Being a Female in a Male World, or At Least a Hardware Store

This is what I spent my weekend working on...

putting tile down in our bathroom. Don't worry. The blue spots are just spacers. They're not some weird design. I think it looks pretty good myself, especially considering that I did it all by myself with Hubby gone.

But I did get annoyed by some of the good 'ole boy treatment at the hardware store. When you purchase the tile at this particular hardware store, they will cut it for you on their wet saw for free (at least for a small project like mine). A lot of cutting might tax their goodwill. So I had marked 6 tiles and taken them in to get cut.

I asked the employee a question about the tile he was cutting and before he could even answer, here came Mr. Fix-It-Know-It-All. He proceeded to tell me that I had chosen a ceramic tile (which was a terrible lack of judgment) and that it would have been much better had I gotten porcelain tiles. Then he decided to educate me on every possible opinion he had of said ceramic tiles and just how much better porcelain were. The entire time the employee stood there agreeing with him. At one point, I even lost my good Southern lady demeanor and pointed out, "Well, its too late now." It didn't deter him unfortunately.

Had I given a fig newton what they thought I probably would have felt a very stupid and weak female by the time they were done. About halfway through the cutting, I noticed that we were standing in the very aisle my tiles were stocked in. Right behind my two 'heroes' sat boxes of my tile. I didn't bother to point them out in their green boxes with the word "PORCELAIN" marked clearly on the sides. I checked when I got home just to make sure and it was the same. So I think I'll just discard all Mr. Fix-It-Know-It-All's opinions.

Needless to say, I didn't return to that location. And, as it turns out, I felt much better when I visited another location this morning to get my last several cut. I had re-marked one of the ones he had tried to cut. The employee this time took one look and declared that whoever had cut it didn't know what they were doing. I simply told him that was what I thought too but I didn't share that it was another of their store's locations that did it. I think he thought I was voicing an irritation with my husband because he didn't say anything else until he finished the cutting.

When he asked me who had cut it later (with the intention of letting me know how to operate the saw he thought we might have at home), I wasn't going to lie. I told him and he was absolutely shocked. He asked twice in disbelief if it was one of their employees and then declared him an idiot.

I don't know about that and I won't go that far, but I do know that I won't be getting any more tiles cut at that location. Or that I will take any more helpings of good ole' boy treatment. I've had quite enough to last, thank you.