12.10.03 | 11:51 p.m.

Treading that line between lunacy and genius.

At Target this evening there was a man who, shortly before I checked out, rang up nearly $400 of merchandise. That is par for the course at Target. However, this man was only purchasing shampoo and deodorant -- several hundreds of dollars of hygiene products. This man had coupons. About 100 of them. His bill, sans multiple couponing discounts, (re)totaled around $30 (that's damn near $370 in savings!). The cashier was at a loss for how to respond. "This don't seem right," she said. "Well, if the man's paying, then it's fine," her manager reaffirmed.

The scene immediately reminded me of Adam Sandler's character in "Punch-Drunk Love." All of the Healthy Choice upc codes he traded for millions of frequent flyer miles at a fraction of the cost...

Unfortunately, I don't think I have the patience in me or the knack for reading fine print to go and collect thousands of coupons or product codes.

Guess that means I will be paying my $3 per bottle of shampoo and conditioner, respectively, and buying my own airline tickets then.