The Chronic Consumer

I hate to admit it, but I’m one of those germ freaks who constantly washes my hands all day long. I do it after touching door handles in public buildings, shopping carts at the grocery store, and railings on escalators. I also carry a small bottle of Germ-X around with me, and use that stuff whenever I can’t get to soap and water.

Unfortunately, all of this washing takes a major toll on my hands, leaving me with dry, chapped skin. It doesn’t help to put lotion on because the lotion will just come off with the next wash. So I’m thinking I should probably start wearing disposable latex exam gloves when I go out.

Sure, I will likely draw some snickers and strange looks, but I’m beyond caring what other people think. Plus, I’ve actually seen some other people shopping with these kinds of gloves on, so I know I won’t be the only one out there!

Oatmeal is pretty much the only healthy food that I can stand to eat on a regular basis. In fact, I have a bowl of instant oatmeal for breakfast nearly every single day, and when I get tired of that, I reach for a handful of Quaker Oatmeal Squares instead.

One serving of Quaker Oatmeal Squares packs the same amount of heart-healthy soluble fiber found in an equal serving of hot oatmeal, so I’m not losing any nutrition at all. Plus, I love how crunchy and sweet Quaker Oatmeal Squares are… it makes me feel as though I’m eating a snack, not something incredibly healthy.

Speaking of snacks, I’m making an effort to grab these Oatmeal Squares instead of potato chips or pretzels whenever I crave something crunchy. To be honest, Oatmeal Squares don’t always hit the spot when I’d rather have some junk food, but on occasion, they have been successful in warding off my cravings.

Anyway, if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t like hot oatmeal cereal, then I recommend checking out Quaker Oatmeal Squares. They’re pretty awesome!

Do you like to go see shows when you’re on vacation? I mean like dinner concerts, plays, musicals, Blue Man Group, and things like that?

My husband and I aren’t really into that type of thing. I think we’ve been to one show in our time together: a magic show during our honeymoon in Hawaii. Other than that, we’d rather go out and do something than take in a show — especially since all we ever do when we’re at home is watch movies and television!

But I know shows are very popular, so I wanted to give you some advice here. In order to save money on tickets, I recommend purchasing them well in advance through an online ticket broker. You’re likely to get a good discount the earlier you buy, and most online ticket brokers offer better deals than you’d find at the box office. Not always, though, so be sure to do your comparison shopping.

Many places offer shows for their patrons and guests, including Branson resorts, Las Vegas hotels, and even Disney properties, so this could be an activity to consider on your next family vacation.

My son takes Japanese lessons, so I thought it would be fun to buy him this Nintendo DS game from Japan that is designed to help kids learn how to read and write the hiragana script. The game is called Anpanman to Asobo: A-I-U-E-O Kyoushitsu, and actually seems to be a very good learning resource.

Anpanman is a cartoon character that is very popular with Japanese children (usually boys). In this software title, Anpanman and his friends help kids learn their hiragana (equivalent to the ABCs here in the States, I guess) through various minigames. For example, there’s a game where the kids have to identify a specific letter in a lineup after the narrator calls it out, and there’s a game where the kids have to tap the correct letter on the screen as it scrolls downward with a bunch of others.

There’s also a component that helps kids practice writing the characters by having them trace the shapes on the screen. This is only somewhat helpful, as the game doesn’t correct mistakes or even alert kids that they’re making mistakes. If you trace the letter, it moves on to the next one, regardless of whether you traced the lines in the correct order or direction.

And finally, there are minigames that have nothing to do with letters or writing at all. For example, there’s a game where kids have to identify the differences between two similar pictures or where kids play as Anpanman to try to defeat the enemy Baikinman in some kind of Pong-like event.

My son, who just turned 5, seems to be the perfect age for this kind of game. He finally has enough dexterity to control the stylus to a sufficient degree to go through all of the exercises, and actually enjoys playing. It seems that he’s actually learning stuff as well, which of course is the point to this game.

Obviously, if given the choice, my son would still rather play Mario Kart or Kirby Squeak Squad, but at least with Anpanman to Asobo, it’s a lot easier to get him to “study” now!

Some people have asked me how heavily my shopping purchases are influenced by ads that I see. This is a good question, so I want to say a bit about it here today.

First of all, I think it’s very difficult to assess the degree to which advertisements influence consumers. Am I buying this salad dressing because I just want to try it, or am I buying it because I saw a TV commercial about it three days ago and the name has been subconsciously stuck in my mind ever since. I’ll probably never know the answer to that.

Nevertheless, I think there certainly are instances when I’m clearly affected by advertising. For example, if I’m wandering through an airport waiting for my flight to board, I’m likely to try out a restaurant or snack bar I see advertised on the digital signage plastered near the walkways. Similarly, if I’m flipping through a magazine and see a cool new lip gloss color, I will probably pick it up sooner or later.

But these are usually just small-ticket items that I’m talking about. I don’t think I’ve ever been heavily influenced by car commercials, Rolex ads, or anything of that nature. I guess when I’m about to spend that much money, I’d rather do my own research and make my own decisions.

I usually review fun products on this site, things like toys, video games, and accessories that no one in their right mind would view as essential. But occasionally I like to point out a few items that I believe are truly worthwhile purchases because of their ability to impact lives in a positive way. One such product is a medical id bracelet.

Medical id bracelets are a great way to alert emergency personnel that you have a serious condition, allergy, or complication that they need to be aware of. These bracelets can help save your life or the life of a loved one, so I definitely think you should check them out if you have a chronic medical issue.

My husband has been riding motocross for 17 years now, and has tried every brand of equipment at one point or other. Some brands have produced absolute garbage, but others put out quality products that my husband buys over and over again. Thor is one of the better manufacturers out there, which is why my husband prefers their Core line of MX gloves over all others.

Thor Core MX Gloves do a great job of providing protection against blisters after a long day of riding. They fit well, look good, and last more than one season. These are just basic qualities, I know — but apparently, some companies still can’t get them right.

Motocross gear companies put out new designs each year, so the price that you pay for your Thor Core MX gloves will depend on which year you purchase. The brand-new 2008 line will run about $35 per pair, but if you can find 2007 gloves (or older), you would most likely only pay $20-$25 for them, which is not bad at all, considering the quality.

I do a lot of my shopping online, but of course there are times when I can’t avoid going into actual stores to get stuff that I need. I hate doing this, not only because I have to battle foul weather, traffic, and crowds, but also because I don’t like dealing with salesclerks who act like they have far more important things to do than answer questions from customers.

In the past few years, it seems that customer service has become increasingly worse at almost every single store that I visit. I can’t even tell you the number of times salesclerks have openly rolled their eyes or sighed in exasperation at questions I’ve asked or requests I’ve made.

And I’m not even being unreasonable in my requests. I’ve worked in retail before, so I know how hard it is to deal with demanding customers all day long, which is why I make a conscious effort NOT to be like that.

But I still get treated like I’m putting them out by asking questions.

You know, I would love to be able to fill out an employee performance evaluation for some of these clerks that I’ve had to deal with. They probably would be better off in a different job anyway!