Insights from my afternoon trip to the grocery store

People scare me on the road. I know what that makes me sound like, but I'm serious. People scare me. Maybe it's my neighborhood, I don't know. There's one large-ish road I drive all the time to get to/from home, it's 6 lanes across with a grassy median. People like to run across it during heavy traffic. Just because. What's that, intersections? Crosswalks? I guess they never heard of those. They prefer playing real-life Frogger. Then there's the guys who run across one side of the road, then walk up the median for a while. Except they'll do it right on the curb. As in, inches from the street. And I'll just be waiting for them to a) decide to run across right in front of me, or b) lose balance and fall into the road right in front of me. USE THE FRIGGIN SIDEWALKS, PEOPLE! Although I guess at least I should commend them on walking, rather than driving everywhere.

Then comes what is perhaps my biggest pet-peeve ever: people who run red lights. You know, when people decide "What the heck, my light'sonly been red for 5 full seconds, obviously I still have time to go through it!" The people who, when my light has already turned green, are STILL entering the intersection from the wrong side. Normally this is just annoying, as it tends to happen in the second or 2 between when I notice the green light and when I actually start to drive, and so I'mstill stopped and not in danger of getting hit. But every so often, like today, some jackass will decide he should make that left-hand turn into my line of driving when MY light has been green for several seconds, and when the guy next to me's already halfway through the intersection, and at least I had the wherewithall to honk at him repeatedly. It's one of the few times I'm thankful for slow reflexes (that keep me from going right away).

(The red-light-running, btw, has always bugged me, but it's risen to a passionate hate level since moving back to the US I think because I NEVER saw anyone run a red light in Europe. EVER. Maybe b/c all lights had cameras to catch, and heavily fine, anyone who did. Gosh it'd be nice for them to implement that here, too).

Safeway shopping carts are nasty. At least the Safeway closest to me. I don't shop there often, I guess. I have a shopping cart cover for D, but I haven't used it much recently as he seems more stable sitting in a cart and I don't normally see a need. But these today were so filthy, gimpy-looking, and most didn't even have a working strap, so I walked back to the car to get the cover out and used it.

It's amusing to me how grocery store baggers seem to have no idea what to do with cloth bags. It's also amusing how living in Europe has totally changed my idea of a "big" grocery store trip. Loading up 3 cloth bags seems like SO MUCH STUFF.

Lastly, ad I know this is blasphemy to say in some parts, but Safeway actually makes some pretty good French bread. IT was even still warm when I picked it up.