If you're sure all items and totals are okay, click continue.

Me: Click continue

OOT: Please select method of payment.

Me: Enters method of payment

OOT: Please make sure all items are correct and click confirm.

Me: *pulling my hair out at this point as the phone rings in the background, someone's knocking at the door, and the dog is barking, while two of my cats get into a skirmish over whose turn it is at the food bowl.* Click confirm

OOT: Please check to make sure shipping information is correct

Me: *the landline stops ringing as the cell phone starts up, the email dings to let me know I've got mail, the doorbell is ringing since the knocking yielded no results, the dog is now growling, and there is cat fur flying through the air* Click correct

OOT: Thank you for your order. For a printable receipt... blah blah blah

This is an over-exaggeration, but my point is that ordering online takes longer than ever, and with all the distractions, I'm worried I'm going to click the wrong button and it will send me back to the beginning. It's happened before.

My daughter now has a copy of The Graveyard Book by the fabulous Neil Gaiman winging it's way to Colorado for her birthday. Was it easier than going to the brick and mortar bookstore to buy and ship from there? I don't know. It used to be. Even so, I understand why it probably takes so long to order online now. A lot of people order stuff, then change their minds and blame the merchant, so the merchant just wants to make sure you're sure what you're buying. Sheesh. The gauntlet, but I get it. And I'll keep ordering online, too.

Holiday Shopping

Wordcount 11/24 thru 12/5: 2188

I've been writing every day, I really have, just not very much. Not as much as I wanted. Aside from work stuff going on, the holiday's are creeping up on me. I'm not ready. I'm never ready. I always feel overwhelmed with the shopping and the card sending and the decorating. Last year I didn't decorate or send cards. My mother had passed away the summer before and I was missing her, and the last thing I wanted to think about was Christmas. My M.O. is to just blank out whatever's bothering me. I can't help it, that's just how I am.

I still miss Mom, but I'm making an effort this year to be better at embracing Christmas. I'll decorate the house, but no tree. A tree would be too much and my youngest cat is a climber so I don't want to give her the opportunity to trash my ornaments. So I'll just hang a few on the houseplants. Lord knows we have enough of those in the house. Who needs a Christmas tree? And cards, yes, I bought some really pretty ones at Costco last week. Sitting down and actually addressing them is another matter, but I'll do it this weekend. Seriously.

I went shopping today. I was actually looking forward to it and had kind of a list started. Most of the people I'll shop for are out-of-state, so this task needs to be accomplished quickly. I don't relish standing in line at the post office and paying more for postage than the value of the gift, but that's the way it goes. I accept that. What I don't accept is how tough it is to shop when there are too many choices!

I walked into Bed, Bath and Beyond because I needed a new shower squeegee and I figured I'd find something cool in there for my sister as well. When I walked through the doors, the sights, sounds and smells about knocked me off my feet. Too much! It was even worse at World Market. I went to Sees Candy to get my sister her favorite Molasses Chips, and even that store was loaded with more choices than I could handle. Lucky for me I went in there for just one thing.

I got home and thought, okay, let's shop online. That should be easier, right? Search for something, have a couple of items pop up on the screen, pick one, there you go. Easy. Ha! It was even harder than the brick and mortar stores! I was looking for those whacky Transformer action figures for both my grandsons and about fifty of the crazy things popped up. I can't win. I'm going to have to either eenie-meanie-minie-mo this stuff, or have someone do it for me. Sight.