Grocery Shopping Observations

Just came back from dropping an obscene amount of money grocery shopping. Anytime I grab a cart instead of the basket I usually limit myself to, it's way too easy to throw stuff in. This time, I had a mission to stock up on soup and frozen meals (lean cuisines and lean hot pockets) that are perfect for lunch at work, fruit as a healthy snack, and yogurt and oatmeal to eat at work. Plus, I bought a roast to take a stab at making pot roast tomorrow. So it added up but there should be enough food to last me the rest of the month.

I hit Stop & Shop tonight as I haven't been there in a while. It's a slightly longer drive than the two Shaws and the two Whole Foods that are near me, but it definitely offers the best variety and prices. I knew shopping tonight would be a pain because people are always out in full force to stock up before a snow storm (like we'll be snowed in for days). Plus, I hate shopping with a cart because it makes it exponentially harder to navigate around the store. Some of the annoying stuff I observed tonight:

• People who eat while they're shopping. This goes beyond tasting a grape for freshness. I even understand mothers who are feeding little kids who can't wait (although I think it would be a good lesson in patience for kids to have to wait until they get home to eat stuff from the grocery store). I'm talking about the lady sauntering down the aisle while dipping her hand in a box of crackers. It just really annoys me for some reason.
• People who hold conversations in the store and stand at the entry way for an aisle. And despite the large numbers of people who stop, glare, say "excuse me" and squeeze by, they continue to stand there. There were two groups of people blocking the pasta aisle tonight and one of the guys talking just stayed right in the middle of the aisle. I kept glaring at him every time I encountered him in another aisle.
• People who leave their cart unattended right in the middle of an aisle. Everyone understands that it's easier to leave a cart and grab something quickly but why leave it in the middle when you obviously know it will be in the way?
• People who crowd you at the registers. Checkout was surprisingly unbusy (around two customers per line) and the Asian couple who lined up behind me were visibly impatient with how long it took me to load the checkout counter's conveyor belt. Even when it was clear that I had no room to load things until the customer ahead of me finished checking out. And they proceeded to stand right next to me while I handled the financial aspect of checking out, uncomfortably close as if it was going to get them to register even sooner. A good rule of thumb wherever you are in public, give people some personal space. Seriously.

So to sum up my shopping trip, people are annoying. Big surprise!