the unbearable humiliation of shopping

So I decided to run up to 7-11 to get some food and snacks.
On one hand, this is expensive.
On the other hand, if you're cash-poor and you have a gas card, it's an option you can't ignore.

I make my way through 7-11, picking up sundries like milk, icecream, a frozen pizza. Decide that cereal in one box is prohibitively expensive there (I mean, $4.49 for a box of frosted flakes?), but the assortment of miniature boxes isn't too bad. Pick up some corn chips to replace the ones that I eat with chili as a meal and that my mom rudely ate as snacks. Pick up a tiny box of cookies. Yeah, I'm doing well.

I get up to the register, and as he's checking me out, the clerk says the dreaded words, "Are you single?"

Thinking I'm about to be hit on, I lie through my teeth and reply, "NOPE!"

"This is... SINGLE FOOD."

I lamely explain that it's actually Broke Food, and he replies that people shouldn't shop for broke food at 7-11. I counter with the whole "but you can buy food on your gas card here!" argument. I get out in one piece, but feeling quite sheepish.

I get to the car, realizing I forgot my mother's requested ice cream sandwich.
Well, I don't go back in to get it. I did buy ice cream, after all.
One ice-cream sandwich is definitely BROKE SINGLE FOOD.

the pizza club

I appreciate all the mild outrage on my behalf, but I do have to say that 7-11 Guy wasn't being really jerky, he was being far worse - sympathetic! Avuncular! I can't properly convey his tone. There was a definite ring of pity in it. I didn't feel awful, just... laaaa-haaaaame.

I've spent the morning at the bookstore looking for books for intensefragilty - specifically, I wanted to see if some things in my Amazon cart were available for perusal. Well, they weren't. I found some similar books which I might get instead, and I spent a good half-hour poring over London maps and guidebooks to answer some geographical questions I had (which have very little to do with my story but a lot to do with the research). I did pick up a couple of magazines (Teen Vogue, which is utterly my new magazine vice, and Vogue Knitting and Budget Living). I saw a few interesting books that I'd like to read some other time, mostly writing books. I bought a birthday card for the momster, whose bday is in about a week. I bought heavily discounted Nick Bantock cards.

Also, if you happen to be kevininatutu or nadja, look for a package in a couple of days, probably Thursday or Friday. I hope hope hope it gets there before Jenny leaves. Yikes. Rachel, I didn't send everything that I have for you, but there are a couple of things in there that I promised and that you've been waiting for. If you happen to be vignoche or zaxox, I'll be mailing small packages to you later this week.

Also, it's insanely f**king hot outside. My back hurts. FLCL is pretty cool so far, like Tenchi-goes-pomo. I really enjoyed all the stylistic switches in it - parts are live-action, parts are like reading a manga page, but most is well-drawn anime. I'm going to take a shower and continue watching The Two Towers before I take a nap & hopefully wake up in time for Adult Swim.