This afternoon I went out to do some shopping. We always grocery shop on Sundays, and today was no exception. The weird thing was that the supermarkets were jam packed full! That was weird...
Before I went for the groceries, I stopped by Second Street, like I often do, just to see what is there of interest. I bought a new/used watch (I'm a watch whore... it's Mayu's fault); it's a Fossil, but a special edition one. I tried to find it on the net to get the new price because it has scratched crystal, and they still wanted JPY7000 for it! But the last time I was in I tried to negotiate and they wouldn't. That bothers me a bit because I KNOW they buy these things for 1/10 their selling price... therefore cutting it back even 1500 yen would have made me happy and they STILL would have made a HUGE profit on it... Nope. I guess when you are just an employee, you don't have the authority to do that kind of stuff.Anyway, it has a thick leather band, and the face numbers are in kanji. I went back twice to see it, so obviously I like it. It kind of suits my new fashion style of rings, jeans, runners and an earring. I'm tired of khakis and leather shoes.
There was a casual zip up sweater I almost got... it was JPY 8000 and then was on sale for 30% off. Grey, zip up, made in Turkey and 30% wool, 70% acrylic. It felt a teeny bit tight across the back, though, although I liked the simple style of it. Maybe it was meant to fit tight, I'm not really sure. IF I could stretch the arms out a bit more I would be happy, but you know what? I bet I could considering it's wool/acrylic blend.
Then I went grocery shopping at Serio Garden (just an ordinary supermarket). I spent JPY 5,500 there and didn't really get any meat because nothing was on sale. We don't like to buy the meat if it isn't on sale, so I didn't.
I then went to Marushin to get some big stuff. They are a "bulk" store that sells to restaurants and the like, so quantities are a bit larger, but not huge like Costco. I always want to go in there, but it is on the day I go to the gym. It is not cold enough to keep frozen stuff in the car for several hours and when I come out it's always closed. So today I went. And I bought JPY 10,000 in frozen meats and stuff like a bag of 25 frozen hamburgers, a bag of 10 frozen chicken breasts, a bag of XXX frozen kara-age, a block of 1kg pork (for only JPY 1300 which is WAY cheaper than the supermarket) a 500g frozen dashimaki (premade egg) to try, a 1kg bag of pizza cheese, a 500g block of salted butter... things like that; stuff that you cannot get at a supermarket.
It sure had better last more than one week! I can't imagine eating 25 hamburgers in one week! It was an expensive shopping, but the quantities are a lot more, too, so the unit price makes it more worth while. The problem is always that Serio Garden never really has any good deals on meat, and even the veggies are more expensive than the Kajiso in Katsuyama across from Katsuki Books on the bypass... I guess it means that if we want to save more money, we need to drive around more to two or three different towns to do our shopping, sigh...
I DID find this fantastic 2kg (4.5lb) can of chunk tuna and I just HAD to get it! Finally, a can of tuna just the right size for moi! The last time I was in there (before I went to the gym on Friday), I was eyeing it... thinking about whether I should get it and find a way to store it in the fridge after opening it... because I certainly don't want to eat 2kg of tuna in one sitting... well, maybe I do... with kosher dill pickles cut in... and Kewpie mayonnaise, salt and pepper... on a big bed of lettuce with tomatoes... mmmmmm...After that I went to Starbucks and I tried the new honey orange latte... it's terribly sweet, and the orange tasted rather chemically. Don't try it, you'll be disappointed. I actually went into the bathroom, threw the last half of it out, and rinsed my mouth out. Yuck. Even with an extra shot of coffee it didn't help.
There was a folding bike sitting against the ramp to get onto Hwy 8 by Starbucks. It has been there almost a year. I talked to one of the longtime guys who works there, asked him who rides to work every day. He told me that somebody left it last summer out front so they moved it there, hoping the owner would come and get it. Nobody did. Well, I told them I was taking pity on the bike, so I brought it home. When I have good weather I will fix it up, get the tires Un-flat, get all the rusted parts working again, and then eventually take it to the police (after enjoying it for a while if I can, considering it's not made for Gumby Legged beestes like yours truly). I tried to fold it... but it was rusted open so I had to fit it into the car with all the groceries just like that. I'll take a look at it in the light and see what happens.
I also left my card with Maki-chan at Starbucks (my eyeglass girl who has been working there since they opened) and told her the story. I said that if anyone comes for it, to please tell them I'm taking care of it so it doesn't get more damaged and they can contact me. If the police come, please give them my card, I asked. I gave her my card so they'll probably leave it there. We will see what happens. In the meantime, it gives me a fun project to work on.
I thought I'd go to the sento tonight, but changed my mind. I'm enjoying a coffee mug size full of warm wine (my coffee cup) and fiddling with some material I bought at Second Street also. It's a project I have been working on for some time, and FINALLY the perfect materials came into my hands so I could not turn them down!
Anyway, that's it. Time to make some dinner. This warm wine is good (it's just not warm anymore)!
Welcome to February, 2009.
I love you!
Cam
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