well crap

it's official.
There is absolutely no way I am ever going to be taken seriously in a store like Home Depot or Lowe's.
This used to upset me. I mean no matter what I go in there for, I always get eyed like I shouldn't be there or I don't belong. As if a girl wearing a nice blouse, earrings and wedges can't hold a hammer. I mean come on what is this 1950???

But now I sort of understand where they are coming from and today I think I pretty much sealed the deal. The painted nails and long blonde hair were already grouping me into a certain category, but then I just had to approach the customer service desk, asking about my uncle, who my mom had told me worked at Home Depot. You see I'm working on a project for a baby shower I'm throwing and needed a few things. My uncle, whose expertise is lumber, was supposed to be my go to man for getting this project finished in a timely (and inexpensive!) manner. The burly customer service men were skeptical before I even started speaking. Apparently my babbling about the baby shower and my uncle who works there were not impressive in the least. After I finished my way too long explanation for why I was ever so confidently standing in front of their "real" customers, they looked at each other, stroked their beards and said they had never heard of him. Well there you go. I asked if maybe they hadn't met him since the store is quite large and they agreed that it might be a possibility (progress!). So I boldly asked if they would mind paging him. After a few eye rolls and half sympathetic glances - I'm sure they were thinking this poor girl is so lost - they called for him over the loud speaker and muttered we'll see what happens .... and then we waited.
and waited.
and waited.
and waited. And he didn't come and they still stared at me, thinking I have completely lost my mind.So then my confidence began to waiver. I frantically texted my mother, who was clearly at fault for this situation I found myself in. Her text back said one word and one word only: Lowes. 
c
r
a
p
So I looked around one last time and said "Well he must be on his lunch break - I'll just catch him later!" and with that, I turned and briskly walked out of the store making eye contact with no one and holding my redder by the second face as high as possible.
Guess I'm not meant to shop at Home Depot. I did go across the street to Lowe's to see if he might possibly be there. After a similar (more sympathetic this time) conversation with the customer service desk, we found out that my uncle was in fact on his lunch break. So there you have it: the disheartening truth that I do not belong in a hardware store. Maybe I'm okay with it or maybe someday I'll go back to Home Depot armed with a hammer and teach those customer service reps a lesson or two. Although if I try that and miss I dont think I'll recover. So maybe I'll just know in my heart that I can use a hammer and a wrench if I have to. I have unscrewed a doorknob or two and my mother and I even disassembled and then reassembled a fan one time. Sure we almost got electrocuted and maybe it makes noise when it goes around and sometimes the blades look like they might fly off but... but...

oh forget it