NYC

Went to NYC this past weekend to audition for L.A.M.D.A. (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art). The audition went well, but it was also my FIRST TIME in the city! Went to see "A View from the Bridge" with Liev Schreiber, Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Hecht; the show was pretty amazing. Very heartfelt, down to earth, and dangerous at the same time. A man also had a seizure a few rows ahead of me towards the end of Act 1 and Michael Cristofer, playing Alfieri, was onstage speaking, and handled it very well. Immediately he turned his attention to the man in the mezzanine, and kept his gaze focused there as people called for a doctor. In about ten minutes, the man who had had the attack was on his feet and was ushered outside to an ambulance. The play continued seamlessly.

This has little to do with Wal-Mart. I suppose, culturally, maybe. There are no Wal-Marts in Manhatten, at least, not that I saw. I did see a lot of family owned delis and markets where people could buy small groceries, and one larger grocery store near the Brooklyn Bridge. The only parking lot that I saw in the city was at this grocery store.

Anyway.
Love,
Clellan

Grad School

I've been in Chicago for a week doing graduate school auditions...now I'm lazing around when there is a ton of makeup work to do. Haven't been grocery shopping yet, but have been subsisting off of gummy snacks and cheese and crackers, leftover pop tarts and soggy toaster strudels. I'll let you know when I get some real shopping done.

And still no Wal-Mart, although I was sorely tempted in Chicago when I needed extra copies of my headshot and I knew their photo center had my headshot on file. But I found an office max that was delightfully helpful, however. Office Max is a store that specializes in copies, and that sort of thing, after all.

Trip to Greenville

Just returned from a trip to Greenville, SC, where I spent a really fun and refreshing two days. Saw old friends and teachers, it was fantastic. Had some discussions about this resolution. Apparently it is not a hard one to keep, and that is what I am finding to be true as well. We discussed how, in times of economic crisis, people can tend to pay more sometimes for local products to support the local community that might be suffering. We're in a recession, and I'll be damned if I give my money to Wal-Mart when the local Vegetable Bin employs local cashiers and managers AND also buys from local farmers.

A friend suggested a project for this blog. I'm going to shop like I normally do at a regional grocery store, then I'm going to go to Wal-Mart and do a pricing (and figure tax) to see if it is making a huge financial difference in my life. When the Farmer's Market comes back in warmer weather, I am going to do the project again on a larger scale. I'm going to take a week and make purchases as usual, writing down anything that could also be purchased at Wal-Mart, such as any groceries, clothing, furniture, personal hygiene, car product, etc, the list is scary. I'm then going to go to Wal-Mart and record all of the prices, again taking tax into consideration, and see how much the change is affecting my finances.

Hope you look forward to it! Part One, the just groceries part, should be done, if not posted, by next weekend.

No one is following that yet, but hopefully it doesn't mean that people aren't reading. I'm of a positive attitude.

Love,
Clellan

School and Coffee

They go together. So I've also been trying to shop at the local coffee shops as well. So far no Starbucks. Although I am drinking the coffee from the school's library coffee shop. I guess thats not as good as a place like the real local place, which is fair trade and all, but still better.

And still no Wal-Mart.

Love,
Clellan

First Day Back...

...to school. Undergrad is a mess. Last semester woohoo!

Still no Wal-Mart.

Love,
Clellan

The First Post

Dear Blog,

I've decided to go a whole year without shopping at one of America's great super-chains, Wal-Mart, just to see how and if the experience would change my life. I've never had a blog, or really ever had a reason to blog, and mostly think that blogging is a strange phenomenon. Now that I have this year-long mission, however, I thought if I'm ever going to blog, this is the time to do it.

We'll see how this endeavor goes. I'm hoping to make myself into a more conscious consumer. The other day I went to Publix and about 50% of my groceries were organic, and I wager I only spent 15% more than usual. So far, so good in the battle against You-Know-Where (always evil, always).

If you hadn't gathered, there will be Harry Potter references.

Love,

Clellan