The store that I work at is right next door to a grocery store. Tonight as I left the store to grab some dinner at said grocery store during my break, I was thinking about what I should get from behind the deli counter. Well, they have pizza… and burritos… and jo-jos… but I really like their macaroni & cheese! (In case you cannot tell, I am a health food junkie.)
But the thing about the mac & cheese at this particular grocery store is that when it’s good, it’s really good… but when it’s gross, it’s really gross. This “really gross” state usually occurs when only a few scraps of macaroni are left at the bottom of the bowl. That’s when it’s not quite stale enough to throw away, so they serve it up in their little plastic deli containers and sell it to you in an effort to convince you that it has NOT been sitting out all afternoon and they are NOT just trying to get rid of it so they can wash the bowl—which it has been, and they are. Trust me. I KNOW.
So anyway, I was thinking about all this as I walked next door to the grocery store. And I came to a critical decision—I would order the macaroni, even though it was more expensive, but only if it looked REALLY good tonight. And I thought about it in those exact words: only if it looks REALLY good. With that exact emphasis, in fact: REALLY good. I know, because right as I was thinking those exact words with that exact emphasis, I also happened to be half speaking them to myself—a fact that did not escape the attention of the bewildered-looking man who passed me walking in the other direction. He locked eyes with me mid-”REALLY,” just as I was scrunching up my face and rolling my eyes a bit to emphasize to myself JUST HOW GOOD that macaroni had to be before I would shell out my hard-earned cash to pay for it.
I tried to disguise the fact that I had obviously been passionately talking to myself about macaroni by quickly looking straight at the door of said grocery store, but it was no use. He could not have mistaken that eye-rolling, face-scrunching action for anything else. Of course, it had little lasting effect on either of our lives, but we both walked away from the scene realizing that I was one of those people—those people who talk to themselves in public and then try to pretend that they don’t.
I suppose one has to come to terms with these things at some point in one’s life.
Oh, and the macaroni was gross.
In other news, I hope all of you fellow Americans had a great 4th of July yesterday! (Well, I suppose I hope all you non-Americans had a great 4th of July also, but you know what I mean. 
)
One family that we know has been putting on a 4th of July bash at their house for the past ten million years, which is fine by me, because their parties are always great fun. (With the notable exceptions of the year that Savanna split her forehead open on a swingset and the year that a less-than-legal firework tipped over and started shooting flaming rocks into the crowd—although in retrospect those both make great stories.)
Anyway, this year with my camera I felt like I was seeing the shindig through brand new eyes; I didn’t end up getting a ton of pictures that I liked, but I did have fun. 
You can see my favorite pictures from the day in a set on Flickr here.
July 6th, 2006 at 4:53 am
Erin, you crack me up! I think that’s the best blog story I’ve read in a LOOOOONG time. =D I think because I’ve been caught before too and most people probably have been but were too embarassed to laugh about it. Thanks so much for sharing. This just might be the start of more bloggers coming out about their whispering in public.
July 6th, 2006 at 11:15 am
Hehe… yes, although I hardly ever eat it, I know for a fact that just about all store-bought Macaroni and Cheese is gross. That’s why I only trust my mom (or Margaret) to make it (from scratch). Of course it takes about a half-hour to make it, I think, so I’m guessing it’s not the best solution if you’re in a hurry.
And yes, our Fourth of July celebration was wonderful… a couple of people down the street had packed away some illegal fireworks. Mwahahah!
July 6th, 2006 at 10:56 pm
Heh, funny story.
I enjoyed your 4th pictures. I have enjoyed playing with long exposures over the past few years. I hope to keep playing with it, the shots are always pretty interesting.
July 7th, 2006 at 12:07 am
i like your category for this “silly things”
July 7th, 2006 at 7:33 am
Strange… strange human. Now what did I do with those hotdogs…
July 7th, 2006 at 11:52 am
odd, I thought you would have more pictures of fireworks… but the sparkler pics are very cool
much better than the ones I attempted. Just curious, though- did you use a tripod?
July 7th, 2006 at 3:58 pm
Natalie - As I mentioned at your blog, I’m glad that you enjoyed this so much! Also, thank you for the post you put up at your blog! That pretty much made my day yesterday.
Ryan - I’m sure you’re right about the homemade mac & cheese, but since I rarely have the discipline to make ANYTHING, let alone leave enough time to make myself something to take to work, I guess I will have to stick with the grocery store.
Matt - Thank you! Yes, long exposures are very fun to play with. I know they’ve been done to death, but I can’t help it. I still enjoy seeing the way that light transforms when you leave shutter open a moment longer.
Philip - Lol, thanks. Expect to see more categories along those lines as I streamline my bloated category list.
Josh - I don’t know what to say. Lol.
Ian - Well, perhaps I would have had more pictures of fireworks if all the fireworks we had at the party weren’t the kind that shoot showers of boring white sparks two feet into the air. I wasn’t feeling very inspired by them, so I set up my sparkler experiment instead—and yes, I did use a tripod.