The Superpower of Shopping

Everyone has a superpower. I am well aware that mine is shopping. I know people that become immediately overwhelmed upon entering a store – large or small. But that is not me. At Christmas, assuming they’re in stock, I could easily do all my gift shopping in one day, in person.

I am an Alpha predator in any shopping situation. Department store, kiosk, street market, school book fair. It makes little difference. And I make purchases with rapid deliberation and execution. There is no dithering or dawdling. That’s for amateurs. I shop at pace – weaving in and out of shops, making quick work of it. It’s a sport.

Jeff knows that if we are traveling and he leaves me alone for a couple of hours with a ‘Let’s meet up later’ he will inevitably find me surrounded by bags when we reunite at a Café. He knows never to ask what is in those bags or how I could possibly collect so many in such a short time. Because it doesn’t matter. He will just need to have left enough room in his suitcase to get it all home. Because mine will be full.

But this time, I did something a bit out of character – even for me.

As I walked through shops and wandered the streets, I heard a disproportionate amount of American ingles. Its been so long since I heard someone speaking english as a native speaker standing in a shop or walking down a street, I hadn’t realized it until that moment. In Galicia, and especially in the area where we live, in winter, ingles flies the coop, back to the motherland. This epiphany didn’t slow me down, but it peaked my interest, repeatedly.

Refocusing to the task at hand, and as you do when you live in Palas de Rei, Lugo and are spending a sunny January weekend in Barcelona, I bought a clothes dryer. What the hell?!?! Yeah, I can hear what you’re thinking. Yes, it sounds strange. And no, it won’t fit in my carry-on, or even checked baggage. But it was a smokin’ deal and I love a smokin’ deal. And I’ve been looking at dryers for quite sometime.

The entire city of Barcelona was out in Power Shopping mode, competing for the best deals. That’s OK. I like a little competition when on the hunt. It sharpens the senses, and it makes pulling the trigger even easier. Sort of how a vampire might feel at a Halloween party.

This four-day weekend is a VAT holiday (sales tax) in Spain. I had forgotten. That’s 21% right off the top on all electronics, furniture, and appliances. And that’s off the price on the tag. Here, the price tag includes VAT, unlike in the US where sales tax is added after the fact. The dryer I have been wanting was already 30% off. Then an additional 21% off that. While not quite 50%, it was like a red cape to a bull. Jeff didn’t blink when I pointed at it and smiled that smile under my mask that says ‘Isn’t she a beauty.? She needs us.’ Even Jeff agreed I should to pull the trigger. It’s top of the range. I would never see it cheaper.

I enquired if they delivered for free. They said yes, and asked for our dirección (address) when ringing the sale. Their eyes widened when they heard Lugo. That’s pretty far from the east coast of Spain. About as far as you can get. But they said delivery is free, so…

We rang it up and they’ve promised to have it at the farm in February. I am ecstatic! I have been putting off buying a dryer until the laundry room is done. Which should be in March sometime. These things take time. In the meantime, we have a barn to store it in. I can close my eyes and just imagine it. Clothes right out of a warm dryer are in my damp and rainy, Galician future. Coziness shall be mine. I can hardly wait. We fly home tonight, but after a long, travel-less pandemic, its good to know I haven’t lost my on-the-hoof travel shopping superpowers. 🛍 Even with a two year dry spell, I still got it.