First, WTF to myself – because it’s really Thursday – just barely, but still it’s Thursday because I couldn’t motivate myself to write anything until finally the guilt has built up sufficiently to force me to put fingers to computer keyboard.

I had to go to the grocery store this morning. 

I had to go because I did not plan sufficiently to take into account that this next Friday is Black Friday and I have no desire to leave my house for any reason – even the weekly grocery shopping.

To my surprise and relief, my grocery store of choice, Lucky, was not crazy busy (as I had feared it would be). 

The problem is since the pandemic, for some reason, Lucky has decided customers can only enter from one of its two doors – and it’s not even because there is someone on mask duty – because there isn’t.  They have signs and you enter near the check-out lines, but that is it.  They do have it set up so someone can wipe down the carts – but that person is seldom seen – just the spray bottle and the disgustingly dirty rag – so dirty that you think maybe you’ll pass on having your cart wiped down, thank you very much.

Anyhow, with – for whatever reason – one door being locked –everyone parks at the end of the parking lot closest to the operating door. 

Usually, this is not a big problem for me.  I park further from the operating door and hike in.  It’s not that bad, as long as you can park close to the end of the aisle so returning carts is not a major inconvenience.  (And inconvenience or not, I always return my cart to a proper collection spot.)

Today, however, a large portion of the parking lot is now closed off – for FUCKING CHRISTMAS TREES! 

Is this necessary?  Does Lucky rake in such big bucks from the sale of these forlorn trees that it is worth aggravating its customers?  I mean, they are one block (it’s a big block – but still – only one block) from the fucking Home Depot, which also sells trees, but has a HUGE parking lot which it shares with no one, except a Starbucks, unlike Lucky which has a moderate sized parking lot which it shares with two banks, a gym, a dry cleaners, a CVS, a UPS store, and I forget what else – but you get the picture. 

So even though Lucky was not busy this morning, I had to park in a different zip code from the store; which isn’t so bad going in, but is a major pain in the ass when you are done shopping, have dragged it out to your car and now you have to take your cart back.

But you bloody well can believe, I took my cart back.  (I HATE when people leave their carts blocking parking spots.  If you are healthy enough to drag your shit around a store and out to your car, you are healthy enough to take the fucking cart back you entitled pos.)

So I don’t know if this more-than-mild irritation about Lucky fucking up its already not great parking situation to peddle some skanky trees (you know you are not finding the prime trees at your grocery store – and, given the price of Christmas trees in California, who the hell still buys a real tree?  You can buy a perfectly lovely fake tree for the cost of one real Christmas tree in California – and you won’t have to deal with needles and trying to get rid of the damn thing come January) qualifies for a true WTF situation, but it’s late (or early) and that’s what’s twisting this fat old lady’s panties right now.