The Facts of Life

No, not THOSE facts of life...

Remember the theme song "take the good, take the bad..."?  That was my day today.

It started with the good.  I had lunch with my friend Jess, who I don't see nearly enough.  We met at Minar Palace, and we had good Indian food, which I don't eat nearly enough.  Yummy naan and kofta curry.

Then I trotted off to Trader Joe's.  I immediately ran into my TJ's buddy, who gave me a tasty treat.  Yum!  Can't beat a guy who gives you candy upon arrival.  I picked up exactly three things from produce.  The next thing I wanted was something I couldn't reach.  Okay, I'm 4'6".  I'm used to things I can't reach.  The worker bees at TJ's are used to reaching things for me.  I looked around and none of them were around.  No big; I'll just get the next thing I need.  Uh, it was on the top shelf, too.  Oookay.  On the next thing.  Um.  Another top shelf item.  Le sigh.

On to frozen foods.  SIGH.  Another item I can't reach.  And another.

Okay.  On to dairy.  Great.  The fat-free milk hasn't been fronted (for those of who haven't had the joy of working retail, this means the items at the front of the shelf have been taken by a customer and a worker hasn't yet moved new product to the front of the shelf), which means I can't reach IT, either.

I swing back to produce.  Still no one there.  I call my mom and promptly burst into tears.  "I'm at Trader Joe's and I CAN'T REACH ANYTHING!!!!" 

Now, I've obviously been short all my life.  I generally go shopping with someone because of this issue, and I've learnt to not be shy about asking for help* when necessary (although you'd be surprised how many people will be rude about reaching something for me sometimes, or will just downright  refuse to).  But it's usually just one item in the store.  Or one item here or there.  But for some reason, this was an unreasonable, overwhelming amount of items today, and I become frustrated and I reached a melting point.

Mom talked me down from the ledge, and I was on my way to the Captain's Desk to ask for assistance when my buddy saw me and asked what was wrong (those of you who know me know that my face speaks VOLUMES).  I explained the situation and he followed me around the store and personal shopped for me.  We had a great time, and he even cheered me up a bit.

*Well, there was that time I was with Mom at JoAnn and I was trying to put something back on a rack, and she took it from me and put it back herself.  I said, "I could have done it myself!"  Her reply was, "Yes, I know that.  But I didn't feel like waiting the ten minutes it was going to take."  Then she turned around before she saw the facial expression and possible accompanying gesture.

A Pet Peeve: Literally

My friends know that one of my biggest pet peeves is when people misuse the word "literally."

One time I heard a woman say, "It's literally raining cats and dogs outside!" Uh, no, it's really NOT, ma'am. Cause PETA would be all over that shit.

In the aftermath of September 11th, the news aired a "man on the street" interview in which the person said, "I really feel for President Bush. He literally has the weight of the world on his shoulders." I called my sister who said EXACTLY what I yelled at the tv: Who is he - Atlas???

But I would hope that Olympic sportscasters and colour commentators would know a little better than the average person. But, apparently, that's a bit much for which to hope.

On Saturday, I was informed that one of the U.S.A. speed skaters "literally had a wall of Korean skaters" to get through. I turned to Naomi (who was watching The Games with me) and asked her if that wasn't perhaps against the IOC rules. We then wondered if the Koreans would be building this wall after the race started, if the wall would move around the track with the skaters, and why other countries wouldn't employ this strategy.

And just tonight, I was told that one of the downhill skiers "literally let it all out." Dear God, I hope not. First of all, it's bloody cold on those ski slopes in Vancouver. Secondly, doesn't she need some of that, you know, IN her?

Also, the Oscar update:

The Ocs is doing well. He continues to make urine and today he actually made a tiny little poop! I've never been so excited in my life to see poop! He's still somewhat listless, but he's ambled through the living room a few times on his way into the kitchen for water, and then back under the bed.

Finally, a couple of pics of Felix because he deserves some blog space:

A random pet peeve

I hate it when I ask someone something online and they respond by giving me a Wikipedia link. Yes, I could have Googled it or Wikipediaed it just as well as you did. But I was trying to start a conversation, or I wanted the facts along with your perspective on it.

If I ask "what are glumpkes?" I don't just want a recipe that you found online. I want to know if you like them or you don't like them. I want to know that you use the recipe your great-grandmother brought with her from Poland. I want to know this was the first thing you ever taught your son to cook.

Admittedly, there ARE times when I'll respond by giving a link, but then I'll FOLLOW IT UP with my thoughts on the subject. Because this is what I'd like you to do. I mean, almost any question I'd want to ask these days I could just look up. I'm asking YOU for a reason.