If I do say so myself, I am totally kicking ass at the not shopping thing. 

We are 25 days into June and I think I have spent less than $25 on frivolities.  And most of that was cheating with cheap take-out last week when I was going crazy because Mr. A was working so much overtime.   Oh, and I also bought a really deeply discounted set of sheets for about $28 because Mr. A’s hair product has yellowed all our pillowcases and they are grossing me out.   But over all, I am doing a good job not shopping.

Possibly, I need to stop talking about my cheapness though.  Because other people are starting to egg me on in my thriftyness.  Possibly to a slightly wacky degree.

First thing this morning, my sister called.  She wanted to let me know she read in the newspaper that Chipotle was giving away free burritos between 5:00 and 8:00.  I thanked her for the info and didn’t think about it again.  I don’t mind Chipotle.  I eat it occasionally because it is closer to our house and more convenient than any other burrito place.  But it is kind of pricy for a burrito that is only so-so.

Then, Mr. A called to tell me about the free burritos.  Mr. A sounded REALLY excited about the free burritos.  He kept saying “They’re free!  It’s FREE BURRITOS! Don’t you want to eat FREE BURRITOS?!” 

Mr. A loves burritos in all shapes, sizes and styles.  (And yes, they all give him digestive issues.)   He has also been humoring me (at least I *think* he has been humoring me) by taking his lunch this month and not buying much (though he did cheat a little by getting his bike tuned up). 

I figured, what the heck?  What else were the girls and I doing at 5:00?  We could stand in line or I could cook dinner.  Honestly, standing in line seemed a little more appealing, so I said we would swing by and pick them up.

Mr. A was so excited he called me TWICE to make sure I was on board and was clear about his order.  He was especially concerned that I might forget to buy his precious chips and salsa.  I was reluctant because chips and salsa were not included in the FREE BURRITO deal.  But Mr. A was insistant.  He needed chips and salsa, damn the $1.25 they would cost.

At around 4:00, when the girls and I were at a park in the vacinity of Chipotle, it started raining.  Actually, it was a downpour of almost biblical proportions.   I thought this would deter a lot of free-burrito seekers.  When the rain let up around 4:30, I was sure we would get a great spot in line. 

Oh, how I underestimated my fellow Midwesterner’s love of A) Burritos and B)Free Things.

When we got to Chipotle at 4:45, there was a line down the side of the building and around part of the parking lot.  When we got in line, I estimate there were maybe 150 to 200 people in front of us.  Within five minutes, the line behind us was at least as long as the line in front of us.

We could see some storm clouds off in the distance, but I told the girls we were going to stick it out for the free burritos.  It was going to be a Burrito Adventure.

At around 5:00, it started to rain.   At about 5:02, it started to pour.  And lightning.  And thunder.  Did I mention we didn’t have an umbrella?   To my disappointment, no one left the line in front of us because of the rain. 

We were all there together.  Burrito warriors.  Toughing it out for the carnitas. 

At first, M meeped a little about the thunder.  But once I gave her some pretzels and cashews, she started to enjoy standing in the rain.  L had a great time splashing in the ankle-deep puddles.  We were all completely soaked from head to toe, but we soldiered on.  Fortunately, it was not cold, so the suffering was not too extreme.

My sister, who was still stuck at work, called repeatedly to find out how many people were in line.  In a revealing demonstration of her lack of thriftyness and intestinal fortitute, she wussed out and went home with no burritos.

At around 6:07, a mere 1 hour and 22 minutes after we got in line, we finally made it into Chipotle.  We got our three burritos (one for each girl and one for me) and Mr. A’s precious bag of chips.  As we were leaving the restaurant, the last of the rain sprinkled down and the sun started poking through the clouds.

We brought our booty home to a very-thrilled Mr. A, who not only got to eat a burrito for dinner, but also has one left over to take tomorrow for lunch.  (The girls don’t really like restaurant burritos, so they ate eggs and bacon for dinner.)

Standing in the pouring rain for an hour to get a free burrito may actually be one of the stranger things I have done lately.  Maybe it will one of those stories that M tells about her crazy-cheap mother in years to come.  It wouldn’t be the worst story she could tell.  All-in-all, for a satisfied husband and a funny story, it was worth the wait.

June 26th, 2008 | Category: All About Me, Mr. A, Uncategorized | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL