"I'd rather be recycling"

I saw this Sport Chalet license plate holder on the freeway this afternoon (which I thought was weird; i.e. making recycling a sport). Also, I think the car was a nice Lexus, and I smiled because I do not drive anything resembling a nice car, and here was a kindred spirit in a Lexus of all things, next to my unwashed, broken oven of an old VW.

I was on the freeway driving home from a thrift trip out of town. I had a 50% off everything coupon for one of my favorite places, where I had a lot of success, and I was going to hit up their sister store on the other side of town when I realized how bad my soul was feeling, so instead, I stopped by the much smaller hospice thrift store on the way back to the freeway.

I love this place; I always find good stuff, and they have excellent prices. Unfortunately, they also have some of the crankiest women working there, so sometimes I don't go in there, because I don't want to listen to them complaining. It seems like they're always bemoaning the normal bits of being a thrift store: the customers, the disarray, the customers, people's piles. I am one for piles, and I got in trouble today for having a kitchen item outside of the kitchen area. A foulmouthed well-dressed woman behind the counter practically insisted that I hand her my stuff as I kneeled on the floor looking through magazines. I said, "I'll be there in a minute anyway," but she wouldn't have it.

Not every one is as easygoing as I am (for up to five minutes each day), but that doesn't mean that I have to dislike them. Yes, it annoys me when thrift store employees and volunteers are anally retentive about the state of the store, but those are usually the cleanest and most organized places to shop (unfortunately). And what's the opposite of anal-retention? Anal-explosion. Yeah, that's no good.

So here's to you, cranky thrifty ladies, for all of your diligence, determination, and plain ol' dourness: We couldn't sift through the trash without you.

And here's to me on my 29th birthday: May every year continue to be better than the last.