Let's all go to the market...

let's all go to the market
let's all go to the market
and get my ankles snapped!

(Robert Frost, I am not. I am aware of that. Also, it's a sure that bet, whenever I go to an Asian supermarket--99 Ranch, e.g.--I will get my ankles clipped by at least one shopping cart. It's also 99% likely that that same person will blame me for getting hit, acts as if nothing happened, or laugh at me as s/he carts away).

So I was in Monterey Park for the weekend, and I dropped by 168 Supermarket (where the VONS used to be, near the corner of New and Valley). My mom told me that this place was pretty much like 99 Ranch; when I stepped in, I immediately thought the place was a better-lit, Asian Costco. I do not remember the old VONS being that huge!

So we started off in the produce section, and whoever designed the layout of said section needs to be fired. There are sections less than two cart lengths wide about the place, making navigation very difficult. I can't count the times people stared at me, claiming I was blocking their way (look, if I could move out of the way, don't you think I would?!?). One guy cracked me up, though; he was so completely frustrated with the situation that he started crashing into other people's carts to get them out of his way. And no, I didn't escape from the produce section unscathed.

The meat/dairy section (at the back of the store) was a lot more wide open. Now that I think about it, the guys responsible for the entire layout of the place should have been fired! The back of the store was a freeway, compared to the side streets of the produce section. The visit to that section of the store wasn't nearly as bad as the trip down produce lane, if you don't count the stock boy who leered at me while I was looking for a carton of eggs that didn't have any broken ones in it.

A few other random thoughts about the grocery trip from hell:

1) I swear the guy standing around in the snack aisle smelled of either bad feet or good cheese.

2) I think 168 Supermarket has a rule stating that nobody in the supermarket is allowed to push the cart normally. I don't recall the last time I saw that many people pulling their carts behind them or by their side. And yes, one idiot, who was pulling his cart behind him, nearly ran the left rear wheel of his cart over my foot. No, sir, that was not funny. I wonder what I could have gotten as compensation if he did run my foot over.

3) Maybe it was because I was shopping on a Sunday night, or maybe it was because I was shopping this Sunday night, but the cashiers at 168 Supermarket made the Post Office look efficient. Each register had about six or seven customers, and three entire registers were closed, out of 8-10. On top of that, two of them were express lanes.

Needless to say, the grocery trip was no fun at all. Something did happen after the trip, though, that was hilarious. Unfortunately, I can't share that with you, lest the authorities come knocking on my door...

Some quick sports thoughts:

- That was an awesome ceremony offered to the memory of Jackie Robinson by the Dodgers, and the round of applause the fans gave to Vin Scully was just as cool. So what if we Dodger fans haven't won a playoff series since 1988? As long as have Vin calling Dodger games, the Dodgers could lose 100 games ever year, and I'll be somewhat OK with it. It's a shame that I didn't appreciate the times when all three major LA sports announcers--Vin Scully, Chick Hearn, and LA Kings' announcer Bob Miller--were alive nearly as much as I should have.

It was also great to hear Mrs. Rachel Robinson give the speech during the ceremony, and to hear stories about her and her late husband during the second inning of the game, which aired on ESPN. I can't imagine what they had to go through as Jackie tried crossing the color barrier into baseball. It's thinking of events like this, and people like Jackie, that remind me that my life isn't nearly as rough as I pretend it is.

To avoid getting all sentimental, I'll leave my thoughts of the ceremony at that. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go ice down my injured ankle, courtesy of a cart that did make contact with my ankle.

(Whew! I got this entry in with 25 minutes to spare!)