August 14th, 2010
Sorry! I don't write much during the week only because so little happens. My routine is basically get up, shower, eat, get ready for work, work, home, some little pastime, then bed. But there were a few highlights. Namely last night.
So I decided, after work, to hit up WalMart for some groceries to pad the household. Some food for myself, pet supplies like cat food and dog treats, and other little bits and bobs. My logic was that, at nearly 11PM on a Friday night, the only turbulence I would run into would be store workers.
WRONG.
Apparently all the tourists in the area had the exact same idea as I. Now, while not as packed as, say, during the daytime, the crowd was pretty substantial, moreso than I've encountered in the past when I've gone at night. Maybe because it was Friday, during the summer tourist season, and... yeah, that's all I've got. And the aisles looked like someone had set off a bomb. I'm aware that night crews work hard to restore the store to some semblance of order at night-time, when very few people go out to shop, so I'm not completely disturbed there. But my GOD... shelves for a good two sets or more were completely empty. I was lucky to get what I needed and what I was able to. I'll have more luck next visit, I'm sure... but it was just bizarre.
And then came checking out. OMG. There were only three lanes open (again, a typical after-hours setup), but it seemed that as I was getting ready to leave, so was everyone else. I ended up spending about 20-25 minutes in line, mainly because people had oodles of groceries, and were choosing to pay for them with food stamps and personal checks. No I'm not kidding. And while I know some people do need food stamps, and while some people are more comfortable paying with checks... did practically every single one of them NEED to be out at 11PM on a Friday night?
The answer was indeed yes.
But wait! It gets better!
So my plan was to be go to WalMart, then get munchies at Taco Bell afterward. After being thrust into WMHell, I decided to just go home afterwards and have something from home instead. So on the way, naturally, I get some jackwad right on my tail all the way down this one poorly-lit stretch of road. My response is, as always (and always WILL be, after this incident), to drive at or below the speed limit. No need to be going 60MPH in a 40 zone, right? So as I'm cruising along with this feller's lights up my tailpipe, another freak cuts out in front of me from a side road. This road does have a stop sign, but the guy basically rolled through and blasted in front of me. He did have enough clearance to pull off such a move, as I was driving the speed limit, but still, I had a chuckle at his gutsiness.
And then, suddenly, the car behind me started flashing. Red and blue.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU
I'm thinking to myself, "What the hell? I'm going 40 in a 40! Am I about to be given a ticket?" So I put on the directional, pull over. The cop car pulls around me and pulls over the guy who rolled through the stop sign in front of me.
So remember, folks, always, always, ALWAYS stop at a stop sign. And be a better person and drive at the speed limit when you think someone is being an asshole tailgating you. Because that asshole might be a cop trying to get his quota by intimidating you to speed, and when you don't, he'll give you a heart-attack by pulling over the guy who rolls through the stop sign and cuts in front of you.
Lesson learned.
Now, off to dinner for me. Chinese food. Not authentic by any means, but greasy buffet fare is a guilty pleasure of mine.
So I decided, after work, to hit up WalMart for some groceries to pad the household. Some food for myself, pet supplies like cat food and dog treats, and other little bits and bobs. My logic was that, at nearly 11PM on a Friday night, the only turbulence I would run into would be store workers.
WRONG.
Apparently all the tourists in the area had the exact same idea as I. Now, while not as packed as, say, during the daytime, the crowd was pretty substantial, moreso than I've encountered in the past when I've gone at night. Maybe because it was Friday, during the summer tourist season, and... yeah, that's all I've got. And the aisles looked like someone had set off a bomb. I'm aware that night crews work hard to restore the store to some semblance of order at night-time, when very few people go out to shop, so I'm not completely disturbed there. But my GOD... shelves for a good two sets or more were completely empty. I was lucky to get what I needed and what I was able to. I'll have more luck next visit, I'm sure... but it was just bizarre.
And then came checking out. OMG. There were only three lanes open (again, a typical after-hours setup), but it seemed that as I was getting ready to leave, so was everyone else. I ended up spending about 20-25 minutes in line, mainly because people had oodles of groceries, and were choosing to pay for them with food stamps and personal checks. No I'm not kidding. And while I know some people do need food stamps, and while some people are more comfortable paying with checks... did practically every single one of them NEED to be out at 11PM on a Friday night?
The answer was indeed yes.
But wait! It gets better!
So my plan was to be go to WalMart, then get munchies at Taco Bell afterward. After being thrust into WMHell, I decided to just go home afterwards and have something from home instead. So on the way, naturally, I get some jackwad right on my tail all the way down this one poorly-lit stretch of road. My response is, as always (and always WILL be, after this incident), to drive at or below the speed limit. No need to be going 60MPH in a 40 zone, right? So as I'm cruising along with this feller's lights up my tailpipe, another freak cuts out in front of me from a side road. This road does have a stop sign, but the guy basically rolled through and blasted in front of me. He did have enough clearance to pull off such a move, as I was driving the speed limit, but still, I had a chuckle at his gutsiness.
And then, suddenly, the car behind me started flashing. Red and blue.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU
I'm thinking to myself, "What the hell? I'm going 40 in a 40! Am I about to be given a ticket?" So I put on the directional, pull over. The cop car pulls around me and pulls over the guy who rolled through the stop sign in front of me.
So remember, folks, always, always, ALWAYS stop at a stop sign. And be a better person and drive at the speed limit when you think someone is being an asshole tailgating you. Because that asshole might be a cop trying to get his quota by intimidating you to speed, and when you don't, he'll give you a heart-attack by pulling over the guy who rolls through the stop sign and cuts in front of you.
Lesson learned.
Now, off to dinner for me. Chinese food. Not authentic by any means, but greasy buffet fare is a guilty pleasure of mine.