Mystery Shopping Payday and Purple Purses

So I am really loving my little side job as a "Mystery Shopper".  I just got paid $50.00 today for eating at Hooters 3 weeks ago.  I love it.  Yes, most of it was for reimbursement but by the time you get paid you forget you are being reimbursed and think you are making big money for eating out!  Next pay will be $20.00 for testing out 3 mattresses at Jerome's Furniture and then $45.00 for eating at Phil's BBQ in San Marcos.  Some jobs pay well and some jobs not so much.  I came across a job today that made my mouth drop.  The job is to spend 2 nights at Pechanga Casino and Resort.  The requirement is that you have to eat and you have to gamble.  I don't qualify to do the job because my rating isn't high enough for that particular company yet but it sounds fun for someone.  My other problem is that you have to wait to be reimbursed.  I can't afford to front so much money.  It's $275.00 for the hotel room, $325.00 for food, and $995.00 for gambling. Seriously!  I'm more the mattress tester kind of girl who eats at that Fire and Brimstone place called Hooters.  (It's ok - their wings are REALLY good!).

I had someone I barely know confide in me today about something very personal.  She felt that it was ok.  I was really touched by that.  And the irony of it all is that (she does not know this) that the issue which she confided in me about is something that I have been through myself.  I believe that sometimes people cross paths for the most interesting of reasons.

So I got it in my head that I really needed a purple purse.  I don't know why.  Purple was my favorite color when I was a kid but it isn't anymore.  I like it but I normally don't go in search of purple.  So my mission yesterday was a purple purse for whatever reason.  I went to a store and I found one that was ehhh, ok, I guess.  It was cute.  I carried it around the handbag department.  Mind you, I was NOT at Coach.  I was not toting around $400.00 purses.  I love my Coach bags but I don't generally get to shop there.  All of a sudden, sitting on the bottom shelf, was MY purple purse.  I had to have it.  So I picked it up and was in search of the ever-dreaded price tag.  I seem to have a knack for always picking up the  most expensive item in a store.  It just so happened that this particular bag did not have a price tag attached.  So I started looking for one just like it for the price.  There wasn't one.  There was one very similar so I looked at that price.  $79.00.  I was not in a $79.00 mood yesterday.  So I found another that looked even more like it.  $89.00.  Ok, this was not going well.  They were all 30% off but that still didn't make it ok for the money I had available to spend.  I took it to the cash register and I explained that I needed a price for this tagless purse.  She couldn't help me so she called a manager.  The manager came over and looked at it and then asked me what comparable purses were on that shelf.  I wanted to say $25.00 but I was honest and said $79.00 and $89.00.  She said she believed that this particular one was priced right up there with the rest.  I thought for sure she would either say $79.00 or maybe knock $10.00 off and say $69.00.  Even at $69.00 I was not going to be able to afford it.  I was already prepared for them to be annoyed when I walked away and said I couldn't pay it.  Oh well - it was worth a try to ask.  Finally the manager said "I'll be right back".  She came back with a teeny tiny bag - almost a mini version of MY bag.  She told the cashier to ring up the bitty bag and sell me the purse for whatever came up.  After discount...$31.00!  Oh, did I mention I had a $10.00 coupon?!  I got my purple purse for $21.00!  Yippee!!!!  The manager looked at me and said "you got a really good bargain there".  Yes, I did!  And here is my purchase (sorry you can't see the handles)...♥