Why Being a Girl Sucks

So, I used to be crafty. I used to LOVE doing crafty, cutsy things. Ten years ago, I would have loved to have a cute crafty blog where I showed off the adorable things I had been working on. In my life, I have been through many craft phases. I practiced calligraphy (and after my coaxing from friends almost submitted my handwriting to be a font), took oil painting and photography (which much more artsy than crafty - yet similar vain), have made many quilts, and even as a child would sneak to Enrichment activities with my mom to do the ridiculous toll painting projects that all old women have in the houses for about every holiday. However, for some reason I have found myself HATING anything crafty the past couple years. I mean I still love photography and have actually started oil painting again. And, I have a crafty project that I really, really, really want to do - which is inspired by something I saw at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. But anything crafty and cutsy, I hate. That is, I hate doing. I admire and think some of these things are adorable - but I HATE doing them. And tonight I figured out why.

I hate Joann's Craft and Fabric. I hate it. All Joann's are filthy, have bad lighting, smell gross, and have next to no cute fabrics or crafty items. Also, everything is super expensive. But, around here, they are really like the only option for supplies. Still, I hate them. And it makes me hate doing crafts. SO much.

Today, Amber got me to go. I told her for 2 hours that I didn't have time and that I hated the store and really didn't want to go. But she was relentless and eventually, I gave in. First mistake.

Second mistake was going on a "coupon day." Joann's sent out all these coupons for 40% off and 50% off non-sale marked items, hence why Amber (and every lady in SLC) wanted to go today. When you go on a coupon day, everything is already on sale (meaning you cant even use the coupons). But everything is only on sale for like 10% or 25% off. So really, unless you want the one gross piece of home upholstery that is hidden in the back and is the only item not on sale, you can't use the coupon and get an over-priced item for about the same price as it would cost somewhere else (which is still much greater than the actual value of the product).

Third mistake was not convincing Amber to leave when we got there and saw what a zoo it was. After looking around for items for about 5-10 minutes, I realized that you had to get a number and wait to be called in order to get your fabric cut. I promptly went and got a number - number 63. They were on like 46. There were only 2 people cutting fabric and it took about 10 minutes a person to get all their fabric cut, so a new number was called about every 5 minutes. (And there were a million employees walking around the store doing nothing and at least 2 cutting stations just sitting there not being used. Grievance number 3,498 of the trip.) But, I waited. And waited. I couldn't handle it. I already hated the store, but by this point I was nearing my melt-down point. It was as if my heart had turned black. I could not get rid of the hatred I felt in my heart for Joann's. I wanted to swear. Or cry. (For real though, I am quite a resilient person. But something about Joann's sucks out every bit of patience and happiness in my soul. And really, it is the only place in the world that does this to me.)

So, I left Amber and went to the grocery store to pick up some things we needed. I also decided I might need food. Maybe I was grumpy cause all day I had only eaten some Cheerios about 6 hours earlier and my blood sugar was likely around 2? I picked up a much needed croissant. And for the brief 15 minutes I was at Harmon's I was a normal, real live, happy human being.

But then, I returned to Joann's. Fourth mistake. We waited another 10 or 15 minutes to get our fabric cut. Then, waited in line to pay. Upon finally leaving almost 1 hour after arriving, the sales associate asked if I had found everything alright and if everything had been okay. I said yes. But then hesitated and couldn't resist saying that I actually was quite frustrated and had waited more than 45 minutes to get my fabric cut. I even added that I understood that it was a coupon day and that it was just busy, and that it's just the way it goes on those days. So, I understood. But just was frustrated. (Now let me say that I feel I did this with tact. I was not rude, and it was not awkward - I just said it matter-a-factly. And normally, I wouldn't have said anything - but my heart was charcoal black at this point and I wanted her to know that I hated her store. Or at least that my experience at Joann's had not met my expectations.) She said that I should have gotten a number when I first got to the store. I said that I had. And she said, "Oh". WHAT!?!?!? "Oh?" No words could describe my hatred. Not even one simple "I'm sorry about that". I mean - let's face it. I am sure her day sucked too. I would hate working there - especially on a busy day like that. But it is her job. Her job is customer service. And I was not served in a manner in which I felt was how a customer should be served. Do I hate my work on a crazy, bad day? Yes. Or course. We all do. But, suck it up, and try to make the customer happy. A simple, sincere "I'm sorry" likely has at least 5 redemption points in my book.

So it is official. I will not ever go there again. I vow. Unless it is a total crafting emergency - I cannot and will not go.

And that, my friends, is why I hate crafting.