A fun game to play...

[venta]

Not a desperately complicated game, but it keeps me amused in check-out queues. I watch what other people have in their trolleys, and try and make guesses about what else they'll have in there, and about their general lifestyle.

In front of me this evening was a girl who appeared to eat quite healthily, but also had a weakness for Haribo. She had lots of the small packets, so I'm wondering if maybe she takes a packet to work each day as part of a packed lunch. Her vegetables belonged in what I think of as the designer category - nicely packaged littlle boxes of potatoes and pre-chopped stir-fry stuff - for no readily obvious reason this makes me assume that she'll be rather fashion-conscious, and some other quality where I know exactly what I mean[*], and am completely unable to explain it. She also had tinned rhubarb. I didn't even know you could get tinned rhubarb.

The couple behind me were more entertaining - they had a trolley half full of fresh fruit, vegetables and lean meat, and half full of things like tortilla chips, salsas and frozen pizzas. And, much though I hate to perpetuate stereotypes, it was very obvious that it was the slim, fashionably dressed girl who'd put the healthy stuff in, and the slightly scruffy bloke who wanted the rest.

Things like this kept happening:
He puts a tub of Doritos salsa onto the belt.
She moves it off and puts it to one side, saying "no, you don't like that"
He replies "yes I do", and puts it back.
She tries to grab if off him, saying "you don't want that"
He confirms that he does, and tries to keep hold of it.
She looks slightly more grumpy.

And he seemed to be paying for the shopping, anyway. Credit to the man for patience, even I wanted to give her a good slap after about two minutes.

I wonder what anyone made of my basketful - 4 bacon chops, 8 bottles of beer, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant.

[*] This isn't really a footnote as such, more a separate train of thought...

I define it as the personality trait "buys pre-chopped vegetables". And I know exactly what I mean by that. Oddly, it doesn't particularly involve laziness, which may well be a factor...

Some time ago, I realised that I use odd phrases to describe particular aspects of personality - usually where there isn't really a word for what I want to say.

For example, there's "can keep a sheet of paper flat". Any of you who know Samantha, she's a good example of that one. Which is odd, because she isn't always good at keeping papers in order. However... in order to describe what I mean, I'd have to start using words like "fussy", and "particular" which to me are rather negative words, and don't convery the correct information.

Similarly, there's a quality which I only ever associate with blokes: that of being long-haired, short and amiable. This is pretty much embodied by Adam H who, although long-haired and amiable, isn't really particularly short. Chris C, though long-haired, amiable, and no taller than Adam, doesn't have this quality. Anyone who can suggest a word which basically means "like Adam H" is welcome to try :)

There's lots more of these phrases, which I only ever use internally, as I don't expect other people to understand what I mean by them (not surprisingly). I don't think I've ever assigned one consciously...

Comments

Guilty

[wimble.livejournal.com]

narenek and I went to Tesco on Easter Saturday, having just defrosted the freezer, and immediately before I went to my parents. 100 pounds, and no vegetables later...
Actually, a sizable chunk of the 100 quid was me buying Dark Side of the Moon and By The Way. narenek bought a bottle of Glenmoraghie.
You see what you're missing by not coming over for food?

[jiggery-pokery.livejournal.com]

I / our family buy packs of pre-chopped, pre-washed veg to stir-fry about 1-2 times per week, FWIW. The advantages are (a) laziness, obviously, (b) variety and (c) it means we don't have to bother with the decisions of what to include in the stir-fry. Now admittedly sometimes I will add further veg (half a pepper or some finely sliced spring onions) quite frequently but it's just nice not to have to think about it.

I guess you can compare it as a purchase to Lean Cuisine pre-prepared freezer microwave meals, except with greater guilt about the amount of vegetables in the diet.

Pre-chopped

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

The other important factor about lazy veg is that you usually get lots of types in a small pack. I generally prefer to do my own cooking, but by the time you've bought 4 or 5 types of vegetables you've got enough to feed an army. Since I've grown out of believing I will use the leftovers before they go off, lazy veg is a very useful thing.

Conclusions

[davefish.livejournal.com]

I wonder what anyone made of my basketful - 4 bacon chops, 8 bottles of beer, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant.
Lardy, but clean.

(Gosh I can be so complimentary at times)

[thegreenman.livejournal.com]

"I didn't even know you could get tinned rhubarb."

You can get tinned anything if you know where to look.

I used to buy tinned yoghurt...(it's a long story)

Grist for the mill

[condign.livejournal.com]

OK, to give you an insight into the mind of a pre-packed stirfry buyer:

I make lots of stirfry, because it's easy, simple to modify, and I can get a broad range of stuff out of it.

Now, if I'm having guests, I get everything fresh: I buy a pack of three peppers, button mushrooms, fresh broccoli, spring onions, some ginger to grind, lemon grass, whatever else. And because I know I'll be shoving it all in a wok before it goes bad, there's no problem.

I buy pre-packed only if I know I'm probably the only one eating it, because it means I'm not left with half of each of the above rotting in my fridge.

So there you go--pre-packed is a sign of loneliness.