Like Aptosca and others I'm so used to it I hardly notice it. For the most part I enjoy Gothy kids. I find them to be extremely bright, creative and mostly well mannered. DS was wearing a long black duster as part of his school "uniform" lol long before the first shooting happened. Now he was 6'2",had long hair halfway down his back,wore a big black leather hat and several huge silver rings on each finger. I got several comments from his teachers on what a pleasant kid he was once they actually spoke to him. One teacher even told me he found my son extremely intimidating until he was in his classroom. Today DS is a responsible adult who is still very much a part of the "alternative style" in Santa Cruz. His hair is short, he still wears mostly black and he's quite the legend amongst those who know him. No violence unless necessary, no tats or piercings except for one small ear stud and the first to help those in need. A couple weeks ago I saw a stray kitten scared and shivering outside a Walgreens at 2:00 am. I couldn't take it and waited for a bit to see if anyone would. No one would get involved until a little Goth girrrl and her BF came along. That kitten had a nice warm meal and a new home the night. :-) That kid in the store wasn't Goth. He was an ass.

LOL Well, not much time to answer everything so I won't try but yes, I am having a great time reading this. Curious how the first to stomp is also the avid defender of telemarketers! Shall we start a thread on them again? Ruthie, you're quite a surprise. Didn't know you were one who likes to block aisles and doesn't understand the term "excuse me". I was raised to move if blocking the aisle and someone said excuse me. Perhaps it's a local thing? I guess we learn something every day don't we? Must be having a bad day when you have to make up things to complain about. "...post a long diatribe about everything including the number of hours the employees are allowed to work..." Uh, exactly where did I talk about employees long hours and the like! Did you accidentally get some fiberglass in the washer with your underwear? Fall down in the cockleburrs? Sheesh! LOL And of course the tyrades by the "holier than thou" who feel they should decide who posts, what they post about, and their overworn cliches, well it's interesting and dang amusing to read the posts. Don't worry. I'm not offended. If you haven't learned by now I have a very thick skin! Political correctness isn't high on my priority list. Being an old cripple I learned a long time ago that there's two things about certain people I don't like - their face. Curious to see how many must use multiple mirrors! Since this forum is so often the cyber church it's only appropriate isn't it for another deity to come out. The Walmart worshipers are likely on their knees praying to their deity-du-jour, pop open a bottle of Sam's Choice for communion, making up things to throw temper tantrums about and more. Guess following forum rules is a buffet thing these days. Take the ones you like and leave the rest. :) Happy shopping people!

"They are all the same. I have never had any side effects and I think those women who claim that switching from one to the other (of the same pill with a different name) leaves them with horrendous side effects are often victims of their own imaginations. I get if it has different levels of hormones,but not if it's the same. As these are..." AmyLou, not all generics are equal. Even if they have the same active ingredients, it's the inactive ingredients that can make a lot of difference. Perhaps more in meds other than birth control pills -- I don't know, because I haven't taken birth control pills since sometime in the late 1970s when I switched from birth control pills to an IUD. Eventually went off that, too, and ultimately had a hysterectomy in 1991 that put an end to the need for birth control of any sort. BUT, I do take two prescriptions for high blood pressure, and one for a blood thinner (because of a cardiac stent), and I can say with absolute certainty that generics ARE different. Immediately after getting the stent I was prescribed Effient - the generic name is prasugrel, and I was given the generic at the pharmacy. I was horribly dizzy 24/7, and almost fell a few times because of it. Falls can lead to excessive internal bleeding, which is dangerous when on a blood thinner. I prefer always to take an authorized generic if I have to take a generic, and I found out that there was an authorized generic for Effient, so when I got my first refill, I asked for, and received, the authorized generic. As soon as I switched to the authorized generic, the dizziness stopped. Then the pharmaceutical company that was marketing the authorized generic ended its affiliation for it, so I switched to the brand name Effient. I pay $100 for a 90-day supply, rather than $10 for a 90-day supply of a generic. It's worth it to me. One of my blood pressure medications is Toprol XL. I have been on that since it was still under patent so there wasn't a generic. When the patent expired and generics came on the market, I was given the authorized generic and over all the years since then, I've only been given the authorized generic. There are plenty of legitimate stories out there about people who had real problems when they switched from the brand name Toprol to generic metoprolol succinate but they didn't get the authorized generic. As soon as their doctors wrote new prescriptions for Toprol and checked the box for "dispense as written," their problems stopped. The other blood pressure med that I take is Diovan (generic is valsartan). I've taken the generic for many years, because I cannot find an authorized generic for it. But, with all of the problems that valsartan has been having lately with recalls because of a cancer-causing ingredient, I switched to the brand name Diovan. I don't mess around with my health and safety if I can help it.

Re: the notoriously bad parking lots. One reason to love TJ's besides their groceries is that they seldom will build a new building for their stores. They locate in vacant storefronts in strip mall locations and the parking lots are often inadequate for the increased traffic from a TJ's. Ours in Oly isn't too bad if you time your visit to off peak hours. I find that early morning and evening just before closing are both good. Early morning, when it first opens there is a rush of seniors who seem to want to always be first in line for everything, but if you wait about 30 min, they have finished their shopping and there is a lull until the parents who've dropped off their kids at school show up. 8:20 - 9 a.m. is perfect at my store. Sometimes the shelves are picked over just before closing, but the stock is often in the back waiting to be shelved. So if you ask, they will see if stuff you want is in the back. I once rushed to get there before they closed and commented to the checker that I was worried I wouldn't make it before closing and he told me that if you are IN the store at closing they won't hurry you to leave. They are stocking shelves for a while anyway, so as long as you're there, you can shop. I don't know if that is company policy, but it sounded like it.