Oh Wal-Mart...

This Friday, Pint and I FINALLY get to move into our new apartment! Thank god. I’ve been scoping out the house wares on craigslist, but it’s Juneau, so it’s pretty sad. But I did find a couple that is moving and they sold me all their kitchen stuff for $60. That’s plates, bowls, glasses, silverware, pots, pans, casserole dishes, a cutting board, a toaster – everything. Plus I also got a little vacuum and a couple vases. I don’t even want to know what that would have cost to buy new – even at Wal-Mart. That’s right folks, Juneau got a Wal-Mart since the last time I lived here!

I don’t know that I’ve ever actually been in a Wal-Mart. I’m sure I must have been in one a few times before on road trips or something, but it’s not a place I plan to make a habit of going to. I mean, if I am going to become dependent on something, crack sounds more appealing. I understand that Wal-Mart has brought some jobs to Juneau. And I also know that it is getting harder and harder to find a job in Southeast Alaska. But they are providing dead end jobs that don’t pay well, don’t provide good benefits, and don’t give employees much of a chance to move up the corporate ladder. Maybe one or two employees will be given an opportunity to manage a store, but of course that will require a move outside of Juneau. Then we lose another competent worker and the vicious cycle continues. I think I have more of a problem with Wal-Mart here than I do in the lower 48. It’s so much harder to support local businesses in such an isolated area, and a lot of people can’t afford to do it when a crappy t-shirt is sold a lot cheaper at the gigantic chain a few miles down the road. I wonder how long I am going to last before I buckle and rush off to Wal-Mart because I heard about their two-for-one special on pomegranates or tube socks or something…