Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Thrift Stores- Making Me Feel guilty

Yesterday my daughter asked me to take her to Deseret Industries which is a local humanitarian thrift store. She was looking for some clothes and prides herself on getting good deals. I have never liked thrift stores. I always get depressed when I'm in one and that in turn makes me feel guilty as if I think I am better than people at those stores. That is not the case.

It's not like I shop at Beverly Hills and am into brand names. I would never buy Ray-Ban sunglasses. I get mine at the dollar store. I am fine with generic food and clothes and am probably 15 years behind the times when it comes to style so why do I have such an aversion to thrift stores?

I regularly give donations to this store. I think it provides good employment opportunities and helps many people in the community, but I just get so depressed if I ever go inside. While I was waiting for my daughter I decided to browse around and that just made matters worse.

I came across this treadmill in the lawn and garden section. It was on sale for $15. At first I thought it was made for a doll because it weighed about 10 pounds and I'm pretty sure if I stepped on it my feet would break through the wooden rollers. It came with a speedometer gauge and what looks like a countdown kitchen timer mounted to it. I feel bad for the person that bought this originally and tried using it. It was not really a treadmill, but rather a symbolic representation of one.

I decided to head back where my daughter was, and on my way I came across the the picture below. What on earth is this? It's a bunch of rusty wires and cables coming out of a metal box. Who would buy this? Seeing garbage on display just makes me depressed. If I were on an island with no supplies like Tom Hanks in Castaway then I might possibly find some use for this, BUT I'M NOT!

If you have something you no longer use then my hat is off to you for donating it, but don't donate garbage. I am all about re-using and re-cycling, but when I see garbage that belongs in the dump on shelves it just smothers my soul. What makes matters worse is when I see people so excited to buy that which I consider to be junk. Some of the shoppers I saw were collecting things like old decorations, a clock that was missing a hand, and old VHS tapes. My experience there made your average yard sale look like a Sotheby's Auction.

I am probably going to go to Hell for coming across as condescending and too proud to shop at thrift stores, but I can't lie about how severely depressed I get when I am exposed to the merchandise in them. I know of many wealthy people who shop at thrift stores and I understand you can get 5 times as many clothes there than you could at Target or some other retail store for the same price. Many of the items that are donated are in great condition and work well, but it's just all the junk I see that brings me down. Maybe I just happen to see the worst of things whenever I've been there. At any rate, I plan to keep on donating to thrift stores but I can not afford to have my mood messed up by going inside.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Instagram Schminstagram

I never would have guessed that someone could make a successful business idea by promoting modern day photographs taken with digital cameras that look so faded and dingy that you would think they were developed in the summer of 1976 at a photomat. I've given in to Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, but I put my foot down when it comes to Instagram. I just can't support something that makes modern pictures look so old and crappy.

I'm also tired of seeing so many pictures of food. Don't get me wrong, I love food and pictures of delicious victuals, but if you are going shares photos with the world over the Internet, then make it something interesting. Pictures of Big Foot, UFOs, or the Loch Ness monster are news worthy, the omelet you made for breakfast is not.

One of the problems with technology is that everyone now has the tools to promote their stuff. Many people with a cell phone camera think they are professional photographers just like anyone who can burn their own CD believes they are a successful musician.

I am probably jumping to conclusions and I admit that I'm not familiar with all the benefits of Instagram. I'm just tired of so many social media programs that detract from blogging. Chaka's World used to be a popular blog with many visitors and comments but now it is just a lonely forum for me to gripe about stuff. I now know how the carburetor and vinyl record industries must have felt when technology gutted them. As a result, I have gotten a little depressed and have started neglecting this blog much like a meth addict neglects their appearance. Maybe I'll cheer myself up by taking pictures of random stuff and posting it online for everyone to see.