Was That _My_ WalMart?

I'm home today, trying to reach a delicate balance in my packing. Enough stuff, but not too much. Fewer suitcases, but not too heavy. One of my secrets - vacuum bags! (Not the kind that go in your vacuum cleaner, but the kind that you seal and press out the air.)

I've used these for my work trips for several years. Especially in the days of carry-ons and inspections by hand, I liked having my dirty clothes somewhat contained. When my hair product packaging prevented me from carrying on my suitcase, I continued to use the vacuum bags, to better use the available space in my suitcase. Yes, things come out wrinkled, but part of my first-night-in-the-hotel ritual is to iron everything for the trip, so it works out.

So, in this week's pack-stravaganza, I ran out of vacuum bags. Not sure how that happened, as I've had occasion to pack for the whole family for a week-long trip before. But, I've also slept since then, so there's no telling if I bagged things differently, or found a new place to stash my bags (and then forgot about it). I also have one bag with a tear along the seam, so I justified it was time for some new bags. I've taken the day off from work, so I figured I could shop after I dropped the kids off at school.

Ok, it's confession time: I'm not a WalMart shopper. The cluttered aisles, the sheer volume of things available at the store, the nutty parking lot arrangement; I just don't like it. However, there are things I like to buy at WalMart: kids hangers, some crafty stuff, etc. I've discovered the only time I can tolerate WalMart is first thing in the morning, when no one's there. (And yes, it's a 24-hour store, but there's usually no one there until after 10 am.) So, on this morning, I stopped by WalMart in search of my vacuum bags.

I walked into the store and sensed something was up. There were more bodies in the store, but they were employees, or maybe even Managment or Corporate Management. The regular employees were very heads-down, getting their stuff done, but watching this cluster of men in button-down shirts out of the corners of their eyes. I rounded the corner toward the pharmacy section, and discovered a clean, wide expanse of linoleum...all the in-aisle displays were gone. Hey! Maybe these guys in the shirts should come by more often! But, I sensed flux, not total change. Sure, the aisles were clear, but I know WalMart...this is not a permanent change. The clutter will be back, urging me to pick up the value pack of two deodorants or hand lotion.

I tracked down my vacuum bags and browsed the store, looking for other items on my list. Sure enough, there were several wide open spaces around the store - all the aisles, but within some of the merchandise areas as well. Interesting...

(While I was checking out, the "remodel team" was paged over the intercom, which suggests to me that the clean aisles were truly temporary - just for the convenience of the remodel team.) Sigh.

Turns out, the vacuum bags I bought are too big. So, I'll be touring WalMart again this afternoon. I'd report on what has changed since this morning, but, as I'm not totally memorized the floor layout, I'm not sure I'll notice!