there’s a small grocery store about eight blocks from my apartment; catch the link for the name, but we’ve nicknamed it “shitty mark-up” because it’s so expensive. my main issue with the store isn’t necessarily the price; i figure you’re going to pay for gourmet, organic food and when i’m looking for something special or of great quality, i’ll shop there as a treat. they have excellent produce and fish, a huge array of cheese and meats, a nice wine selection. my city is ripe with such quality products, though. whole foods is completely superfluous out here. i imagine a whole grocery store full of organic food in the middle of iowa is a blessing; out here, though, i’m blessed with fresh, local produce in nearly every grocery store.
anyway, today i ended up at shitty mark-up after a brief walk. and my experience there posed a question for my walk home: why are some people so completely uninterested in being even remotely friendly? shitty mark-up has, oh, about 4 trillion types of cheeses, all gorgeous and labeled and stinky. i’ts a cheese-lover’s paradise. i could spend all day there sampling and tasting. cheese makes me happy.
but the woman behind the counter ruined it a little bit for me. i try not to take other people’s moods personally, but when she glared at me with half-opened eyes, sighed and mumbled, “canni helpya with an-thing?” i just wanted to say, no thanks and walk away. maybe it was her slouch. maybe it was her innate vibe of not wanting to be at work or helping me. i should have left; i would have saved about $14. instead i chose comte (from france) and trailshead (from washington). she skulked and sighed again and proceeded to give me the hugest piece of comte, mostly rind, that was waaaay bigger than i asked for.
is it in good taste to refuse a piece of already cut cheese? is it in good taste to look at someone and tell them to wake up? is it even my place to do either? or is the problem me? do i take too long to make a decision? do i take it too personally when someone is such a foul, annoyed mood? all for the love of cheese …