What I got

For some people, shopping is a chore: they do it when they must to acquire the stuff they need. For some people, shopping is a pleasure in itself: they do it to feel the joy of owning delightful new things. For me, shopping is a game of strategy, carefully planned out to minimize the resources spent while maximizing my reward. Today I had an especially successful shopping trip (I think I won) and I'd like to share it with you. 'Cause I know you're just as excited about what I got as I am.

I had to venture out to Lanham today to pick up some things someone was Freecycling. Normally I don't Freecycle out as far as Lanham, because it's a small hike (like 6 miles—quite a distance for someone who doesn't like to drive at all), but I got so excited about this offer that I didn't notice the zip code. Normally an offer like this one (two coats in good condition) would get snapped up in an instant, but I just happened to check my email about 10 minutes after it was posted—making me the one who did the snapping! And the coats are perfect! One of them is going to be the perfect "playing outside in winter" coat (I never do that, but maybe having a coat reserved for the purpose will encourage me), and the other is a stylish black fitted coat that will perfectly supplement my two grey coats which are often, respectively, too light and too long.

On my way home, I stopped at Target, because it had been entirely too long since I got a bag of Doritos (the last bag I tried to buy I ended up leaving at the checkout because it had a hole in it). And apparently I was lucky enough to shop the Doritos right in the middle of a design change! I used to collect packaging redesigns—I would actually clean the package as best I could and squirrel it away in a box along with a sample of the new design. But that didn't really appeal to my non-hoarder side, so I ditched the whole collection. I think I'll restart it here on my blog, right now, with the very last of the old-style Doritos bags. The new packaging boasts a new look and a claim of something like "even more nacho cheese flavor," so I can't wait to see if I notice the difference. Maybe they've also intensified the Cool Ranch flavor, which I like, but have always thought doesn't have enough flavoring relative to chip.

Ye Olde Doritos Bag

 At Target, I also picked up two boxes of hair color, on a whim, because they were marked down to $2.48 each. At the checkout, I received a 5$ gift card for having bought two boxes. Do the math on that one!

My next stop was the back alley of Mom's Organic Market, where they sometimes put out boxes of discarded produce for the riffraff to rifle. It makes the perfect diet for one's bunny (and occasionally oneself). I'd been there 3 times already in the last three days (including once when I traveled out of my way, on my bike, at night, through dark woods, hills, and puddles, in miserably cold weather) and came away empty-handed. This time I hit the jackpot. Not only were there boxes full of leafy greens (pretty standard fare) but there were also Roma tomatoes! Somebody's bunny is getting a treat tomorrow! I might even make a sandwich for myself—but nah, that would probably be too much effort. Funny how I will travel over hill and dale fruitlessly and repeatedly in search of free food for a rabbit, but I can't be bothered to take 5 minutes to make myself some lunch. Well, I guess we all have priorities.

Tonight, mine have been well satisfied, and I will go to bed happy.