Panic Attack in Aisle Four!

I am either too old for this day and age...or, perhaps I was just born in the wrong era.
The day we got my new goat, we did go grocery shopping.
The Darlin' Man has a Costco card and --- for the first time--- I went to Costco.
My Darlin' Man usually goes there by himself and picks up bulk items for the house once or twice a month.
I had never been, so I sorta looked at the trip as a *treat*.
Nope.
I hated the place, let me count the ways...
Too BIG. Massive place. When you get in the rear of the store, it seems worse to me. I like smaller, more intimate stores...with windows, thankyouverymuch! I felt *trapped*. Seems weird that I would feel trapped in a building that large, but I did.

Too much *stuff*. Seriously. Too, TOO MUCH! Shelves towering over me. Aisle after aisle of *stuff*. Mainly stuff I had no use for (ginormous flat screen t.v.s, jewelry, massive bottles of expensive liquor, etc). All I wanted was to get my grocery shopping done.

Too many people. The place was packed--- to me, anyway. My fella seemed to think it was pretty light traffic in there. ACK! And the sample people did NOT help! I don't need someone on practically every aisle offering me a teensy cup of juice or a bite of sausage. Leave me alone and let me get my shopping done!

Too much noise. That place was LOUD! It didn't help that some of the sample people had brought radios or cd players and were blasting music at their various stations.Especially the jerk in the meat department blasting George Jones and Tammy Wynette or whoever it was ( In case you didn't know, I HATE COUNTRY MUSIC!!! It actually gives me headaches and nausea).

Too much of EVERYTHING! Too much size, too much stuff, too much noise, too many people, too many smells, too much activity. It was all...just TOO MUCH for me.

We bought a 50 pound bag of rice, a big box of crackers and a few other items. Some lettuce. No meat (I literally could not get out of the meat dept. fast enough!), a case of black beans and a case of tomato sauce.(We get the organic stuff)

I hauled butt for the checkout as soon as I could and told the fella I would wait for him outside. I could not stay in that store another second. I stood outside shaking.

Minor panic attack. I lasted in the store about 20 minutes. Took almost that darn long to walk (okay, I was walking fast, the fella could barely keep up, lol!) from the front to the back and then again to the front for checkout.
I think I will stick with my locally owned grocer. The store is bright and cheery, the front windows are large. I know where everything is and I know the cashiers and baggers. If I need or want something they don't have, all I have to do is talk to the manager and he'll make sure they order it in AND give me a call when it gets there! A much more pleasant shopping experience than *shudder* Costco!

For all the Costco lovers out there, go for it! Some of us (well, at least me) can't handle it. A few of the prices are good (the rice is 3 dollars less a 50 pound bag there), but I really don't think that is worth the experience.
I guess the fella will just have to go there by his-self, while I happily push my cart through the local grocers!