<< June 29, 2008 >>
torn

post-consumerism is annoying. i feel like supporting some local credit union would be a good thing to do, but ing's checking account beats the pants off the one i was looking at. with a $50k account, ing's interest rate is higher than their savings account, or even icu's checking. honestly, like i don't already know what i'm going to choose. at least i'm going to (try to) do groceries at the nearby mom-and-pop corner market...

i went mattress shopping for the first time in my life yesterday. first, i went to a mattress store and it was super shady. they guy was willing to match any price i named, but only if i got it this weekend, because monday was their new month and he'd need approval from some of his uppers. i had forgotten to take my notepad with me, so i asked him to write down the stuff about the bed, and he said he couldn't write down the low price. i could smell the desperation his breath, though.

(when i was getting sheets and pillows at nordstrom's the other day the saleswoman said their westin mattresses were going to be 25% off - although not the $200 delivery fee, and would still be 4-6 weeks)

anyway i walked around a bit then went home to do a little research. i thought it was basically the bed i wanted, and about as much as i figured on spending, but wanted to see what others were selling it for. instead, i found page after page detailing the dark, putrid underbelly of the mattress industry. probably the best of them was on slate (thanks, awesomebar!). while i'm not sure how serious they were about putting the mattress on the floor, the rest seemed like decent enough advice. with this in mind, i set out anew to macy's, of all places.

now, an aside: you're not allowed to have food or beverages on the buses here, but apparently they make an exception if the food is rotting in a trash bag. not only that, but it was blocking the aisle, which has to be some sort of safety violation.

for some reason, the salespeople at macy's left me alone for the most part. they kicked me off one bed that i'd been on for a while, because someone else wanted to try it, not entirely unreasonable. they didn't try to push me into picking one nor did they hover over me. i talked with my friend phil who was at some airport, since i haven't talked to him in a long time. eventually i decided that they were all pretty comfortable, so i just got the cheapest simmons they had. i think it was $200 less than at that other place. i went and asked the sales guys who wanted to make their easiest commission of the day, and was soon on my way home to begin the last five nights on the air mattress.

incidentally, while on the phone with phil, i/we came up with the idea of a mattress store that does double-blind mattress testing. you get to go in a room, and sleep on a sheeted mattress, and the people behind the scenes do some sort of binary search or something to find a few you like. then, you can find out their prices, and pick the one you want. i would love to destroy the industry like that, but i don't really have any interest in actually running a store. maybe it's time to start working on sim mattress salesman tycoon?

i ran about 26 or 27 miles this morning, and am feeling pretty ok. mango gatorade is pretty tasty stuff.