Extreme Couponing

The other day I was at Wal-Mart buying a few necessities. Despite the fact that there were 30 lanes, only four were open. All the self-serve lanes were closed for maintenance and I had more than twenty items, so that left three lanes for me to choose between. Lanes one and two had extremely long lines. Lane three had only one person waiting, so I rushed over there, only to realize why nobody else had chosen to wait in that lane.

The only waiting person had a cart full of duplicate items. She also had one of those clear storage containers, which she had turned into a filing cabinet. There were folders labeled with different brands - Pillsbury, Kraft, Lysol, etc. Each of these seemed to be stuffed with coupons.

I decided to take my chances in one of the extremely long lines. It actually worked out pretty well for me; when I left I looked back and saw that she was still checking out.

Further adventures of Rachel

It turns out last night I forgot to include some of my very exciting adventures.

Yesterday I had to go through the new security at the Salt Lake airport. Some lines just had metal detectors, but unfortunately for me, I was in one of the enhanced lines. After going through the body scan machine, the agent directed me to stand on a mat and wait. Then he started putting on rubber gloves. Needless to say, I was not pleased. Just as I was about to decide that travel, New York, and training are all completely overrated, he told me, "You can go." He unlatched the security gate and started talking on his walkie-talkie. "Copy female. The male is still here." The guy right in front of me did not look too happy.

The hotel where I'm staying is pretty decent. The people are quite friendly, there's a fridge, stove, and microwave, and they gave us cupcakes (red velvet, pop rock, and something sweet but unidentifiable) instead of just mints. There's also an abundance of alcohol available.

Pictured: rum, whiskey, whiskey, gin, vodka, beer, and wine.

Other adventures of mine have also related to food. Last night I ordered room service for dinner. When it arrived, the bill was a lot more than I expected, but I still filled out the tip sheet. Then I looked at the itemization on the receipt. They had already charged 18% gratuity. I hope the room service person didn't think I was too rude for crossing out the tip I had written in.

Today I had 11 hours of training. Halfway through, they provided lunch for us. I was pretty excited for my turkey and brie sandwich. It was a little disappointing, though: the sandwich consisted of bread, turkey, and brie. No condiments, no vegetables, no moisture.

Rachel in the Land of the Big Apple

So I flew out to New York today for some training for my job. The trip itself was OK. I had the option of buying three small turkey sandwiches for $8.50, or half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for $4.50, but for some reason I passed and made due with 45 calories worth of free pretzels. I had a middle seat (I hate sitting in the middle). One of my neighbors was asleep and kept leaning on me (awkward), and the other played really loud iPod music the whole time. I did not approve of his taste in music.

Once we arrived at the airport, I took a cab to my hotel. Or rather, I gave the address of my hotel to the cab driver and asked him to take me there. He dropped me off at the first hotel he saw, and I had to walk almost a mile to my actual hotel. I both felt and looked suave as I carried my two bags down the street, completely unsure of where I was going or how much farther it would be. So that was pretty awesome.

Now I'm hanging out in my hotel. I have a roommate, but I have yet to meet her. Tomorrow I have training starting at 7:30 am, which will feel like 5:30 to me. Plus it's an hour away! Huzzah.