Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Ah-tomation

Something like the contradictions of producer-consumer culture:

I go to my local grocer, not the one I usually go to, but one that's closest to my house. They've got the automated check-out. I've used it before, but tonight I'm thinking, no, I'm going to use the real thing. That automated check-out represents the loss of three jobs (since only one person oversees four scanners). But only two real people seem to be working, and those lines are busy. So I head over to the automated check-out after all. And probably get myself out of there much later than I would have had I waited in line for the real person to check me out. Why? Because I take an odd pleasure in getting my things in just the right bags, to make the bags just the right weight and just the right shape.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'd rather touch buttons on a non-living machine than talk to a living and breathing human. Being a former grocery bagger, I can appreciate taking the effort to construct a good bag. These baggers nowdays...Yes put my laundry detergent with my milk, sure put this large bag of flour on my bread, absolutely put one cold item in with the hot chicken...smart!

senioritis said...

At least when you get home, if the cantaloupe is on top of the lettuce, you have only yourself to blame :)

Anonymous said...

Yumm. Ahh. Tahmatios