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August 20, 2001

We all shop. Back from the time when people traded cows for corn, people have devised systems to trade valuables for other items they perceive to be more valuable.

As a marketing student, as well as a salesperson in a clothing store, I spend a lot of time viewing shopping from one perspective - the one that wants to sell more to make more money. Customers come into a store looking for something, or just browsing, and I try to sell them things that they might not even need, simply because it's my job. Ideally, they give the store money, so the store is happy. They buy something they like, so they're happy. The economy functions, so everyone's happy. It's a win-win situation.

Or is it? See, my problem is that I hate to shop, not because I hate paying the bills (well, that too), but mostly because I find it so impossibly difficult to find what I'm looking for.

What kind of idiots are we? We spend hours and hours of time, energy, and frustration hunting for ways to SPEND OUR MONEY! I mean, we're not getting paid for this. We're not getting anything out of the deal. We fork over our hard-earned cash for items we probably don't even need and often don't even want, and we make amazonian efforts to do so!

Have you ever circled for a half-hour for a parking spot, dutifully fed three dollars into the parking meter, went from store to store in the blistering heat or Arctic cold, tried on dozens if not hundreds of items, and finally ended up spending twice as much on something that doesn't even fit quite right?

You would think that since we're trying so hard to fork over our cash, businesses would at least produce the items we're looking for. But no. Fashion designers and buyers on power trips come up with their ideas of fashion and of what we supposedly want to wear. Most of which are designed for someone at least a foot taller than my five foot one inches. Looking for a dress? Sorry, you can't have one - skirts are in this season. What was that you wanted, a blue sweater? No luck, red is the colour that's in fashion right now.

I'm tired of being told what to buy. I'm tired of paying too much for it. And I'm tired of having to try so hard in order to do so. I wish I could just snap my fingers and have everything I want appear magically in my closet. Bill me, I don't care. Just make it fit, please!