Conversing With The Cashier [Archive] - Women's Cycling Discussion Forums

Zen

03-13-2009, 11:29 AM

After leaving Pilates class I went to Home Depot, still dressed for class.

cashier- "Were you out running?"

me- No, I just finished Pilates class.

she- "oh, what is that?"

me- "Well, it's core conditioning and stretching"

she- "Is that like exercise?"

Not so much a culture clash, more of a lifestyle clash :(

ASammy1

03-13-2009, 12:08 PM

Oh dear...

BleeckerSt_Girl

03-13-2009, 01:51 PM

Zen

03-13-2009, 03:32 PM

I would have asked the same thing up until just a few months ago. :cool:

Oh dear...
......:o

7rider

03-13-2009, 03:37 PM

she- "Is that like exercise?"

Not so much a culture clash, more of a lifestyle clash :(

You were at Home Depot.

She probably had home improvement on the brain at that moment. She might have just had a long drag-out with someone over how the plywood rang up. "Pilates" was a totally out-of-context word to her that, at that split second, meant absolutely nothing to her.

Ya never know. It's all a matter of context. Hit somebody out of left field and you're bound to take her by surprise. Cut her some slack.

BleeckerSt_Girl

03-13-2009, 03:48 PM

Believe it or not, there are TONS of people who have no idea what Pilates is.
Yes, even normal people. ;)

Zen

03-13-2009, 04:23 PM

It's all a matter of context. Hit somebody out of left field and you're bound to take her by surprise.

Context.
She was already in context. Judging from my clothing she asked if I had been running.
I stand by lifestyle clash.

GLC1968

03-13-2009, 04:32 PM

I have to agree with Zen. It's not the word 'Pilates' that threw the girl - she asked what that was and Zen responded.

The part that gets me is that when confronted with "core conditioning and stretching" the girl followed with "is that like exercise?" That's what made me think 'lifestyle clash' as well.

(good phrase, by the way)

BleeckerSt_Girl

03-13-2009, 04:52 PM

I work on my core conditioning a lot every Fall....when I make applesauce. :D

About a year ago I started noticing women in restaurants yakking to their friends that they were 'in Pilates' and attending a group. I figured it was like Scientology or something. :rolleyes: :D
I'm not involved with yoga, gym, spinning, meditation, weight lifting, aerobics, massage, etc....so I simply didn't have a clue what it meant. It's not in my world. And in turn, they probably didn't know a toptube from a headtube. We all have our areas of knowledge according to our interests, right? :)

7rider

03-13-2009, 04:58 PM

I contend your statement "core strengthening and stretching" threw her.

Assuming everyone equates "core strengthening and stretching" with "exercise" is like saying everyone equates "hill repeats and intervals" with "bike riding."

Aggie_Ama

03-13-2009, 04:58 PM

You might be surprised as a top notch college student I was also a cashier/returns girl/blinds cutter/paint mixer at Lowe's. Man I loved working in that environment! If I could have a normal schedule I would do it again with my degree from one of the better schools in our state. :o No, not management I would mix paint.

And I don't really know what pilates is but I just smile and nod. :p Of course I would understand anything with "conditioning" to be exercise so yes, possible lifestyle clash but it might have just been the way you expressed it that caught her off guard.

Zen

03-13-2009, 05:10 PM

We all have our areas of knowledge according to our interests, right? :)

Exactly.

But then again, I don't fence but I know what an epee is.
But only because it's a frequent crossword puzzle word :o

GLC1968

03-13-2009, 05:12 PM

I'm sorry, but someone dressed in sweats mentions "core conditioning and stretching" and you have to ask if it's exercise? I mean, she obviously assumed that Zen was exercising already when she asked if she was running, right?

I don't know. I sure wouldn't have put the girl down or assumed that she was stupid, but I would certainly have walked away thinking "what different worlds we live in".

(oh, and to be clear, I am in no way putting down a cashier for being a cashier. I spent the first 7 years of my post college life in retail and spent many a day on a register...that has NOTHING to do with my thoughts on this)

Zen

03-13-2009, 05:19 PM

t I would certainly have walked away thinking "what different worlds we live in".

THAT IS EXACTLY THE POINT I WAS TRYING TO MAKE AND SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU GET IT THAT I'M WRITING IN ALL CAPS :D

7rider

03-13-2009, 05:22 PM

Different strokes.....

sfa

03-13-2009, 05:27 PM

Well, it's hard to know what she meant by "exercise." She probably meant it as a synonym for "calisthenics" which IS what Pilates is like, but the word "calisthenics" is almost never used anymore, so I could see using the generic "exercise" to mean the more specific "calisthenics." It's very possible that in her brain she was seeing this type of exercise but didn't have the word for it, so instead came across as clueless.

Sarah

Aggie_Ama

03-13-2009, 05:53 PM

(oh, and to be clear, I am in no way putting down a cashier for being a cashier. I spent the first 7 years of my post college life in retail and spent many a day on a register...that has NOTHING to do with my thoughts on this)

Oh I knew you weren't and Zen wasn't necessarily. It always made me laugh at Lowe's when someone talked to me or another college kid stupid. One of my cashiers I supervised was the smartest girl I have ever met but she grew up on the farm and barrel raced, it would floor me how people assumed she was stupid. They would talk down to her and all I would do is snicker because I knew who the idjut was. I think she graduated Magna or Summa *** Laude. :p

Of course people regularly confused me with an exchange like this because it was out of context at Lowe's.

MomOnBike

03-13-2009, 06:49 PM

Zen, the epee is a fencing weapon with a triangle-shaped blade (cross-section only). It's one of the three weapons in fencing, the others being sabre and foil.

The thing about epee is that all of the body is a target area, including the toe. The other two are more limited. There's quite a bit more, of course, but that should be enough to make other people's eyes cross. :D

There, now you know.

To drag myself back (somewhat) on topic: I've often had to tell grocery clerks what that strange thing that I'm buying is. "It's a kiwi/jicama/kale/etc. It's good." I chalk it up to living in different worlds and move on. I'm morally certain they have knowledge I don't, it's just that my ignorance is not on display at the moment (for which I am grateful. . .).

Zen

03-13-2009, 07:06 PM

Zen, the epee is a fencing weapon with a triangle-shaped blade

There, now you know.

But I already knew...

But then again, I don't fence but I know what an epee is.

I looked it up :)

MomOnBike

03-13-2009, 07:09 PM

But, but, but you said you didn't know. (sobs uncontrollably)

Actually I was just showing off. :)

Zen

03-13-2009, 07:13 PM

You can't help it. It's a side effect of bursting with pride ;)

MomOnBike

03-13-2009, 07:25 PM

Of course. I build fencing into every conversation, anymore. It's just one of the unanticipated perils of motherhood, I suppose.

OakLeaf

03-14-2009, 03:03 AM

To drag myself back (somewhat) on topic: I've often had to tell grocery clerks what that strange thing that I'm buying is. "It's a kiwi/jicama/kale/etc. It's good." I chalk it up to living in different worlds and move on.

Me too, but I think there's more going on there than culture, and I think that's what Zen was alluding to. I think it's an incuriosity about the world around them, which I find very sad. The person who doesn't know what an avocado is WORKS in the store where it's sold, and grocery stores aren't THAT big. They shop there, because they get an employee discount. Why wouldn't they explore what their store has to offer and try different things? I know when I worked ten hours a week in a natural food store, I knew at least a tiny bit about every single thing we sold there.

Now, Zen's clerk didn't work in a sporting goods store obviously, but how could someone hear "conditioning" and "stretching" and not hear "exercise?" It would be like your clerk hearing "leaf" and "root" and not hearing "vegetable."

shootingstar

03-14-2009, 07:32 AM

I dunno. There are some basic things that most you know about cars that I probably don't know because I don't drive (but I did drive a long time ago until my early 20's).

Just last year I understood the difference in terms of quality for stopping between All-weather tires and snow tires.

Aggie_Ama

03-14-2009, 08:26 AM

My FIL is a produce manager, he always brings me the weird produce. One year at Christmas our stockings had kumquats. He also introduced me to the exciting world of Pluots. :p

HoosierGiant

03-14-2009, 08:39 AM

I've often had to tell grocery clerks what that strange thing that I'm buying is. "It's a kiwi/jicama/kale/etc. It's good." I chalk it up to living in different worlds and move on. I'm morally certain they have knowledge I don't, it's just that my ignorance is not on display at the moment (for which I am grateful. . .).

How true! How true!! Happens to us all the time.

My girls have heard me say it a thousand times: "Everyone's a genius about something, and everyone's incredibly stupid about something. Wisdom comes in being able to discern the difference."

My FIL is a produce manager, he always brings me the weird produce. One year at Christmas our stockings had kumquats. He also introduced me to the exciting world of Pluots. :p

Pluots?! We LOVE pluots!!! Love 'em, love 'em, love 'em.

Aggie_Ama

03-14-2009, 08:59 AM

Pluots?! We LOVE pluots!!! Love 'em, love 'em, love 'em.

The other one is he taught us to appreciate the effort needed to enjoy a pomegrenate. Took me a while to embrace fruit as gifts but I feel so lucky when he finds a little gem like pluots. ;) Oddly the new obsession in our house, Kiwi, was not introduced to us by him.

Okay funny threadjack....

Thursday I took to work 4 strawberries and a Kiwi as a snack. Well these strawberries were ridiculous, like on roids or something so once I finished those I had no desire for my precious little fuzzy kiwi. I SWEAR I left him sitting by my phone to enjoy Friday. But yesterday my Kiwi was MIA. I have a back desk, no one ever goes to an the girl in front of it said after I left no one went there and she was there late. We have a cleaning crew but they only empty trash, no dusting, no touching the desks. So where did it go? Did they desire the sweet wonderful kiwi fruit? Did I mistakingly throw it out? For 24 hours I have been obsessed with trying to remember. DH asked if I sent out a APB "MISSING KIWI!!". :p:D:o

Tuckervill

03-14-2009, 11:45 AM

Rats?

Karen

Zen

03-14-2009, 11:49 AM

It accidentally rolled off the desk into someone's mouth

redrhodie

03-14-2009, 12:36 PM

I found an avacado in the trunk of my car today. I bought it 2 days ago, and never noticed it was MIA.

Looks perfect still!

Aggie_Ama

03-14-2009, 01:23 PM

Rats?

Karen

We have large roaches.

It accidentally rolled off the desk into someone's mouth

I hope they enjoyed it. It was very ripe was going to be perfect. I actually think I may have accidentally threw it away but I just can't remember! :(

OakLeaf

03-14-2009, 03:40 PM

We have large roaches.

:eek::eek: Florida roaches are as big as kiwis, but I don't think they could carry one!

malkin

03-14-2009, 06:41 PM

I'm always surprised when people ask questions and more surprised when someone answers.

This morning we rode bikes with another couple out to the middle of nowhere where there's a heavily spray painted empty shell of building and abandoned train car...There were a few people heading off the road into the place, and the Mrs. of the people we were with stepped up to some folks and asked, "Excuse me, Just what do people do out there?"

The answer was innocuous enough, they were heading out to take pictures.

I guess I'm just more of a 'Don't ask; don't tell' kind of girl.

Aggie_Ama

03-15-2009, 08:12 AM

:eek::eek: Florida roaches are as big as kiwis, but I don't think they could carry one!

Yeah the building was built in the early 80's and is not insulated well. Management gets a lot of "send out the pest control calls" when it rains but it is only every few months. :p:rolleyes:

GLC1968

03-15-2009, 03:27 PM

Of course. I build fencing into every conversation, anymore. It's just one of the unanticipated perils of motherhood, I suppose.

See, and I hear the word 'fencing' and immedately think of t-posts, cattle panels and electrified wire! Again...different worlds. That doesn't make it a bad thing, right?

BleeckerSt_Girl

03-15-2009, 03:42 PM

Of course. I build fencing into every conversation, anymore. It's just one of the unanticipated perils of motherhood, I suppose.

Fencing....is that like exercise?

:D

Zen

03-15-2009, 04:59 PM

Getting out of bed in the morning is like exercise with my tight joints.

MomOnBike

03-15-2009, 06:44 PM

As I was growing up, fencing involved "bob wahr," 6-foot steel posts and rides in the trailer behind the tractor. And a great deal of salty language.

Now, thanks to Younger Daughter, fencing involves weapons, masks and plane tickets. And a certain amount of strong language.

Different worlds, indeed. I have a foot in each, and sometimes feel as though I'm being ripped in half. I wouldn't trade it, though.

Aggie_Ama

03-15-2009, 07:42 PM

When we were house hunting I cut my toe on a piece of re-mesh for laying the foundation of sidewalks. I went to get a tetnus shot and the doc asked why I needed one urgently.

I told him being an idiot I wore open toed shoes to a ocnstruction area and stubbed my toe on rusty re-mesh and it broke skin.

He asked what re-mesh was, which wasn't that odd because I am sure it doesn't ring bells if you didn't toil the days at Lowe's but he is a farm boy from Kansas so I thought he might know. So I said "You know that wire metal that is down before they pour concrete for sidewalks." Crickets chirping. So then I added "it is kind of like rebar." More silence. Finally, I said "My last tetnus was likely in middle school, I am now 25 and it was rusty metal so I think it is just best?"

Zen

03-15-2009, 08:11 PM

I know what that is.

Some people are isolated from the realities of life. I have in mind a local NPR host and Judge Judy :p
They don't deal with dirty little things like that. Or cell phones, it would seem.

Crankin

03-16-2009, 04:31 AM

I wouldn't have known what re-mesh is.
I do, however, know about re-bar, because in AZ everyone has a swimming pool. When it is being built, you get to the re-bar stage right before the gunnite gets poured and your pool begins to look like a pool.

Aggie_Ama

03-16-2009, 04:41 AM

I wonder if it was a thing like Zen's where context or lifestyle threw him? With the amount of building in Austin area and that he told me once he was building a new house I am *pretty* sure he has seen a sidewalk before they pour concrete because for some reason the re-mesh sits for about a week. But some people don't notice the world around them, my husband is one. But he knows what rebar and re-mesh are from working at Lowe's through college too. :p

The same doc's advice for a good sunscreen "I like this kid's banana boat stuff when I go out on the boat." I was hoping for a little more concrete answer buddy. I just researched it and asked my gyno of all people since dermatologists have a ridiculously long wait. I switched to the other doc in the practice who seems a little more in tune with the world. :)