Walmart...A necessary evil?

So with Easter this past weekend, then the end of the quarter at the hospital this week, and the boyfriend coming home on Friday I have been up to a lot of cooking. That necessitates grocery shopping. Now in Rochester, there are many an option...HyVee (3 of them), Super Walmart (2 of them), Super Target (just one), plus a few small town stores like SilverLake Foods, Rochester Produce, etc. When I first moved out here I went to Econofoods but they have since gone under. So my normal routine is to hit HyVee Barlow Plaza location when I just need groceries for me. They have a great meat and seafood collection, if you watch the sales they have good deals. But...like I said, i have had to do a LOT of cooking this week. Therefore, I bit the bullet and heading to Wally World.

The first adventure was Saturday around 12:30 pm. The list was short....5 lb bag of potatoes, frozen bread dough, canned corn, and diet coke. With the pre-Easter chaos that little list took two of us about 45 minutes. People swarming everywhere. After running a few more errands, we realized we needed vanilla ice cream to go with the apple pie we had picked up. I was NOT going back in the day light. So instead I went to Easter Vigil and hit Walmart around 10:15 pm. Much smoother visit but tons of "easter bunny wanna-be's" purchasing last minute gigantic baskets of goodies for little one's tucked into bed (who was watching their children at this hour?). The most recent voyage was Monday night after I had gone to the gym, so it was around 7:30 pm. The list was much larger this time...I needed groceries to make chili for 20 people (it has become tradition) plus a few things for the half of a plan I have for Friday night, plus some regular groceries so I wouldn't be starving at home. Took me about 45 minutes to get what I needed but another 20 minutes to check out!

So my point is this...yes, when doing cooking for large quantities of people Walmart by far has the best deals. But man, what does a trip to Walmart do to one's psyche? The place is literally swarming during daylight hours. The parking lot resembles a medieval gauntlet. The checkout line goes on for miles, but how many lights are actually on? Usually less than a dozen! And the general mentality of those swarming...I swear it is borderline for needing special assistance. Are people really that stupid or does Walmart just bring out the worse as one tries to finish a necessary task in an environment of other crazed individuals trying to find the best deal? This doesn't even skim the political problems with Walmart...great prices, horrible employee benefits. Should we support a company that tries to avoid paying for benefits for it's employees but at the same time how can one on my budget justify going to another lesser known grocery store and spending more on the same items I know I can get at Walmart for cheaper?

So, it is two days before the boyfriend comes home, I have half of dinner planned but don't really know what I'm doing for the main course. What does that mean? I will probably be roaming Walmart yet again tomorrow night for last minute items. The key to not being completely insane by the time you check out and weave your way to your car...go as early in the day as possible (predawn) or as late as night as possible (here...that means after 8 pm).