Another step towards adulthood...

Yesterday the husband and I bought a new washer and dryer. Our dryer had broken and it wasn't worth fixing, so we decided to take advantage of Memorial Day sales and get a whole new set.

The whole process was gut-wrenching for me for a few reasons, but mainly because I take things very personally, I do not make decisions, and I feel that I have a moral obligation to not buy from big box retailers if there is another option.

Lets just focus on this moral obligation for a bit, shall we?

I believe it stems from the fact that I worked at small local businesses while growing up. I am thinking particularly of the lumber store my Aunt and Uncle owned. Well, after they and the other full time staff members put their heart and soul into building this wonderful company they were eventually forced to shut down because they couldn't compete with other big box lumber yards prices. Customers would come and get small purchases like screws and a couple pieces of wood from the local company (not to mention a wealth of knowledge from staff members), but ultimately they would buy their big purchases from the larger stores that could offer more competitive prices (and had un-knowledgeable staff).

So here we were in that very situation. We went to the local store and got a good estimate. We then went to the big box appliance store to compare prices. While there I am stressing out to the max because we had to make a decision and because the big box retailer offered us a slightly better deal for 20 bucks less... and the longer the husband and I talked the more the salesman kept taking off the bill. Finally I said to the husband:

you know how I take things really personally and sometimes think irrational thoughts? Well, I just feel like we are stealing money away from the salesman at the local store if we buy something here...

The husband laughed and said he knew thats what I was thinking. Ultimately we decided to go with the local store. We went back to the small store and the husband haggled the price down to the same amount the big box retailer had given us!

I am happy with the decision we made, and so is the husband. I guess it was a good Memorial Day.

---------------------------------------

Side Note: After shopping we were going out to eat to the local Mexican Restaurant but they had a note on their door in English and Spanish that read:

"We will be closing at 5:30 on Labor Day"

The Underdog

Confession: I have a serious crush on 'the underdog'

It started surfacing in High School. Well, maybe in middle school; after all, I really liked "God help the outcast" from the Hunchback of Notre Dame... anyways... My friend Kagan and I did our own part in the Iraq War effort by printing off protest signs (at school) and posting them on our lockers. Sure, the "No War for Oil" posters didn't stay up there long, but it was our way of 'sticking it to the man'. In high school I also started seeing the way my classmates treated those that were gay, and that really ticked me off. I'm not really sure why, but it did. Also, I started getting heavy into researching mental health and its effects on belonging.

I decided in college that my major would be sociology/psychology mainly because I wanted a job helping the under-served. I went on 2 work/mission trips and also worked at a day camp for kids in low income families. All of these events increased my passion for the underdog even more. Also, I did a crazy long report on sweatshops in the garment industry. Man, was that an eye opener!

Then Camp Kindle came... Whoa. Words cannot express how much those 10 days affected me.

After college I joined AmeriCorps*VISTA and worked at a day shelter for homeless neighbors. That was one crazy year. I was also on food stamps during that year... and let me tell you this; NO ONE that is on food stamps should be considered lazy. it took me 3 MONTHS... and I had a college education! Not to mention i had to take 1/2 a day off of work to renew them! If someone is willing to endure that humiliation and agony they deserve that money.

After my term was up I eventually found a job working at another day shelter for the homeless in another town. By the grace of God they promoted me in a week to the job I have now, helping those with a severe mental illness. So there that is folks; these are most of the philanthropic issues I am interested in so far... and i'm only 25 (well, I will be in a month)!

Tomorrow I might post about another person who has changed my life; and it's probably not you. :)

Loves!