(November 5, 2003)

I decided to go to the store this afternoon because I was out of eggs and rice milk, and I knew I could get these at Rainbow Acres, the health food store in Waterside Marina shopping center, a tiny (almost strip) mall across from the northern marina piers. (One of these days I'll remember to take a camera with me.) Anyway, Ralph's Waterside Marina Market is in the same mall, and as I drove by, I happened to notice that there were no picketers, and so I figured that the strike must be over. One can't rely on local news to keep you informed on things like that because they are too busy informing about breast enhancers and the latest plastic surgery breakthroughs and new makeup tips. So I decided to go to Ralph's and maybe pick up a few extra items, since I hadn't been there in a while.

The store was not crowded when I entered, but it did seem a bit different - even a bit more spacious than usual. First I went to see if they had Vodka on sale, but the brand I buy was sold out, and so I went next to get some diet grapefruit soda. They had plenty of that for 99¢ per sixpack, and so I bought four. Then I went to look for eggs, and they were all out of dozen egg cartons. They did have some 18-egg cartons, but they had an expiration date of November 6, and I couldn't remember what day today was, and so I passed on those. Anyway, as I discovered later, they would not have fit in the egg compartment of my fridge, and so it's good I didn't buy them. (I also found out later that today is November 5, as noted above!!)

Next I went to look for vegetables, even though I didn't need any. I was afraid I might be out of shallots, and so I bought several of those at $2.99 per pound, and picked up a couple of heads of garlic and a couple of onions. Then I remembered that Eury wants me to make eggplant for her for Monday lunch, and so I got a couple of those, and they looked very nice. Across from the eggplant, they had some new brand of lettuce that was already sealed in a strangely shaped plastic bag that the misters were watering from the outside. I flung off the excess water and added that to my cart as well. The water reminded me that I hadn't bought fish in a while, and so I went to the fish section, and that was closed, although there were some defrosted fish pieces in the meat department, but I will never buy those.

I got a few other items, bleach, plastic wrap, freezer paper, some extra plastic storage bowls (because they were rectangular and stackable), and checked out, realizing that I would still have to go to Rainbow Acres to get eggs and rice milk.

On the way through the parking lot to Rainbow Acres, it seemed that everyone was determined to drive either on the wrong side or in the wrong direction, and I had about three or four near misses with people who waved at me to tell me that they were sorry but still determined to drive in the wrong direction. I felt like I was in Mexico City or at the bumper car ride at Knott's Berry Farm. I told the checkout girl at Rainbow Acres about this, and she said that it was normal for people to drive that way in the Waterside shopping mall. To me it was still a bit strange.

But wait, I forgot the point...I noticed that none of the checkers at Ralph's were familiar to me, and they were not terribly cheerful or friendly the way I am used to the normal Ralph's checkers. The bag girl was a bit more talkative but still not very engaging, and so I am thinking that the strike must still be on, but minus the picketers.

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