It’s amazing. I go for a week or two and don’t write anything, and then I produce two journal entries in one day. I’m going to forewarn y’all that this week will be one from hell. I will be in the Myers Briggs certification course Tuesday through Friday and will have to prepare for the test on Friday while continuing to train for my show. And dumb one that I am, I increased my cardio to seven days a week this week. Of all the weeks for me to do this to myself, and I choose my busiest one. Figures. Anyway, I can pretty much guarantee that you won’t be hearing from me until next weekend.

Grocery stores. I actually went to Super Target, which I must say is the best invention in the retail business that I’ve ever seen. I could get lost in there. For that matter, so could my wallet. And both of us almost did today. I had to remind myself of what I truly needed and what was simply superfluous. I nearly walked off with some purple sheets but I decided that might be going overboard in the purple department, as I already have purple in the bathroom, purple in the dining room, and purple in the living room. I’ll go into that in more detail in another journal entry if anyone is interested. Can you guess that purple is my favorite color? And it’s not some god-awful purple. It really does look nice!

There I go, off on a tangent, so let me get back to my original topic. Going to the grocery store isn’t that big of an excursion for me. My entire grocery list is predetermined and doesn’t change hardly at all from week to week. Steak, chicken, tuna, salmon, tilapia, broccoli, red potatoes, lettuce, green beans, strawberries, raspberries, sometimes blueberries, lots of eggs, and old fashioned oats (what is the big difference between Quaker oats and the store brand oats…we’re talking a good $1.50 in price difference here, and it’s not like comparing a Lexus to a Toyota. It’s oats for goodness’ sake!). Occasionally, I saunter down the toiletries aisle and spend decades picking out which scent of body wash I want for the week and which toothpaste will really whiten my teeth the best and which toothbrush not only looks really cool (and has purple on it, of course) but also has the latest brushing mechanism and which razor will finally do the trick and get the stubble to disappear forever (or at least for the day) from my legs. The joys of being a girl. Oh yes, and if I really want to waste time, I study the various nail polishes and lip glosses that have come out and decide if I want to pay $8.49 for that perfect shade of berry.

About the only thing that makes my trip to the grocery store exciting is the chance to people watch. And the really fun part about people watching in a grocery store is that this is your one opportunity to find out almost everything you ever wanted to know about a stranger (and probably more than you wanted to know). Just look in a person’s cart, look at them, and then look back at the cart. You suddenly find out who is on her period, who has a craving for Cool Ranch Doritos, who can’t cook, who is addicted to caffeine, so on and so forth.

And then there’s the flirting that goes on, which brings me to my whole reason of making this post. When you make googly eyes at someone in the store, how on earth do you go about talking to that person? I mean it’s obvious both of you have some interest in the other; otherwise, you wouldn’t be turning down aisles that you have no business being in (like men near Tampax tampons and women in the automotive section…not that I did this…honest…I’m being serious…believe me!). But really, what does one say? How about those melons? (Or in my case, how about that rump roast?) Bad joke. But it’s an honest to goodness topic here. Two people catch eyes a few times after nearly banging carts in crowded aisles, and you know there’s some sort of interest, and then you go about your business and never see the person again. Just because you didn’t open your mouth and speak, that person is out of your life forever.

And this can happen anywhere. Do you ever wonder what has happened to all the people you made eye contact with and seemed to have had some sort of chemical connection before they disappeared and headed into the abyss of their own lives? To take it one step further, how about when you do actually run into that person again? Fate? Coincidence? Is it a sign that you have a second chance to actually make some small talk and find out once and for all if you should have stuck to imagination or if the real thing might be even better?

Interesting, huh? Well, it is to me…lol! Anyway, never think that a grocery trip is just a grocery trip. Just like my ride on the train tomorrow might not be just a train ride. (Hopefully, it won’t be a train wreck! Ha! Okay, no need for the drums. I know it was a bad joke. I’m full of them today, aren’t I?) Yes, you heard it correctly. I’m riding the train tomorrow. I was supposed to last Friday, but if I were to go into why I didn’t make it, we’d be here forever, not like I haven’t already written enough. Anyway, my car…my poor, poor car…seems to not like my 40-minute commute into downtown. Of course, that 40 minutes turned into an hour and even an hour and twenty minutes several times last week. Not fun and a total waste of time! I want to eventually get a new car, so I’m thinking that by taking the train, I can save money on gas, on downtown parking ($80 a month for the parking garage), and on tolls (a good $3 a day). If I do it long enough, I should have a few car payments saved up, and then I can go car shopping. Between the perpetual oil leak (and oil blowing all over the engine), the electrical problem with my signals, the leak in the trunk, the squealing brakes, and the tires that don’t understand the concept of holding air for a consistent length of time, I think it’s time. I’ve been without a car payment for seven years, so it’s time for the monetary suffering to begin soon. I just have to figure out exactly how much money I’m willing to part with in order to have a car that I like, that is safe, and that fits my personality. Any suggestions?

I’ll leave it at that. I’m off to enjoy the rest of my Sunday and stock up on sleep. A catnap sounds good right about now! I love lazy Sundays!
Jodi