life in the fast lane

it's been a while, but it's because i've actually had some work to do. things seem to be picking up, which is good for my sanity and sense of ethical duty to actually do something worthwhile before picking up my paycheck. i have to admit, that recent post about bad driving in northern california is being amended here. i took a drive down to irvine and san diego last weekend and the folks on the road with me were just as obnoxious as those in norcal. my mistake.

just to rant about one more thing, while i'm on that topic, i had the most ridiculous experience at trader joe's the other night. hitting the store anytime between 6 and 8:30 is usually a bad idea, but i chanced it. the placed was moderately busy, and there was actually some food left on the shelves. i grabbed my stuff and headed to the checkout line. after a quick survey, i settled on the "express" lane, as the other registers had several people with packed shopping carts waiting in line. i had three people in front of me. at the register, a woman stood digging through her pockets. her items had been bagged and placed in her cart, and she was apparently trying to come up with exact change. after about a minute of jamming her hand around, she failed to come up with the requisite amount needed to settle the tab. so after spending another minute on math problems, trying to figure out how to get the least amount of change back, apparently, she finally handed over some more bills. then she asked the cashier to place plastic bags around her paper bags, a process that is much faster if they aren't already bulging with groceries. so the cashier kindly did as he was told. then the woman received a call on her cell phone. rather than telling the caller to wait a moment, she chatted on amiably as she attempted to gather her spilled coinage from the checkout stand and stuff items back into her pockets. the next customer in line had paid and left by the time she completed the process. as i waited for the last customer in front of me to pay for his bottle of wine, the woman finally tottered through the doors. but she paused outside, seemed to think of something, and then turned back to the store, her phone still clutched to her ear. after checking her pockets, she apparently found what she was looking for, and returned to her cart. after buying a basketload of items, i headed to my car and noticed the same woman, still on the phone, trying to load her bags into a poorly parked mercedes. luckily, i escaped from the parking garage before she joined the line of exiting vehicles. i can only imagine how long it took her to figure out that she didn't validate her parking pass.