The Blogtastic Blogfest That Is Getmeoutofthis.net!

Going to try to write a blog post here in pages while I wait for my appointment. This, in some circles, is called “multitasking” or “making efficient use of your time.” We’ll see, I suppose.

During a family get together type situation, I was exposed to a show called Extreme Couponing. This show seriously follows people who do nothing but clip coupons and stockpile grocery items. Each episode follows two of these people as they go on a normal shopping trip for them. It is just flat-out crazy.

One of the bumpers for this show had a woman claiming that “my stockpile is almost as beautiful as my family” without a hint of irony in her voice. Another woman claimed that her gift for finding and using coupons was sent from God. She believed this was her one god-given talent. Another woman, who shopped at my local grocery store that I go to daily, bought 92 packages of croutons just because she had enough coupons to make them all free. I couldn’t look away from this sort of thing.

It’s also just amazing how the producers and editors of this show manage to insert drama into is ridiculous premise. They are putting dramatic music stings under things like a cashier forgetting to scan one coupon, or the store’s coupon policy only allowing the use of 250 coupons per transition. Oh no! It’s the stupidest shit, but sadly, it totally works, and pulling a 600 dollar grocery bill down to like 8 dollars is pretty insane to watch. You just stare with disbelief that these people would spend upwards of 30 hours a week couponing (which the iPad autocorrected to “coupling” at first, something I could better understand) and in even more disbelief that it works, and stores let this shit happen.

I guess this sort of stuff is how reality shows gain and keep an audience. I’m not about to spontaneously become a tv viewer or avid watcher of this show, but I salute TLC for making a show about a ridiculous premise that was fun for me to watch for a few hours.