Foraging For Food

My grocery store has decided stay open while it remodels. It is possibly the most disorienting thing I have ever encountered. All of the food has been moved into half of the store. A giant wall has been erected to divide the half with food from the half without.

The entrance, however, is still in the half with empty shelves and the check out. It causes everyone great confusion. It's been going on for two weeks now and I still see shoppers drifting through the empty aisles with glassy stares.

They look like strangers in a strange land. As if food will magically appear if they just stay in that section long enough.

All the remaining food is packed into tight aisles, constantly gridlocked by confused patrons. I hate these people. How hard is it to learn to navigate around a new store? I hate them even more when I find myself and my cart parked across an aisle staring blankly at the frozen vegetables trying to remember why I'm even in this store.

The staff at the store is both exasperated and perkily helpful. They block up the aisles, smiling aggressively, asking if we're finding everything we need. We aren't, of course, and they know it. It's really insult to injury at it's basest level.

I finally gave up and left the store with pickles, basmati rice, and frozen peas. On the way out, the checkout lady (her name tag read MRS. Griffin) told me with forceful cheerfulness that the store was going to just great when it was finished. The bagger gave me a $10.00 coupon to thank me for inconveniencing myself in their store. I checked the expiration date on the way out. It expires next month.