Thursday, September 16, 2010

The Reacharound

Let me begin by saying that this post has nothing to do with prison, nor the love of two men.

I was in the grocery store today, doing my thing, on a hunt for okra because I decided to go to the closest grocery store to my place of employment that might have okra. So this was new territory for me. I wandered, shivering in the A/C, looking for my okra.


I found it in the farthest back corner of the store, and was quite pleased. I am sure my smile looked maniacal. (Trust me people, there is such little I can eat). The man beside me looked, quite frankly, a little afraid.

At first I thought it must have been my maniacal smile. Then I realized I probably looked really really strange rifling through the pre-pakaged vegetables on the highest shelf looking for the freshest ones.

Am I the only one who does this (besides my mother)?

The ole reacharound? A little rifling? A check to find the best shizz?

Those store owners and stock boys know a thing or two. They know if they put the good, fresh ___________ (fill in the blank) at the front, that the shittier stuff will never be purchased. So, in my youth, my mother taught me the invaluable reacharound, in order to get to the best shizz hidden at the back.

Not to be trusted.


I'm sure I looked like an idiot, moving things around, comparing the best 3 out of 4 packages of freakin' okra. And I studied them fiercely, make no mistake.

I've never actually seen okra fresh and/or wholly green like this.

 Then I thought - I need to make this a post and see if I am the only one who does this.

This goes for bread for BF, milk, yogurt, even sneakily stacked apples and random produce. At least being on the taller side allows me to reach places that shorter, elderly people can't.

Then I had an attack of conscience. Am I somehow jumping the line of fresh food entitled-ness? Am I altering the balance of the universe by circumventing standard purchasing procedures? Will I screw myself out of okra because the guy at Longo's will be all like "hmm... looks like this stuff isn't moving... all we have are these nasty super-moldy ones left" (as opposed to the slightly-less moldy ones I was able to secure).

It's usually somewhere between there and here (but closer to here). Did I mention I am allergic to mould?
Am I wrong? More diabolical?

Just sayin'.

___________

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8 comments:

  1. I always reach to the back of the cooler when grabbing a gallon of milk - especially when I am buying at a gas station or convenience store. That might not be the 'proper' thing to do, but I'm not spending my hard earned coin on some milk that's gonna go bad in a couple days!

    SD
    http://simpledudecomplexworld.blogspot.com/

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  2. I always do it with dairy products! They think they are so sneaky by displaying the newest milk with the expiry date out of sight so you can't see that there is fresher milk!

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  3. YAY! Simple Dude and Anonymous have at least made me feel (slightly) less weird!

    Thanks!

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  4. I used to work in a grocery store. Just doing honest work and trying to get a proper rotation so that there isn't a big blob of expired stuff.

    MY BIGGEST PET PEEVE!!?? Grocery stores that fail to remove items from the shelf once they have expired. My best-husband-ever does the Just grabs, doesn't look. Doesn't look for best price and NEVER looks at the best before/sell-by date. I have lost track of how many yogurts, cartons of milk, bags of pre-washed lettuce, and bread that is about to expire or is already past-it's-prime have made it home from the world's record of fastest shopping competition. Yuck.

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  5. Heh. Forget food: my parents taught me to do that with ANYTHING I purchase. Books, movies, clothes, etc.

    But food is particularly important. Yep, yep.

    -Barb the French Bean

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  6. See, mother knows best....lol

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  7. I used to work at a Walmart (and yes, I say that in the tone you'd expect to hear "I was in 'Nam" in) and we absolutely did this. Which is why I also do the reacharound, though I had no name for it.

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  8. *stacy - soooo with you on the not removing expired stuff. I HATE it if I forgot to check. Twice before I bought already expired yogurt by a few days. (You know, back in the wonderful dairy-filled, pre-diet days. Also, BF never looks for the best price. But he's adorable, so it evens out.

    *Barb the French Bean - It's true, I do it for more than produce too. Usually greeting cards as well. I don't want that bent shit! lol

    *Mom - did you learn that from your mom? Is this a generational wisdom, or did you discover this on your own? The crowd needs to know!

    *Elizabeth - please note, this term has other meanings. lol. And hey, I a paying job is a paying job (unless it is prostitution, in which case I would say, be careful!)

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