Jenn Martinelli Blogging in Boston

Just before dinner I had the most annoying trip to the store ever.

I had to run to Whole Foods and CVS to get:

Whole Foods

• salad
• marinade

CVS

• soda
• cash back for laundry

When I came home I told robreed and Heather Rose about it and I didn't even remember all the relevant details.

First, right around the corner from Whole Foods, (at Charles River Plaza) some car pulled over on Cambridge Street in an illegal spot and a chick jumped out, called back to the driver, "I'll be right back!" and darted in front of me too close not to be rude, and ran to the store.

So then I go in the store, get salad from the salad bar and pick out a marinade to make the chicken we're having. I walk over to the checkout and am literally already getting in a line when some chick just walks in front of me and plunks her crap down and proceeds to check out.

The reason she was doing it was the line she went to first had just closed. But guess what? Doesn't matter rude bitch, I was already in line. But I had my iPod on and didn't feel like dealing with a confrontation so I just walked to another line. Of course, I made one of my classic crazy faces and mouthed the words fucking bitch obnoxiously but she didn't see me. The best part? She was that stupid chick who was going to be "right back". Also, what was she buying? A bundle of firewood. And if that's all she was buying and she was supposed to be in and out so fast I don't know why she barely beat me to the checkout since I didn't run and got two things not particularly quickly. Whatever.

Then I went to CVS where I was annoyed as hell by the state of the line. There's this somewhat recent phenomenon I've noticed where if there are multiple registers open at places like CVS, fast food restaurants, etc., people refuse to pick a line and just jumble up in a big mess as if they're trying to make one big line so the first person in that line can just go to the next register that opens. Only that causes more problems than it solves because there's no room for it most of the time (if there is, then the store already has a clearly roped off area where you wait in an orderly line) so people are all standing in the aisles and blocking them, and you can't really tell who is where in line, etc. It makes me so angry. A lot of times I refuse to participate and will just walk right up to an open register, skipping the made up line. But for some reason I didn't do that so I had to wait in the stupid made up line and it was a mess and I wanted to kill everyone. Oh, and of course they have 2 self check-out lines there but both of the registers were closed.

While I was waiting to cross the street on my way home there was some car sauntering through the intersection so slowly and in no lane and I couldn't tell if he even saw me or what he was doing. At this point I said out loud, "hurry the fuck up you're a goddamn car". Still have my ipod on so I'm sure other pedestrians think I'm crazy. I probably said it too loud.

Then, around the corner from my apartment, I see this lady who lives in my neighborhood and her dog, and she's letting the dog pee on a bike that someone has, apparently foolishly, locked to a parking meter. WTF lady? I know I was making all sorts of crazy faces then. I actually wish I said something to her because I just can't take people's stupidity anymore.

I'm done with oblivious, careless, stupid, ridiculous people. Seriously. It's inexcusable. By the way, this lady is someone who's constantly outraged about everything going on around Beacon Hill except, apparently, the ridiculous things she chooses to do, like pee on people's bikes.

They have this new program that they're just beginning to introduce, which my friend MisaGracie told me about recently and which we just got to try tonight when we went to the store for our beginning of the month big shopping trip.

You scan your Stop and Shop card and take one of the "shopping buddies" right inside the entrance of the store. You also grab bags then and there. Then you scan everything as you go and bag it at the same time, putting all the bagged items in your cart. That might sound annoying (the bagging part) and it's a little hard to manage at first, but it's nice knowing that when you're done you don't have to wait around for this to happen.

The device keeps a running total for you, which is awesome, and you can also remove items from your cart (and the device) if you change your mind about something.

When you're done you go to a regular checkout line where you just scan a UPC there to tell it you're done, then hand your Stop and Shop card to the cashier. Everything quickly rings up on a receipt that s/he gives you, you pay, and you walk out.

It ROCKS!

I understand that just like the loyalty cards they and other chains already have, this is potentially another way to track what I'm doing.... in what order I make my purchases, etc., but it's so convenient that I don't mind. It saves me waiting in line, it saves me dealing with crazy people, and it's really kind of fun.

Check it out and see if there's a participating Stop and Shop near you!