Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Grocery Shopping

A week ago Sunday I went to the grocery store. If that's all that happened, I wouldn't have much of a story. But as I parked and walked inside, I noticed something: one of the few cars in the parking lot looked familiar... too familiar. After grabbing a cart I immediately started scanning for someone, and I found him. Ken was just inside the entrance glancing at a magazine. Of course I had to spout some unintelligible mess about us being there at the same time.

And so the two of us proceeded down the cereal aisle, the coffee/tea aisle, the frozen food aisle, etc. Each of us studied the other's picks, questioning when surprised by a choice. For instance, when we passed the boxes and boxes of tea, Ken wondered why I hardly glanced at them. I explained that I tend to buy a bunch of tea at the same time and store it at the house, taking a few out each time I run out of my current selection. Since I still had several unopened boxes at home, I didn't need to buy anymore just yet.

After gathering all of our items, we checked out... self-checkout style. Arriving at the same time gave us a chance to race each other. (I was racing him, but I don't think he cared.) Even though I had several more items than Ken, I still won by a few seconds. He claimed his slow time was greatly affected by the fact that some of his lighter items were not recognized as being "placed in the bag." Excuses, excuses.

What might this occurrence prove? That Warsaw is a small town? That Ken and I think alike? Or did this prove nothing?

16 comments:

Ken said...

Hey, that wasn't an excuse. It was the truth. Darn Kool-Aide packets...

Melody said...

I always run into people I know at Owens. Small town.

Unknown said...

I think it proves that the UScan things are obnoxious...just give me a real person, please :)

Ken said...

I'm addicted to change

Melody said...

People are obnoxious - I love Uscan. Well, I love the Owen's/Kroger Uscan. The ones at Walmart are horrible.

Unknown said...

Well, with real people, at least at the Marsh that I frequent here in Bloomington (yeah yeah I know I'm changing the store), when I forget my card I can smile real pretty at the cashier and he'll give me the discounts anyway. Try doing that with a computer ;)

And Walmart is just horrible on many levels.

Wow, I'm kinda cynical today...sorry kids...no offense intended :)

Melody said...

No amount of pretty smiling has any affect on the cashiers at Owen's. Glares of death don't work any better. Technically they can just type in your name or they can scan their card - but usually they won't (and if they will, they offer right up front).

Walmart is horrible. I avoid it when I can, but unfortunately that's not a lot.

Unknown said...

You're right that Kroger cashiers can be jerks...usually they just say that you can bring your receipt and card back and get a refund...like anyone would actually do that...I have much better things to do with my time. And the Warsaw Owens was so much better when it was actually Owens instead of a Kroger pretending it's Owens.

I started boycotting Walmart several years ago. Lucky for me there's a Target right by my apartment and the Walmart is waaay across town. You guys need a Target in Warsaw.

Melody said...

Warsaw does need a Target. I live a lot closer to a Target now (yay Goshen!) but it's still on the other side of town. And even though Kroger is technically closer than Walmart, it takes longer to get there because the streets here are absurd (boo Goshen!). And ofcourse Kroger is just a grocery and Walmart has - you know, everything. So I still shop there, but I hate it a lot.

Unknown said...

I used to go to Walmart all the time when I was in college (whether it be Warsaw or Marion), but I avoid it whenever possible now. The aisles and aisles are overwhelming. The things I get on a regular basis can be found easily at Owens/Krogers and it's just a few blocks from my house. And I like Owens/Krogers... when it's not busy.

Melody said...

Yeah, I don't know why but Walmart never bothered me in college and always gets on my nerves now.

Of course, I'd never experienced Walmart at all until college. Back home we had a Meijer, but we didn't even shop there much after a while, my mom just always made us walk to Marsh and buy things.

Unknown said...

Such strong opinions on grocery/one-stop-shopping stores!

Melody said...

They're quite the contreversial subject.

Miranda said...

I love Wal-mart, but maybe that is because I always went shopping when I got off work, the only people in the store at 2am were my co-workers!

Unknown said...

Yeah, I guess if Walmart was practically abandoned by all life it might be less of an issue.

Unknown said...

I guess it's a combo of how big the store is and how many people are there. Crowds don't excite me.

At IWU there was Friday Night Live every so often. People would camp outside the doors for a while to try to get a decent seat. Once the doors were opened, watch out. Pushing like no other. I would refuse to push and stepped back a little bit to get out of the way of the craziest people around me. My friends didn't understand this. They would look at me like "What are you doing?" I didn't go very often.