IT USTA BE…#1
FUN going GROCERY SHOPPING! I used to look forward to a quick in and quick out after work with several bags of fresh, tasty groceries for $25 a bag. Yep. Usta.
Went shopping at 6:45 AM this morning to avoid the crowd and maintain social distancing while wearing my obligatory mask. Tried to walk the isles for exercise (grocery walking) but had to do all the shopping in 15 minutes or less, only to wait in long lines for the only one or two cashiers up and awake at this time of the day. They call it COVID Senior hours. I think of it more like it urban guerrilla warfare.
Had to sort through piles soggy-feeling veggies and spotted fruit, all from outside USA without any indication of what was used when growing them, including pesticides or GMO. Guess you only have to indicate such for USA grown items, but where were all of the USA veggies and fruit? Beats me. Maybe being sold outside USA? Rushed to the Japanese section where the few veggies and fruits still looked and smelled luscious, selected a big, Japanese-grown Korean pear for $8.50, only to learn at checkout it was that per pound, making it my first $18.00 pear ever. It was good. REALLY good. But $18.00?
I’m not a meat eater, but my partner is, so we next visited the meat section. The meat offerings were either substandard grinds or cuts at standard prices (Where did all the good cuts go? With the good veggie and fruit?), the only really choice cuts being Japanese Wagu beef at $120 per pound. Eh? Noticed some frozen uncooked baby back ribs, the unfrozen marinated and cooked kind that used to go for maybe $12.00 a pound, on sale for $26.00 a pound-rack. Forget about the gold standard for currency. It’s now a whole new meat standard.
After checking out with two bags of groceries for a mere $80.00 per 3/4 bag, I was given the opportunity of tipping the cashier at 10%, 25% or 50% as if the grocery store were a haute couture restaurant and the cashier the waiter offering the house wine to complement the bags of groceries. Well, not entirely surprising as the “new” grocery experience is supposed to emphasize individual service over quality, the latter simply no longer available on standard shelves. And, yes, I forgot to call the grocery store maitre d’ (formerly the buyer) aside, placing a discrete stack of bill in his hand and asking to see what’s “in reserve.” Go figure. Okay, maybe this last paragraph is a bit of a stretch (or a peek into the future), but, as an author, isn’t that what you read my books for? Author Raymond Gaynor (aka Actor Daniel S. Janik) signing off for today, leaving everyone to wonder what the heck I’ll be posting on tomorrow (“It Usta be…#2).
The Edge of Madness
Total Meltdown: A Tripler and Clarke Adventure
Quantum Death
Went shopping at 6:45 AM this morning to avoid the crowd and maintain social distancing while wearing my obligatory mask. Tried to walk the isles for exercise (grocery walking) but had to do all the shopping in 15 minutes or less, only to wait in long lines for the only one or two cashiers up and awake at this time of the day. They call it COVID Senior hours. I think of it more like it urban guerrilla warfare.
Had to sort through piles soggy-feeling veggies and spotted fruit, all from outside USA without any indication of what was used when growing them, including pesticides or GMO. Guess you only have to indicate such for USA grown items, but where were all of the USA veggies and fruit? Beats me. Maybe being sold outside USA? Rushed to the Japanese section where the few veggies and fruits still looked and smelled luscious, selected a big, Japanese-grown Korean pear for $8.50, only to learn at checkout it was that per pound, making it my first $18.00 pear ever. It was good. REALLY good. But $18.00?
I’m not a meat eater, but my partner is, so we next visited the meat section. The meat offerings were either substandard grinds or cuts at standard prices (Where did all the good cuts go? With the good veggie and fruit?), the only really choice cuts being Japanese Wagu beef at $120 per pound. Eh? Noticed some frozen uncooked baby back ribs, the unfrozen marinated and cooked kind that used to go for maybe $12.00 a pound, on sale for $26.00 a pound-rack. Forget about the gold standard for currency. It’s now a whole new meat standard.
After checking out with two bags of groceries for a mere $80.00 per 3/4 bag, I was given the opportunity of tipping the cashier at 10%, 25% or 50% as if the grocery store were a haute couture restaurant and the cashier the waiter offering the house wine to complement the bags of groceries. Well, not entirely surprising as the “new” grocery experience is supposed to emphasize individual service over quality, the latter simply no longer available on standard shelves. And, yes, I forgot to call the grocery store maitre d’ (formerly the buyer) aside, placing a discrete stack of bill in his hand and asking to see what’s “in reserve.” Go figure. Okay, maybe this last paragraph is a bit of a stretch (or a peek into the future), but, as an author, isn’t that what you read my books for? Author Raymond Gaynor (aka Actor Daniel S. Janik) signing off for today, leaving everyone to wonder what the heck I’ll be posting on tomorrow (“It Usta be…#2).
The Edge of Madness
Total Meltdown: A Tripler and Clarke Adventure
Quantum Death
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