Another Everything... But Somewhere Else

*This Field Note was taken in a location outside of the state of New Mexico.

When I walk in the door, it smells of fried chicken.  When I reach the deli section though, the display cases where the fried food is kept is empty.  The silver shines like it's just been cleaned.  Behind the counter I can hear people cleaning.  There's water running and spraying something down.

A guy is walking towards me quickly.  He's talking on the phone, and in a hurry to leave.  He's walking towards the door.

There's another lady, Army Green, on her phone.  She's in front of the produce- the cold section where the broccoli, and bagged salads are.  She has a dark green shirt on and jeans, but she looks comfy.  She's moving slowly as she pushes her cart to the end of the produce.  She has a mini cart instead of a full sized shopping cart.  In the bottom section there are a lot (at least 8) boxes of saltine crackers.  There are a few other things in the top basket, including celery.

Over in the main aisle there is an older couple standing to one side.  They're talking, and trying to figure something out.  They're looking at a display of soup cans, but I can't hear what they're saying.  A moment later they turn down the aisle, which oddly enough, contains the store's soup selection.  The old lady picks up two cartons of chicken broth.  They exchange a few other words, but I still can't pick up on anything they're saying.  When they leave, I notice that they have two loafs of bread and a large tub of ice cream in their cart.  I briefly see Army Green again too.

I browse for a few moments, and then head over to another section of the store.  It's towards the front, near the checkout.  I see the old couple again, and they're using one of the self-checkout lanes.  They're not scanning anything, instead they look around, almost as if confused or in need of help.  The light above their cash register is blinking red, and I can see an error message that has popped up on their screen.  As they wait for the problem to either disappear or be solve, the lady begins opening up some bags.  She's brought her own shopping bags to take home the items.  Her husband places an item (some sort of produce) on the register to weigh it.  That must've been the problem- figuring out how to weigh the produce.

Back in the food section, I walk down the aisle with the potato chips.  There is a guy, Big Joe, who's very tall, at least 6'2" and wearing jeans and big black shoes.  He's African American, and wearing a long sleeve blue shirt.  He's carrying a shopping basket with him, and it's filled with drinks.  He reaches to grab a bag of the generic chips, but then stops.  Then he goes for them again, and this time they make it to the basket.  Almost immediately, he pulls them out of the basket and puts them back on the shelf.  He continues to ponder his chip decision.  He shifts the basket to his other hand, as I imagine the weight of the drinks were heavy.  He grabs another bag of the generic version (the exact same chips he originally chose, but a slightly smaller bag), but then puts them back again.  He finally grabs the large bag of generic chips, the very first bag he picked up and puts them in his basket.  he leaves the aisle.

I walk out to the main aisle and take a few steps before stopping.  Right inside the drink aisle, I see a little boy playing with packets of grape Kool Aid.  He notices that I'm watching him and stops to look at me.  He puts the packets of drink back into their box and puts it on the shelf.  He runs down the aisle, towards who I assume are his parents down at the other end of the aisle.  About half way down the aisle, he looks over his shoulder and looks at me as he continues to run.  He meets the group at the end of the aisle, and they proceed to move on in their shopping trip.

In the main aisle between the food section and the pharmacy area, there is a man wearing a sports jacket.  He's carrying a baby that's probably close to one year old.  She's dressed in all pink.  He walks up and down the aisle, peeking his head over to look down each of the aisles he passes.  He's looking for something.  I notice that the baby has a box of dryer sheets that she's holding.  On about the man's third trip down the aisle, the baby squeals, but it doesn't provoke a response from the man.

In the soda aisle, there's a worker stocking drinks.  He's cutting plastic off of a pack of flavored water.   There are a couple pairs of people on this aisle.  One guy and his son are looking at soda.  The son asks, "Can we get this?"  The dad says no, with his reasoning being that it "tastes nasty".  There's a another couple, Skinny Blonde, and Wine Guy.  Wine Guy stops to look at something, but Skinny Blonde keeps on moving.  She eventually stops about half way down the aisle to wait for him.  They end up leaving and going to the next aisle over, but I see them there too.

I notice that Wine Guy has his horseshoes on.  He tells her Skinny Blonde something about the kind of salad he likes.  I decide to keep moving.

I pass two African American girls in another main aisle.  The only thing they have in their cart is bread rolls, but I find it odd that they have those in their cart, but are going towards the food section.  The older lady is pushing the cart, and a younger one is walking behind her.  I wonder if they're mother and daughter.  They're talking about having enough forks and how it would be cute for their "little party".  The younger girl in the back laugh's a little.  She's eating an ice cream treat from a fast-food restaurant.

Close to the home section, I see Wine Guy and Skinny Blonde again.  I can hear them a little better this time.  They both have very Texan accents.  Their cart is full of food, and they have a large package of dog food on the bottom too.  I look at their hands to see if they have wedding rings on, and I don't see any.  Skinny Blonde says something along the lines of "I don't see any," but Wine Guy is to the rescue!  He tells her, "there's another spot we need to look. . . let's go back here."  I turn around to watch them walk away.  Wine Guy is pushing the cart now, and he's walking quite a bit in front of Skinny Blonde.

Now that I'm on the opposite side of the store, i notice that's it's a lot quieter and cleaner.  There are a lot of holiday displays set up too.

At the check out, I choose an aisle that's empty.  It's hard to see if the store associate is even there when I first walk up.  There's a male worker, probably a manager walking past her register.  As I put a couple items on the counter, the first words out of her mouth are shouted over to the manager.  "What about my break?"  He replies, "Carol's getting it", but then he hesitates a little.  He mumbles- "uh, yeah", and then says something into his head piece.  The worker, Asia, continues to help me.  She doesn't seem happy though.  For some reason, I take special note of her wedding ring that's jammed on her fat finger.  She finishes my transaction, and there's another person behind me she starts to help.

A Collection

When I come in, it's very loud.  I hear a baby crying.  There's lots of chatter and noise that it's hard to pick out specific sounds.  I notice the Christmas decorations, and try to mentally calculate how long until Christmas.  I decide it's too early for decorations.

I begin walking around.  There are a lot of couples walking too, as I find myself consistently behind at least one.  They tend to walk slowly and have their arms around each other.  The first three that I see don't even have any shopping bags.  Even when I get close to them, it's still to hard to hear them say anything, if they even talk at all.

I pass a lingerie store and look into it.  There are three men standing right at the entrance.  They're equally spread across the front of the store.  It's very weird.  Two of them have their arms crossed. One is wearing baggy clothes and a hat. They don't seem like the kind of guys that would set foot in there.  They look awkward and misplaced.

I walk into a women's clothing store.  A sales associate immediately approaches me.  What she asks is normal, but her tone and pace of speech makes it very weird.  She asks me if she can help me find anything, but I tell her I'm just looking.  After a longer than usual pause (almost as if she needed extra processing time), she says ok.  She then decides to inform me of her name and tells me "We also have X and Z here today if you need any help.  I thank her and move to another part of the store.  In the back it seems like people are catching up with one another.  Guy One asks the other how work is going.  Guy Two tells him, "It's good until I have to leave."  Their conversation continues, but it's hard to hear it all.  The ladies jump in, "My dad always says. . . "  They talk about pecan trees and producing them.  They say something about all he makes is anything with pecans.  Just a moment later Guy Two and his wife and child begin backing up.  He tells Guy One's group, "We'll let you guys go"  Guy One tells them it was nice to see them.  I see Guy Two again in the store a few moments later.  They're checking out.  Guy Two is pushing a stroller.  The cashier is explaining some type of rewards system to his wife.  As soon as she's done, they start walking out.  They also have a shopping bag full of stuff from a children's clothing store.

I exit the store too and keep walking.  At one of the cell phone booths, I can tell that the employee is talking with a group of friends that lean against the counter.  The way they're all talking and laughing, I know it's not a business related visit.

In another store I see a girl in a Longhorns hoodie.  She browses through the clearance section.  She ends up gathering two or three items, but there isn't anything significant to observe, so I begin walking again.  When I exit the store I end up behind two girls.  They seem to be total opposites.  One is Girly Girl, assumable by her bedazzled hoodie and a perfect hair style.  She has very very short shorts on. It's surprising to me because it's cool outside.  The other girl, Tom Boy, is dressed just like her name.  she has on boyfriend style jeans, loose fitting, and her hair is plain.  I don't think she has any make up on.  They walk together for quite awhile.

There's a station in the middle of the walkway with several candy machines.  You have to put a quarter in to get the candy.  There's a lady with a little boy stopped here.  I was unable to see if the woman bought him any candy, but when he walks to the next machine, she says, "No, let's go to the candy store."

Close by, I also see a young boy, around the age of 11 that's opening a bottle of orange soda.  It starts to spew out and he closes the top and puts it into his mouth.  The bottle is at least 1/3 foam, and I wonder why he even opened it in the first place.  After he gets it shut I see him open it back up a little bit again and put the top in his mouth.  The distance between us closes as I keep walking.  He knows I'm watching him, and as I pass he gives me a grin.

In one area there are people sitting around on the benches and the side of planters.  I stop to sit down too.  One young adult girl is sitting with an older lady eating ice cream.  There are to other guys sitting on the bench next to them.  Neither group talks much.

One guy, Flame, is in a fire department shirt and sits down with his son next to me.  Shortly after they sit down the little boy gets up and starts walking really close to a lady with short blonde hair, Sub Mom.  At first it doesn't look like he knows her, but then they walk together into a store.  Flame gets out his phone.  I notice that a teenaged girl has sat down with him.  She has a shopping bag from a popular teen clothing store.  She must have sat down when the little boy went with Sub Mom- like a kid swap.  Flame stands up, turns around towards the plants, and puts in a big dip of tobacco.  Then he sets back down.

An old woman with grey hair and a cane is behind me.  After a few moments of sitting there, she gets up and moves to the other side, finding a new spot next to me.  She's silent, but I watch her as she messes with her hands.

As soon as the old lady with ice cream gets up from the bench, Flame and his daughter move from their seat over to the bench.  Immediately their old spot is taken by a group of three people.  The guy, SJ is telling Mom 5.0, "Oh yeah, she had a blast."  A couple more people walk up to join their group.  They look different than the other though.  They have much lighter skin and a different clothing style.  SJ picks up the little boy that it's in the group.  He cradles them in his arms.  He sweetly talks to him. At one point they talk about growing up and SJ says that he doesn't want to do that.  Then SJ starts playfully teasing him about having a mustache.

Soon Sub Mom and her son come out of the fancy store.  They make eye contact with Flame and the daughter but end up going into another nearby store.  Flame and daughter stay put.

It becomes less converted for a moment.  It seems like everyone is people watching as crowds walk past the seating area.

Then Mom 5.0 gets on the phone.  She's asking a question and explaining that they want to eat there, but the little girl doesn't want that the of food.  She wants to know if they can take her something to eat at the restaurant.  She reports back to the group after the call that they said it would be ok.  As I stand up, she's getting on another phone call.  The two kids are starting to try to climb up the pillar.  She tells them to stop before finishing her new phone conversation.

The last thing that I note is that there's a different employee at the cell phone booth than earlier.  Different employee and no more friends.

Repeat Offender

I walk into the familiar store.  It smells of popcorn from the cafe.  I make a sharp left to head to the side of the store.  I stop to listen to a small group of people.  I'm not able to count exactly how many there are before I step off to the side to hide myself in a nearby aisle.

A guy, Deep Voice, asks, "Are you ready?  Let's go."  A woman, N1, replies, "No, let me do one more round."  Then the group starts saying goodbyes.  It sounds like they were two different groups that had met up to chat.  You can hear a big kissing sound.  MUAH!  Another lady, N2, says something about a restaurant, but she's too quiet for me to understand anything.  One of the other people chuckles at what she says.  N1 asks her, "So it's just gonna be us or?"  N2 explains, "No, she invited some friends."  Someone is trying to get someones attention, it sounds like someone younger talking. They repeatedly say the name Miranda.  I back up a little bit to try to see what's going on.  They're right next to the aisle of feminine items, and someone is waving a box in a little boys face.  Deep Voice chimes in, "You're traumatizing him!"  N2 starts walking away from the group.  She says "See you tomorrow," as they part ways.

As I approach the toy section, the first thing I hear is "We're definitely getting this."  It's a little girl talking.  Another one speaks up, "Oh, it has a place to open up and put make up."  They continue to talk- "The doors open just like a real one." "We're definitely getting this"  "Mom, can we get it?"  Mom says, "No, not right now," as she emerges from the aisle.  She's wearing a pink hoodie.  The girls continue talking about what ever toy they're obsessing over- look at this and look at that.  "It even sounds like it"  One of them is trying to get the other's attention.  "Look" she says three times.  Mom tries to get their attention too by saying "girls" in a way that's trying to provoke them to get up and follow her.  I walk around and enter the aisle the girls are on from the other side.  One is about 7-8 and the other is 5-6.  All of this talk is about a pink car for a doll.  As soon as I get there the younger of the two who was already on the floor slightly stands up and bends down to push the car down the aisle and around the corner.

In a section full of sale items a girl rushes past me trying to get her mom's attention.  She calls out, "Mom!"  LMM acknowledges her, "What?"  "For Kaitlin. . ."  When it does appear that LMM is going to respond, she further explains, "Because she's obsessed with socks."  LMM says ok, meaning that it's ok for her to get them, and the girl tosses them in the basket.

Right next to the sock girl an employee is organizing cat litter on the shelf.  He pulls off all of the stickers that were on the shelf to mark that things were on sale.  We both hear a loud noise.  He looks over his shoulder and then disappears, I assume to go see what it was.  There's another employee picking up a messy area of the sale shelf.  Then I see part of the big group from the beginning of my visit.  I know it's them because they say the name Miranda again.  There's for sure N1 and Deep Voice too.

Right next to the clearance/sale section is the holiday section.  There's two college students- they appear to look that age, and have college apparel on.  They're obviously a couple because they're hugging and touching each other.  The girlfriend says that she hates Christmas and that it sucks because it's a lonely holiday.  The boyfriend, who seems like he's a very energetic person (he's got a loud voice and looks very ecstatic) tells her that he likes christmas because he has poor lighting in his room and he gets to pick what color is going to go on the tree and lighten it up.  Then he make some comment about how it's better than Thanksgiving because he gets the good food without having to socialize with family.  There's another comment about how most of their family is white, but I don't understand it and they walk off.

In another aisle there's a woman looking at coffee.  There's a guy moving slowly behind her.  She tells him, "The only thing that's decaf is this Donut Shop one".  I expected the guy to say something but he didn't.  After a while of silence I back up so that I can see the aisle again.  There's other people now, so maybe that explains why they were being quiet.  Both of them continue to look at coffee.

I walk down another food aisle, but I make it quick, and didn't pay much attention to the people that were there.  Two girls were there, presumably a mom and daughter.  The daughter, who's at least high school or college age seems to be complaining about the store.  The mom says to her that she wasn't going to go to the other stores, basically implying that her daughter needed to just suck it up, I think.

When I get to the check out area, the girl in front of me is looking at her phone.  In the lane to my left there are two girls trying to do funny faces and sounds for a baby in the cart.  The baby seems to be upset and is about to cry.  They're trying to keep him/her happy.  The adults shuffle around the cart, and I realize that it's not two girls, one of them is a guy.  He has very long black hair.  The girl has short hair though and a beanie on.  Her teeth aren't straight either.  I take note that the baby is in the built in baby seat on the cart.  I think that's unusual- parents typically bring the babies in in their own carseats and set them in the cart.  I look away for a moment but then I hear the lady say, "Ah!  That was my eye you little shit."  She looks to the guy, and tells him, "He just kicked me in the eye."

It's my turn to check out.  The employee asks if I found everything ok, and I say yes.  We don't talk again until the process is done and she's telling me to have a good night as she hands me my receipt.  As I walk to the door I pass the cash register where the couple and the baby are checking out.  They're only buying one item, a set of baby PJs.  They're briefly talking about them with the cashier, saying that they are cute.  Their total comes to $12.90.  That's the last thing I hear before going out the door.

Another Observation

I pull into the parking lot and drive down one of the rows to find a parking spot.  A man, Brown, is pushing a shopping cart from the corral.  It's the kind with a kids car on the front.  I find it odd that he chooses that cart because he's all by himself.  But then I realize he's pushing it over to a car where a woman, Flower, is standing with the back door of the car open.  She pulls a young boy out of the backseat and puts him in the toy car at the front of the cart.  I turn into a parking spot to park.  By the time I get out of my car and walk towards the entrance, they're walking through the door.

When I walk in I notice that Flower and a few other people that I had seen enter only a moment before myself, are standing in the entrance where there are displays set up of items that are on sale.  Three different woman browse through the small area.  There are also flowers and balloons.  As I'm walking in, Brown is going back outside to get another cart.  I wonder why he does this.

I walk towards the back of the store.  I see a little girl with a butterfly dress on.  She's probably 7 or 8 years old.  Then I see her mom, wearing a light blue polo.  They're looking at bottled Pepsi on the end cap.  They stand there and look at it a lot longer than I would have expected them to. The mother verbally notes that they have wild cherry Pepsi.  Then she makes a comment about sugar.  I think they're looking for a specific type of Pepsi.  While I wait on them to decide what they're doing with their Pepsi decision, I notice that there's an older couple right next to us looking at the red meat.  There isn't anything in their cart yet, and the woman is looking at the sale ad.  Pepsi Girls leave, and I don't see anything interesting with the old couple.  Plus, I've been standing in the spot for too long so it's time to leave.

The store isn't as busy as I thought it'd be.

I find another aisle with people.  They're at the opposite end.  As soon as I turn, another woman right behind me turns onto that aisle as well.  She walks much faster than I do.  Halfway down the aisle she throws her hand up in the air (like she just don't care).  Just then, two more people come up behind me in the baby section.  They look rough and ragged.  The girl has hair that's pulled up, but it's not smooth- pieces of it spring up on the top of her head.  I look down to see two tattoos on the back of each of her (Rough Rosie's) legs.  It's hard to look at them long enough to tell what they are because she moves around quickly.  She's kind of jumpy.  The guy Rough Rosie is with grabs a pack of formula/milk off the shelf.  She tells him, "No, not that one".  He responds with, "Yeah, it's the same thing."  She argues, "No, he don't like that one."  I glance towards the other end of the aisle.  The enthusiastic lady knows the people at the end.  She threw her hands up to get the attention of the baby that was sitting in the cart.  Rough Rosie and her man start to walk away, but the guy quickly turns around.  He asks her, "Do you have a bottle for it".  I'm not sure what her response was, but they come back into the aisle, and she quickly grabs a single bottle.  They leave.  By the time that I get done watching them.  The family at the other end is leaving the aisle.  I walk down there.  It looks like they were spending their time looking at the books and magazines on the shelf.

A few aisles over there are three women.  At a first glance I thought that they all knew each other, but I figure out that I'm wrong.  One immediately walks away from the other two.  I stay around to listen to the two left.  They don't have anything in their cart except chips.  For a while it's quiet between them.  One of them starts naming off the things they have- Frito Chips, Lays, Family Size.  I think I hear the other one address her as "mom".  She tells her that it doesn't matter, they're just chips.  She continues to ask for input and name off options.  Then she starts comparing prices.  A phone starts ringing.  Mom picks it up.  I assume the person on the other end of the line asks what she's doing, because she says "Nothing, just came to the store really quick."  After a few "oh's" and "ok's" they're off the phone.

On another aisle I see a little girl with an old woman, probably her grandma.  The little girl reaches up to grab something off the shelf.  She has to stand up on her toes.  She finally reaches it- it's a pack of Oreos.  She drops the package but picks it up quickly and they leave the aisle.  I follow them.  They walk all the way to the other end of the store.  It's a long walk.  On my way, I see the butterfly dress girl and her mom again.  We get to the end of the store and Grandma and her little girl decide to turn back around.  I stay where I'm at.

I see Flower and Brown again.  They haven't gotten very far through the store yet.  They've met up with another couple.  The four of them stand next to the apples and talk.  They still have two carts, plus their friend's cart now.  Their second cart is still empty.  As I watch them more closely, I realize how large they are.  Both of them are definitely overweight.  They end up parting with their friends and continue to browse.  At one point Brown holds up some type of produce to show Flower.  She approves, and says, "Yeah, that's fine."  I realize that their cart with the toy car on the front is almost full!

I walk in another direction.  I walk past the fish section and realize how badly it stinks.  I've walked past it at least three other times, but now it seems to smell much worse.

In another aisle there's an older woman deeply looking over a few items on the shelf.  She has three kids with her- one girl and two boys.  They all look to be about the same age, about 7 years old.  After deciding on what she wants, the woman puts it into the cart.  There isn't anything else in there.  She asks, rhetorically and somewhat to the kids, "What else do we need?"  She reminds herself, "We got milk yesterday . . ."  They turn around and start to leave the aisle.  The woman playfully says to the little girl, "I'm going to have to the other store all by myself."  The girl responds, but I can't hear what she says.

I walk around more.  I see Flower and Brown again.  They've moved a whole ten feet since I last saw them.  Their little boy in the car starts making faces.  It looks like he's getting a little anxious.  There's another lady next to them getting meat.  Behind them is a store employee waiting patiently to stock up the shelf.  Everyone is in the way.  Flower's little boy tries to get her attention.  She acknolwedges him, "What, baby?"  He doesn't say anything so she goes back to talking to Brown.  It doesn't look like they're moving anytime soon, so I decide to leave.

On my way out I pass the checkout.  I notice that the lady with three kids only had two items as they wait in line.

I walk out the door.  

Everything Store

As I approach the entrance there is a guy walking out with a huge case of beer and his dog.  HIS DOG!  He took his dog to the store with him?!  The dog doesn't have anything to signify that it's a service dog, and there's no apparent reason that the owner would need one.  Interesting.

At the bakery there are four girls looking at the cake book.  One of them says, "I like this one."  Another says, "that is cute."  The teenaged girl has headphones in.  There's also the Mom, and a younger girl, probably about 6 years old.  The fourth woman is an oddball age, and I'm unsure of what role she plays in the group.  Mom says, "Oh, that's pretty."  The youngest girl starts walking off, but as soon as the rest of the group leaves in another direction, she turns around to catch up to them.

A few aisles over two workers are stocking the shelves.  The woman has a pink clip in her hair.  Pinkie is trying to find the right place on the shelf for a certain type of pasta.  Both the workers inspect the boxes of pasta as if they're foreign objects, looking at all sides of the box.  Pinkie, with a huge lack of confidence, mumbles "this goes here" and she bends down to organize the shelf.  A moment later I notice that her the other worker is completely moving one section of the pasta.  It looks like it was put in the wrong place.  I wonder how hard it can be to organize pasta.

I walk down the soda aisle.  There I find the Quiet Couple looking at 12-packs of Pepsi.  They don't say anything, and they look a little akward.  After a few minutes of observing them and waiting for them to do something, I realize that they aren't going to speak.  They eventually walk down the aisle and leave.  I leave in the opposite direction.

As I come near the end of the aisle, I notice a shopping cart overfilled with containers of Hawaiian Punch.  The cart is filled to the max!  There's another cart right next to it in which Shrimpy, another store employee, is filling with boxes of saltine crackers.  He gets the cracker cart filled and starts to walk away, he tries to pull the Hawaiian Punch cart but realizes it's to heavy and leaves it there.  I follow him to see where he's going.  He turns onto an aisle just a few feet away from where he was loading the cart.  Then I realize he's re shelving things.  The crackers that were once on the endcap display are now being put in their proper place on the shelf.

I move onto the next section.  As I'm walking down one of the main aisles, a middle aged couple is walking towards me.  Curly Haired Wife tells her husband, "No, it's right here babe."  They enter into the baby clothes section.   Curly practically repeats herself, "It's this section right here."  At first they just wadner through, and I wonder if they're looking for a certain kind of clothing.  Curly makes comments like, "oh, this is cute."  Then it looks like they found what they were originally looking for.  They stop to look at jeans.  Husband ends up on his keens looking for the right pair and size on the bottom shelf.  Once they find a pair that they like, he gets back up and they continue browsing the section.  Then Curly realizes that the jean shelf/display has another side to it.  She tells Husband, "I think we got the boys kind."  At first he doesn't understand, but then they restart the jean hunt with the pile of girls' jeans.  As I walk past them one more time, I notice that Curly has a butterfly tattoo.  I surprisingly like it.

A ways down the main aisle, close to electronics, there's a family of five.  The first thing I see is PJ Mom, wearing her fleece pajama pants, messing around with the dad.  The entire family is being loud, but they look happy.  The kids are all laughing, especially the youngest one.  There's a ten or eleven year old pushing the cart, which only has two items- men's razors, and a couple of DVDs.

I begin making my way to the front of the store.  There's an older (40-50 year old) woman and a younger woman (early 20s) with a baby.  The baby must have been upset, ans the older lady is getting him out of his carseat.  They stop at an endcap to look at some sort of Eeyore merchandise.  Three feet later they stop again for an Eeyore Christmas ornament.  They talk of how it would be for the baby.  When I pass them I notice that the baby is wide awake.  He's dressed in his pajamas.

I hear two people talking behind me.  One asks, "What time do you get off?"  The other responds, "In 10 Minutes."  "Must be nice... You gonna go home or go out?"  I look over my shoulder to confirm that they're to employees.  Yep, they're wearing their uniform.  Before I hear the response, I exit the store.

Another K

As I walk in the store there is noise in the parking lot.  There's the chatter of a few people, the small roar of car engines as they come and go.  The bustle of traffic on the nearby highway is constant.

It's quiet in the store and the lights are bright.  There's one employee at the customer service desk immediately at the entrance.  I notice that Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" is playing.

I walk to the kids clothes section, it's the first department to the right of the entrance.  There is a mother and a her high school aged son.  She rummages through the racks of clothes.  Her son is wearing a hoodie and is content with scrolling through something on his phone.  She pulls out an outfit made for a little girl and looks at it before putting it back.  They end up leaving the section.  I walk around the clearance racks.  Items have either fallen off or have been pulled off the racks.  There are small piles of clothing on the floor below each of the racks.

There is a girl in a polo with glasses in the junior clothes section.  Her hair is up in a pony tail.  From afar I see her roaming around, and at first I think she's a customer that I could observe.  Then I realize she's pulling a cart around behind her and putting things back on the shelf.  She's an employee at the K.

As I make my way to the shoe department I notice a family.  There are two little girls (they're young, probably 6-9 age range), the mom, and an older boy (probably 12-15 years old).  After a moment I realize that the girls are twins.  They have matching hair cuts, are the exact same size, and even have on similar clothes.  They have lots of energy.  They poke each other and giggle loudly.  The group is moving from the shoes to the athletic gear section.  They get a little farther away from me, but I hear one of the twins talking about Ninja Turtles.  But then something happens; one of them starts crying.  The mom jumps in and says "Wait until I get home and talk to your dad."  They stay in the section a moment longer, and the mom makes another comment about telling their dad how they were acting.  Then they leave.

As they do, two more people pass me.  The guy is older.  He has a cowboy hat on, a button up shirt, jeans and cowboy boots.  He says something in Spanish.  The woman following him I assume is his wife.  She appears to be a little younger but is heavy set.  She has big black hair.  Cowboy makes eye contact with me as they pass.  They walk down the aisle about 20 feet and meet a young girl.  I think she is their daughter. She's tall and skinny with hair like her mother's.  Tall Daughter asks their opinion on a few items she has.  "I can get him this or this" she says.  The mother responds, but in Spanish.  Tall Daughter holds something up, but I can't see what it is.  "Good?" she asks.  The rest of the conversation I can't understand because it's all in Spanish.  They walk away.

Around the corner, I see another worker, I know because of his polo and name tag.  He's looking at mattresses.  He's moving slowly and the way he's walking around makes it seems like he's lost.  He comes to the edge of the aisle to look at the price sign and then moves back to the mattresses.  A minute later I hear him on the phone.  He's telling a customer that the mattress isn't in stock but it is on sale right now.  Lost Employee tells them that they can order it.

Meanwhile a boy comes strolling down the aisle.  He chants loudly "peanut butter jelly" in a very rhythmic tone repeatedly.  I count at least four times.  His mom pushes a cart behind him.  She looks tired, but is presentable.  Her hair is pinned back, she has jeans and casual red stripped shirt on.

A voice comes on the intercom.  "Barbara to layaway" it says twice.  There are three guys standing at the cash register where Lost Employee was on the phone earlier.  I've noticed them for several minutes, but they aren't doing anything.

I look up and notice that the store has huge signs advertising sales.  They're at least 5 foot by 3 foot.  One has a picture of clorox bleach.  It's on sale for $3.99.

I move to the Halloween section.  The twins are there.  I hear Twin 1 say, "Eww... Who would want to be this?"  Mom responds, that's a zombie bride.  Twin 2 jumps in, "Mom, look at this!"  But then they leave.  I'm also distracted by another family.  At first I pass a guy in one of the halloween aisles. He's looking at costumes.  Then from afar someone says his name.  It's a little girl.  As I walk out of the aisle I see a little girl in pig tails, a high school aged girl with a Dance shirt on and their mother, Cool Mama.  Pigtails shouts, "I hear him!".  They meet with the man and convene as The Family of Four.

Across from the Halloween section is the edge of the food department.  There is a group of three people- a guy, a woman, and a little boy.  The woman is complaining about chips.  She says, "are these the only chips they have?  I want chips, but I don't want any of these."  Nice guy responds, "Babe, they have more over there."

I take note that there are already Christmas decorations out in the store.

I loop back around the the Halloween section.  Cool Mom is talking- "That'd be cool".  Pigtails ask what it is.  Cool Mom tells her, "We'll put you in it and inflate it.  It's the puff guy."  Dad asks what she's talking about.  "You know, the marshmallow guy. . . Oh my god, you know the name."  Dad begins walking away.  They're interrupted before they can officially figure out what costume it is.

At the check out, I see more than half of who've I've seen at the store.  There's the Spanish speaking family, the well-kept mom and PB&J Boy, the twins, and the Family of Four.  I look at PB&J Boy for a minute- he's cute.  It ends up that he has a Dad, Absent Dad.  I wonder where he was at for the rest of the trip.  PB&J is still making lots of noises.  I take note of more detail about Well Kept Mom.  She has brown flip flops on with lots of rhinestones.  Her jean capris are Silver Jean Co..  I notice that PB&J is getting a long box of toy cars.  That's the only item that I can see in their cart.  Absent Dad doesn't say anything.  One of the Twins is running back and forth between the check out aisles, messing with the candy.

There are only 2 lanes open, but there are several people in each line.  PB&J starts a conversation with Cool Mom.  He tells her that he's getting a spaceship.  It's in a package that you can't see exactly what it is.  Cool Mom asks him which one he thinks he'll get.  He says he doesn't know, but she tries to get him to take a guess.  Cool Mom is much more interested in him than his own Well Kept Mom.  PB&J says, " I think it's this one," pointing to a small picture on the package.  "No, I think it's this one," he changes his mind pointing to another small picture.  He tells Cool Mom that he's excited to open it.  Cool Mom calls the item something specific, but I don't catch the name.  PB&J is taken by supplies, "Wait! How do you know about Star Wars?"  "How do I know about Star Wars?" Cool Mom asks. "I used to watch it," she says.  PB&J says that all of America knows about Star Wars.  He messes with the package.  He says, "it feels like the round one".  Well Kept Mom jumps in and calls him a chatterbox.  PB&J keeps talking with Cool Mom though.  Finally Well Kept tells PB&J to put the package on the counter.  Absent Dad is no longer in line.  He's off by the small sports gear section that's in front of the cash registers.  Well Kept and PB&J make it through the line, get with Absent and head to the door.  PB&J opens the spaceship package.  He yells back to Cool Mom who is now paying for her items, "Look what I got!".  Cool Mom replies, "Oh!  Yeah, right on!"

The line is moving slow.  I only have two items and the check out process seems to take a while.  The worker moves slowly.  I pay and then take my bag with me out the door.

Quiet Night at the K

As I park my car, there are two women who are unloading kids from a minivan.  There's one baby who's being held, and four other small children.  I don't think that they speak English.  I follow them into the store, and as we walk through the door the little boy pulls a snack size ziplock baggie out of his pocket.  It has some change and two or three dollar bills.

In the store it smells like clothes- crisp and clean, but a hint of manufacturing or shipping smells, the way that something smells when you first take it out of the box.  It doesn't smell bad though.  There is a woman standing at one of the first cash registers counting money.  She must be a manager.

I begin to browse the clothes section.  I see a worker walking around quickly to several displays and taking off a yellow sticker.  I try to take a closer look to see what the stickers say.

I notice the music.  It's loud enough to hear clearly over other things in the store.  There is a girl in a light blue hoodie and grey sweat pants that's wandering the store a lot and walking very quickly.  As I move into other sections, I see her walking through those as well.

There is a woman going through the clearance rack.  She's not there for long.

In the little boys' section there is a family.  A mom, dad, two boys, and a girl are there.  The dad acts like a typical man during shopping.  He stands back and seems a little withdrawn.  The mom is helping one of the boys try on a jacket.  Meanwhile the girl is trying on a halloween costume.  She does it jokingly and laughs about it, knowing that she is too big for the suit.  The coat testing station is switched out with the other little boy who is smaller.  The mom asks the group, "what size do you think?"  The older boy is playing with the long tool to reach clothing up high.  He's making loud noises too.  Without an answer, the mom says "I'd rather do that one."  She asks the little boy if it fits ok.

A woman on the other side of the store is looking through racks.  She checks the price tag on one time, but doesn't pick the item up.  She already has a few items in her hands.  She goes into the dressing room.

There is a beeping noise somewhere in the store.  It's high pitched.  As I pass another woman, I think she mumbles something about the sound.  She's by herself.  She has a cart and her purse is in it.  She's been the first person I've seen with a cart.

I walk through the section with perfume.  It's strong.  Across the aisle I see the group of kids that I saw when walking in.  The two girls are play fighting over a cart.  They make loud noises.  I think they want attention.

I see a different worker standing at a shelf in the men's section.  At first I think she's organizing the shirts, but then I realize she's messing with the yellow tags too.  I find another wrack where there's a sticker.  It's a sticker that looks like employees are supposed to fill out.  I think it might be looking at the quantity of some of the items.  It has a blank for the employee number, and a spot for it to be marked to be verified.

I move to the shoe section.  There are two women- one wearing crimson scrubs, and the other who looks a little more dolled up with bulky jewelry and bright red lipstick.  There is a small girl sitting in a stroller.  She's watching something on an iPad.  As I approach, Red Lipstick Mom pulls her to the side.  She talks to her friend, "She is a weird child.  It's very rare for Evelynn to pick a normal pair of shoes."  I keep walking and they quickly leave.  I notice that there is a male employee picking up shoes around the department.

I walk towards the exit of the store.  There's nothing more to note.

Sunday Stroll Through Red World

There is a cafe as I enter the store.  There's one guy sitting down at a tabletop, but he doesn't have any food, or any other items.  He's not there for long though.  The next time I look back, he's gone.

In the clothes section, I see two girls.  One of them, Grey Sweater Girl is snacking.  They're moving pretty quickly through the clothes.  They make their way farther and father into the Women's section. Blue Shirt Girl stops, holds up a dress against her body, presumably to see if it fits, and then puts it back on the rack.  The girls have stopped in the clearance section.  Grey Sweater Girl asks Blue Shirt Girl what size she is.  The question isn't ever answered, because an old lady, Grams, interrupts.  Grams is holding out a blue and green leaf printed shirt.  She asks, "Would you still walk with me if I wore this?"  Grey Sweater Girl mumbles what I think is a 'yes'.  The three of them continue to go through the clearance racks.  They make casual conversation, and ask questions like "How much is it?" when one of them holds up an item.  Then Grams finds something.  She says "Look at this... It's really pretty colors."  Grey Sweater Girl exclaims, "That's what I'm looking for!"  Grams asks her, "How do you know that's what you're looking for?"  Blue Shirt Girl explains, "She saw one the other day."  And Grey Sweater Girl adds, "It was black, but I want these colors."  Blue comments to Gray, "She found it for you without even knowing what you were looking for!"  They continue searching through the racks.  Blue pulls out another shirt, she says, "This is like the other shirt I bought, 'member?"  I note that Grams has a drink that she sips on.  Grey found another item, but it's actually maternity.  Grams says, "Who cares?!  You can't tell when it's just a shirt anyway."  After a moment, Grams says to the girls, "I'm not sure what we're looking for."  As I walk farther past them, I notice that the cart Grams is pushing has one item (a pair of shorts), but based on the size, they're definitely for Blue, not Grams.  The also have some snacks from the Cafe and the Coffee Place (two different places).  Grams is eating some popcorn.  Grey is holding two items in her hand, and Blue has one item.

I head towards the toy section.  I have to pass the baby section to get there.  I see a couple with their baby in the cart.

As I approach the toy section, there is a three generation group looking at toys.  There's a grandmother, mother, and baby.  The grandma says "this one has a brown and a grey horse".  After a moment, she says, "Oh, you get the whole set."  The entire time, it's clear that she's talking to the baby, even though I can't see her anymore.  She's using motherese, and being very dramatic with lots of oh's and gasps.  A toy dog barks as I go down the aisle, making it harder to hear.  I hear the radios of the employees in the distance.  I notice that there are toys all over the shelves.  I figure that it must've been along weekend for the toy department with lots of kids coming in.

A boy and his dad pass in front of me.  They're talking about the boy using his gift card to pay for it. They're holding two or three toys.  The boy thinks that all of the money is still on the gift card; he doesn't think he's spent any of it yet.  They walk past.

In the home decor area, there is a an older woman.  She has some bright colors in her make-up pallet. She looks nice though.  Her cart is empty.  As we pass each other, I smile, and she says hi.  She moves across a main aisle to the other side of the home section and looks at some bath towels, then keeps going.

I find another older woman, Grey Head.  She is looking at a rug, and talking to another person.  She says that she doesn't know how much the rug is, that the tag just says clearance.  I can't see the person she's talking to, as they're too far around the corner.  Grey Head begins reading the care tag-- "Machine wash, tumble dry low."  The other woman says "You might buy something else just in case."  Then it sounds like they're comparing two items.  I can't see them at all know.

The couple that I passed in the baby section is now in the grocery area.  At first they're shh-ing the baby.  Then they mimic her sounds.  Their cart is still fairly empty.  There's a can of Gerber Graduate Puffs with the baby in the front.  They stop at the end of the drink aisle.  The dad is doing something funny.  They're trying to get the baby's attention.

I take note that even with a quiet hmm of the coolers in the cold section, the area, like everywhere else in the store except toys, is quiet.  The baby family keeps moving.

By the cleaning supplies, there is a mom and daughter.  The mom is flipping through a sale ad in the cart.  The little girl has a beware sign, I'm sure it came from the Halloween section.  She flops herself onto the floor.  She seems to be between the ages of 6-8, and I think to myself she's too old to be on the floor of a store.  The mom says nothing.  I pull of to the side to see if I can hear anymore of their interaction.  The little girl watches me, and comes up behind me.  She starts shaking the sign, and chanting, "Beware!  Beware!  Beware!"  She goes back over to her mom, telling her that she saw something-- something black and red and scary.  I know that she's being imaginative, not really seeing anything.  Mom is uninterested, and doesn't acknowledge the story.

I decide that I want to go over to Electronics, and go back though the home decor section again.  This time I see the group of three women from the clothing section. Blue and Grams are dropping things, trying to reach block letters from the top shelf.  Grey is on her phone.  Blue asks her if Albert had texted her.  Grey shakes her head no.  Blue explains, "If so, it's 'cause my phone is about to die."  Blue calls Grams "Grandma", confirming my assumption.  Blue starts listing off the letters that they have.  They start saying things in Spanish, so I keep moving.

When I get to Electronics, there isn't anything going on, so I leave the store.

For the Love of Groceries

I walk through the sliding doors and it smells of... Fish? Something gross.

I immediately start on one side of the store.  2 women are looking over the cheese.  One is the mom, and the other is a middle aged teen.  They don't talk for a very long time.  Finally the mom says something, but it's quiet and I'm unable to make out what she said.  The coolers are loud.  Their cart is very full.  They finally pull forward from the cheese section, but come to another stop.  They're looking over the sale ad.  The mom hands it to the teen and she looks it over too.  They continue to stand quietly.  I finally realize that they're ripping out the coupons of the sale ad before moving forward to the checkout.

In another aisle, 2 guys have just started shopping.  Their cart is empty except for a couple cans of soup.  As soon as I come down the aisle, they're quick to move away.

Then I see three girls approaching.  They're all wearing pajama pants.  They're talking about going somewhere.  One asks the other "Are you going there tonight?"  The other responds, "Yeah, after this".  As they approach the edge of the meat department, they quickly skim over the section of meat, then they jokingly say that they should ask a manager.  I wasn't able to tell what they were going to ask about.  Miss Joker approaches the meat counter and says "excuse me" to get his attention, but in a hot second turns around, laughs a bit, and scurries off.  The guy working the counter didn't notice them.

The soup guys pass me in a brisk walk again. I know they're talking about the score of a game.  Perhaps Monday Night football scores.

I take note that there are large pallets stacked very high (at least 8 feet) with boxes and other goods.  They're at the end of every aisle, so I assume its time to restock the shelves.

Miss Joker and her three friends are now by the frozen section, debating over cocktail shrimp.  They're trying to decide on what size to get, based on how quickly they think it will go.  I wonder if they are preparing for a party.  There's also a snack tray in their cart with crackers, meat, and cheese.

The guy at the meat counter is scrubbing away at something in the sink in the far corner.

Another worker in the produce section, Veggie Grower, is arranging the cold salad dressings.  He pulls the first one in each row to the front of the shelf.  He also spins them to make sure that the label is showing.  Once one is done, he moves down a little farther, repeating the process.

A couple briefly walks by the produce.  He is very touchy-feely.  He rubs her shoulders and constantly grazes her back.  He even puts his hand in one of her back pockets.  Major PDA!

The Veggie Grower moves over to arrange and fix up the tomatoes and the cucumbers.  There is a bag of other vegetables.  He opens it and takes the produce back to it's original home with it fruits and veggies alike.

The girl behind the bakery is talking to someone whom I can't see.  Cake Girl says something along the lines of "She has her nose pierced... I think I saw her".

Meanwhile Veggie Grower starts to spray down the produce.

Cake Girl asks the man she's talking to, "Why not tell me? . . . It started with an 'm'".  I think she's trying to figure out who someone is.  She moves away and I can't hear her anymore.  Shortly she returns, bringing out cakes.  She pushes them into the coolers.

A new guy enters the store.  He grabs two big bags of spinach, and carries them in one hand.  He doesn't have a basket or a cart.  He gets a produce bag and fills it with garlic.  A lot of garlic!  Then he scoops up some fresh green beans, but in a weird way.  Instead of picking them up with his hands and placing them into the bag, he put the bag over his hands and scooped them up.  It reminded me of picking up dog poop.  It was a weird way to do it, but then I thought about it, and it's probably much more sanitary than having people constantly touching our food.

Cake Girl stopped to help a customer, but I wasn't able to catch the interaction.

Another guy enters the store and grabs a cart.  He's wearing jeans and a t-shirt.  His shirt is tucked in and he has a belt and dress shoes on.  He has one earbud in his ear, the other hanging down in front of him.  At first he was quiet, so I thought he might be listening to music.  But then he started talking, so I assume he was on the phone.  His voice is still so soft that it's hard to hear him.  He remains quiet and strolls through the area.  He periodically parks the cart and walks over to get what he needs before returning.  Before I can track his next move, I'm interrupted.

Loud Mouth is in the building!  He's on the phone, talking about how he saw something on his staff ID.  I think he may have just showered.  His hair looks damp, and he's wearing basketball shorts, a t-shirt, and flip flops.  He grabs a tub of potato salad and then walks down an aisle.  I notice that he walks with his left foot a little pigeon toed.  On the phone he's asking what kind of soda the other person wants.  He stops at the butcher, who appears to be done cleaning.  He places his meat order.  He asks the person on the phone whether they want mineral water or club soda.  It seems to be a difficult decision, as he asks a couple of times, and they start going into a fairly detailed conversation.  He asks, "Do you want club soda like what you'd make a drink with?"  He moves to another aisle, but I continue to listen in.  They continue to talk about drinks.  Then he moves again.  He says things like "yeah", "got ya", etc.  He seems to be understanding.  His tone is also endearing, so I think it's a female he's talking to.  I don't think that him and a bro would be talking this.  He passes me again, and he smells of body wash, so he must've just showered.  He ends up making his way to the check out counter.  He sets his things down, but then quickly steps aside to grab cheese which is nearby.  He remains on the phone, talking quite loudly most of the time, for the remainder of his trip.

Back towards the front of the store, 2 guys, college-aged, are picking out flowers.  Both of them are very dirty.  They're hands are covered in black.  They walk towards the alcohol section.  I wonder if they're going to get wine to go with the flowers.  They end up getting a card.  The section of cold beverages is across the aisle.  One grabs a Rockstar energy drink, and the other gets a bottle of water. They walk back to the opposite side of the store again.  They're in the drink aisle again, this time the regular one, not the refrigerated one.  Then they check out, and with the swipe of a credit card they're on their way.

The butcher is sweeping the floor now.

There are two other love birds in the produce alone.  As I approach, they slowly move away from one another, loosening the death grip they had on one another just a minute ago.  As their arms untangle, he kisses her hand.  Oh, Prince Charming!  Even though they're more separated now, they are still very touchy.  She pulls out her phone and is looking at something.  I'm unsure as to what exactly they're looking for in the store, as they aren't moving.  Prince Charming is on the phone now, and he takes a seat against the bin of pumpkins.  She props herself up against the potatoes.  They stay there for quite a while.

A song comes on that I know- It's a Michael Jackson song.

The love birds continue to stand in the corner of the produce.  Prince Charming starts tossing something up in the air and catching it.  He's at most 20 years old, maybe just 17 or 18.  He has a cross shoulder man bag.  He's wearing khaki cargo shorts with very unique socks.  The couple starts hugging again.  Then I realize that this is definitely a high school kind of love.  He pops her back by lifting her off the ground.  They are STILL in the same spot!

Two young girls behind me mull over cold produce.  One girl points to an item (stuffed mushrooms, I think), and says "these look good".  The two girls are opposites.  One is wearing jeans, cowboy boots and a t-shirt.  The other is wearing some type of jumper with red sperry-like shoes.

An employee who appears to be off work now, starts watching me.  I walk away.

I find a new person.  He's wearing a green shirt, red PJ pants.  He's ginger, I can see it in his facial hair.  A large chunk of his hair (long for a guys) is dyed pink.  He has a blue phone in his hand.  He's also wearing socks and sandals, one of the worst fashion nightmares of all time.  It appears that he's not sure where he's going, because when he starts to turn down an aisle, he realizes that it's not the one he wants and just keeps walking.  Finally he finds what he's looking for.  He was on the hunt for sweets.  After a moment of looking the shelf over, he grabs a box of Little Debbie brownies, and then moves on.

Late Night Shopping

I pull into a parking stall and put my car in park.  I sit and look around for a moment.  There are several open spots around me, but there are several cars driving around the lot, entering and exiting.  For a late night, there is still plenty of activity.

A black mustang pulls up next to me.  A couple beats pass before anyone gets out.  I watch the workers round up shopping carts and pull masses from the corrals.  Finally a woman climbs from the passenger side of the mustang.  Then a man from the other side.  They walk into the store.

I climb out of my car and make my way to the entrance.  I grab a cart and toss my purse in.  I see a two young people mulling over some sort of produce.  Ghost Girl has the palest skin I've ever seen, with blackest black hair styled in a short boyish cut.  She seems to be impatient.  As I take note of the odd boy's shirt saying "In Memory of.... The Days That I Cared", I realize they are not alone.  An older man, the father, I suppose approaches them.  He drops an item or two in the cart and turns back around.  Ghost Girl and Odd Boy follow.  They move a few yards away in the produce.

I see a couple at the bin of jalapeños.  They're sorting through the large pile to find a pepper that meets their standards.  They speak in a language that I don't understand... But they're the couple from the black mustang.

There's a gangster man, covered in tattoos that's filling his cart alone.  I wonder why he's alone.  I'd imagine he has a companion somewhere.  Loner hangs out by the salad section.  I have to leave him to switch out my cart.  It's making a terrible screeching noise, and there's no way I'll be able to hear anyone's conversations if I have to listen to this thing!

I return immediately.  I see the odd family of three again.  Dad continues to move them around.  Ghost Girl remains uninterested.  She leans against the cart, iPhone in hand.  Odd boy drags his feet as they walk away.

I see Loner again.  He's still alone, getting some frozen burritos.  I move on to the breakfast isle.

At first I'm the only one there.  I stand and ponder over granola bars.  A man quickly approaches behind me.  And I mean quickly.  He's speed walking like the speed of light.  He seems to be in a hurry.  But then he takes quite sometime to find the granola bars he likes.  He tosses two boxes in his cart, and once again begins to walk like a maniac.  I take a peek into his cart as he passes.  He's a health nut.  That explains the speed walking!

I stand in the same isle for a moment.  A couple passes by, one carrying a gallon of milk, the other with a large bottle of creamer.  I wait some more.  Then I hear a conversations, so I round the corner to get a closer look.  Two workers are talking with a guy dressed nicely, Mr. Fancy Pants.  I wonder if he's a manager, but he doesn't have any accessories to prove it.  They're speaking in a language that I don't understand.  I wait a moment to see if I can decipher anything at all, but I can't.  So, I move on again and meet up with Loner.  He's chewing something.... Gum? No, something a lot bigger.  He stands for a moment and looks around while he chews.  He picks up various items from the cold section and throws them in the cart.

There's a guy looking at the lunch meat.  He is comparing two packs for size.  We'll call him Penny Pincher.  After all, these were damn near identical packages of meat.  Why were we comparing?!  He doesn't have any other items, or even a cart.

Loner continues in the cold section.  He tosses items with such skill.  It's all in the wrist!  He's getting decently healthy food.  That surprises me for some reason.

Mr. Fancy Pants approaches with one of the women from the previous conversation.  She is pushing a cart with her purse in it.  While still dressed in her uniform, she must be off duty.  The couple approaches a young African American worker.  They have a conversation, but it's hard to understand. Towards the end they laugh.  Mrs. Off-Duty starts to walk away.  Mr. Fancy Pants gets the hint.  They go on their way.

I notice that Penny Pincher has finally decided on a lunch meat.  He's in route to his next destination.

Minutes pass with nothing notable to report.  I see Penny Pincher on the main isle, he's on his way to the front of the store.  He has his meat, and now a large dark bottle.  I couldn't tell what it was, but it looked like a large beer bottle.  Interesting.

I make my way to a new department.  There's only one guy at first, Hat Guy.  He's looking inside glass cases.  I do the same, stalling to see what he'll do next.  Nothing.  He eventually walks away.  I hear the phone ring uncontrollably!  Is someone going to get that?!  I see at least 25 screens in front of me.  They're all showing the same ad, casting out the same audio.  They're telling me to sign up for an unlimited mobile plan.  I move forward.  I see a worker at the check out booth now.  Why didn't she answer the phone?  Hat Guy has moved.  He appears to be on the phone, but I can't hear him.  He continues to roam the isles.  There's nothing more here to see, so I move on.

I see two workers.  They're talking, but I don't stick around, because once again I can't understand what they're saying.  I don't know a lick of Spanish!

I approach a new department.  As I do there is a group of three female employees disbursing.  I get the sense that they are unhappy.  One goes off to work.  The other two stay in the general area.  Bobcut tells Long Hair that she found a cart full of cardboard boxes as she pulls it over to their work area.  This makes Long Hair extremely unhappy!  She mutters something along the lines of "Seriously, I'm not taking their cardboard too".  They decide that since the cart was already there, they can just leave it there.  Both of them seem very unhappy.  The sound one one of the small screens displaying an ad seems to bother them.  Bobcut decides to attempt to turn the sound off.  She looks for a switch on the back.  Nope.  Then she follows the cords to the back of the shelf.  Nope.  She walks away, failing to turn the noise off.  Then Long Hair gives it a shot.  She gets the sound off. I wonder if that's even allowed.  I also wonder if they'll put the sound back on when they're done working in the area.  With their attitude, I doubt it.

A moment later, someone, I think a manager, or perhaps a shift leader greets her.  It's a nice greeting, he seems cheerful, and at first Long Hair responds nicely too.  But then she realizes that she wan't so talk to this man.  They discuss her schedule for a brief moment.  She complains of her back and says that she can't be bending over into carts and such.  Her tone is awful.  You'd think she was going through her teenage years, dishing out hella attitude to her parents.  Except, she looks to be at least 40.  Bobcut decides to join get conversation.  She starts complaining.  The three of them begin talking about another man who isn't present.  Bobcut says that he's from another store, and that he wants to come in and change everything.  She says she's "done with his damn shit".  (Uh, hello?  Do you see your customers around?!)  The guy says he's sorry, but Bobcut and Long Hair immediately cut him off saying "No, you're not sorry".  They say that he is supposed to stand up for them and support them.  They say that if the work gets done, it shouldn't matter how it gets done.  The guy leaves.  The feisty women are still in attitude mode.  I have found my department of drama!  They're still oblivious to me, even though I'm less than 5 feet away!  Bobcut and Long Hair continue to stand there instead of work.  Bobcut makes eye contact with me, so I move out.

I approach check-out.  There are five lanes with lights on.  I choose one where the previous customer is paying and is soon on his way.  I begin unloading the 6-7 items that I have.  The cashier says "Hi". I say "Hi" back.  Then Mrs. Off-Duty gets in line behind me.  I wonder if Mr. Fancy Pants will show up soon too.  Off-Duty and the Check Out Guy start a conversation in Spanish.  He says nothing more to me as he scans my items and I pay.  Then he gives me change and finally tells me to have a good night.  I say "You too" as I walk away.

I exit the store and make my way to my car.  A few cars are active in the parking lot.  I put my two bags into the back seat and walk my cart to the corral.  I return to my car and pull out of the parking spot.  As I drive by the entrance of the building, I notice a man almost completely covered by a large jacket sitting on the ground.  His head it tucked in.  A dog sits next to him.  I didn't notice them when I came out, but I do now.  I drive past and out of the parking lot.