The Pandemic has forced a lot of us to alter our life styles and I'm sure I'm not the only person who has discovered some modifications that I prefer. I have friends who once worked in an office, now work at home…and both they and their employers have decided they like it better that way. Most voiceover jobs are now done with the actors not commuting to outside recording studios but instead recording in studios they've built in their homes. It may stay that way even after we have the Absolutely All Clear from the C.D.C. (A top cartoon voice actor confessed to me that when he records now, he dresses only the part of him that is visible on-camera. The rest of him is in pajamas.)
I have come to really appreciate the ease of home deliveries from Costco, which I get via my membership with Instacart. As I mentioned here, once a week I get a delivery from them. It has to be over $35 or I pay a delivery fee but reaching $35 with Costco is a cinch. I order two rotisserie chickens — one for me, one for my cleaning lady — and that's $12.42 right there.
When they aren't out of it, which they often are lately, a two-pack of Rao's Marinara Sauce is another $13.42 so that brings me to $25.84. I can easily make the $35 with almost any supply the cleaning lady needs to keep my home spotless or anything else I want or require. Recently, it dawned on me that a weekly (or so) order is a very cost-efficient way to shop at Costco.
When I used to actually go into the store, I didn't do that every week or even every month…so I stocked up. I certainly never get out of a Costco for anywhere near $35. I bought a lot of things on a "just in case I run out" basis and I probably overbought on occasion. There were also those irresistible Costco Impulse Buys when you see, say, a set of four snow tires for $34.42 and you think, "I can't pass that up. What if it snows in Los Angeles for the first time since January 15, 1932?" (They got two whole inches that day. Is that enough to require snow tires? I wouldn't know.)
Costco, using the same principle on view at Disneyland or almost any casino, is laid out to promote the Impulse Buy. The items you want when you go in there — toilet paper, paper towels, pet food, laundry detergent, rotisserie chickens — are at the back of the store. You have to walk past 7,000 items to get to them…7,000 moments when you might say, "Hey, that's a great price on that." And before you realize you don't need fifty gallons of French's Mustard, it's in your cart.
And then you get to thinking how many hot dogs you're going to need now that you've got all that mustard. Plus, you'll have to have matching amounts of buns, relish, Kirkland Signature Ultra Strength antacid tablets…
True, you don't get all those great free samples by ordering online from Costco. But I'll bet not going into the store saves me a Costco-sized bundle of money.
And as I said, I always get two rotisserie chickens. They're easy, they're cheap (I get about six meals out of one) and they're delicious. So you can imagine my shock/horror/surprise the other night when I placed an order to be delivered the following morning and saw what's just below this paragraph. I could "request" my chickens but not order them because they were "Likely out of stock."
Costco out of chickens? When? How? Why? Where? That just can't be. It's like McDonald's running out of burgers, New York running out of pizza, the Baltimore Orioles running out of ways to lose, Baskin-Robbins running out of flavors, Kellogg's running out of corn flakes (frosted or not), Philadelphia running out of cheesesteaks, Bic running out of lighters, Trump running out of lies, Reese's running out of Pieces, Gladys running out of Pips — well, you get the idea…
I won't keep you in suspense another moment: I got them. I ordered my two chickens and despite all warnings, they arrived. I'm thinking they were never out or close to being out; that it was just a computer error for a day or so. At least, I hope it was just that. The site where I order them now says nothing about a shortage of rotisserie chickens and I pray it never will. In these perilous, unpredictable times, it's nice to have one thing you can count on. I may check every hour on the hour just so I can feel secure. As of twenty-two minutes ago, they still had them.