vaginapagina | My concerns about buying condoms

How do you go about buying condoms?

I'm really nervous about it. I can't imagine just walking into the supermarket and throwing a packet into the basket along with my bread and milk.

Is there a way to go about it discreetly? I don't want funny looks from other shoppers or the cashier (I'm especially worried about what the cashier will be thinking, because I've worked in retail, I know cashiers make fun of people that buy condoms).

I don't know what to do, because if I shop at 3 am when no one is there, the cashier is more likely to remember me, but if I go in the afternoon when it's really busy, more people will see me.

Is it better to go on my own, or take my boyfriend? Is it funny to see a couple buying condoms together?

I've already decided I will go to a supermarket I don't regularly shop in, so if the experience is really embarassing, it won't matter so much. But, should I buy them from a pharmacy instead? Will the sales assistant there be less judgemental and less likely to make fun of me? (And I am talking mentally, to themselves, I don't expect people to physically point and laugh, that would be weird.)

Where do you buy yours and how do you go about it? Is the experience as horribly embarrassing as I'm imagining it to be?