Gran Opening

For the past year or so, they've been flattening the land, closing my exit lane, bringing trucks of cement and asphalt, building up this huge thing, flattening some more, bringing more trucks ...
All of this for what? To build another Wal-Mart 4 minutes away (by car) from my house. AND to add to the fun, a mall around it of course! With my favorite store in town renting a local there: The Bookstore. Woo-freaking-hoo!

Every single day for the past 12 months, i passed in front of the building site each morning on my way to work and each afternoon on my way back home. I had the feeling it was not going really fast. But i mean, how long does it take to build from scratch a supermarket and a mall around?
Towards the end though, it just goes crazy. One morning, i passed in front of it and there was the traditional dozen cars parked on the street, trucks coming in and out of the site, this big flat piece of land where the parking lot was to stand one day ... And that very same day, the parking lot is done, there are palm trees planted on it, lines drawn on the floor and a massive huge banner saying proudly: OPENING SOON.
And then you see this line of people waiting to be interviewed, and another big banner saying "hiring now" ... We're getting closer!

And then this very morning, on my way to work, surprise, no car on the street. Not a single one. I thought, mmm, weird. But i realized it was still pretty early and oh well, there'll be cars all over the place this afternoon. Well i was wrong ... There were cars all over the place, yes, but all over the parking lot! Cars coming in and out of the parking lot, people coming in and out of the damn supermarket. Damn it why didn't they SAY it? Why didn't they say that TODAY was THE day, the opening day.

Of course I'm not gonna go today. I never go to Gran Openings. Come on! It's a supermarket. Not a "one-of-a-kind" shop that's nowhere else to be found. It is a Wal-Mart supermarket, exactly the same one that i see everyday from the pier i work onto. The very same one that people from the cruise ships are so eager to visit when they come out of their boat. So no, i wasn't gonna go today... Of course not! It is JUST another supermarket.




Tomorrow's pay day i am so going.