the day before Tuesday

On Mondays, I go easy on myself. Had I been listening to the absolute trash I am right now on any other day – I’d disown me. I’d point fingers and make nasty, rash, unreasonably reasonable judgment calls. But it’s Monday. And a Monday after a somewhat unaccomplishing weekend. Okay, so it might not be really cold but I still think central heating would help make things a little comfortable. I can’t stand the chill in the house. The heater in my room isn’t big enough to heat the house. It’s not like the house is huge. Or that the heater is too small. It’s just that errmm..they don’t work for each other. Did that make sense? Nevermind. It’s Monday, I keep telling you – it’s Monday.

I need to understand why all the grocery stores run out of the thing-I-need just when I need it. I mean, how does this work? When I’m not looking for the thing-I-need (it varies all the time of course) then it’s lying there on the shelves in abundance. Then when I need it and run off to get it – it’s nowhere. I was cursing one store for that so I went to another one. Same thing. No stock. I was feeling hopeful, adventurous and stupid – so I went to a third store. Nope. I asked someone where the stuff was and he shrugged his shoulders and said, “Aaya naheen hai..” That’s the problem with the black (or is it ‘grey’?) market products – they’re moody in availability. The supplier dude who runs off to Dubai or wherever to fill up containers may or may not be in the mood to pick up the Trevor Sorbie shampoo and conditioner. He may or may not want to get some washing powder. He may or may not want to get some crunchy golden sweet corn or even some Frosties that aren’t nearing the expiry date. He may or may not want to pick up that normal, available-everywhere-on-this-planet coffee. I’m sipping some crap coffee called Matinal. It’s terrible. I need to get the percolator for the office..get the beans and stuff..brew the damn thing.. But see, I’m not stupid – I know that the instant I switch over to beans and absolutely love that coffee – those beans won’t be available any more. See? I’m not stupid. Hence, I will not get the percolator. I will suffer and drink this vile instant coffee that could possibly taste like dishwashing water.

So what this does is that I land up buying things I don’t need. I mean, see, I go out there with this intention to buy. The mind is all programmed to make purchases. So I buy. And since almost everything on my list isn’t there – I land up with a lot of the Not On The List stuff. I didn’t need the Heinz ketchup in a plastic bottle but I bought it. I also didn’t need the skimmed milk, the juice, the dish washing liquid, the floor cleaner, the soup, the oregano, the Lancashire cheese – but I bought all of it. And after unloading all the bags and carrying all that upstairs to the kitchen and emptying all of it and clearing the counter and then looking at the stocked-with-currently-of-no-use things in the cabinets – I felt absolutely no sense of accomplishment. Excellent. After all that - I was still out of the same everything before going on this utterly useless grocery shopping trip.

*sigh*

Annoying.

That was my weekend. I’m willing to bet everything I own that yours was better.

It’s Monday.

28/01/08; 4:59pm