stores
Shobhit and I did some grocery shopping last night after he got home from work at about 6:30, first to Costco and then to PCC. I wondered if we would find ourselves standing in line to get inside the Costco again like we did in the early days of the pandemic, but although they did have their guided pathways to the entrance again, we were still able to go right in. In fact, to my surprise, it seemed less busy than the last few times we've been there.
Predictably, they were out of toilet paper. I commented on how ridiculous this toilet paper thing is, with people having no reason to panic-buy except for the expectation that there will be panic-buying, so people rush to get certain goods before others clean them out and in so doing contribute to the panic-buying. And we have even more reason now to be calm about this, having seen that things like supply chains turned out to be more stable than feared earlier in the year. And guess what? Even though I had counted 13 rolls of toilet paper still at home as of yesterday, Shobhit still went back to Costco this morning at opening time so he could get a twelve pack from the delivery they said they'd have today. So frankly we just became part of the problem.
Oh well? Shobhit came in with the toilet paper, and the box of tomatoes we forgot to get there yesterday, and said, "We're all set for the pandemic." We've got lots of toilet paper now, which will last us for months. Don't tell anyone.
Then I spent much more than usual at PCC. No line there either, and again business slower than the last few times we've been there. We actually got more than usual at both places, to a certain extent to be prepared for our Thanksgiving at home, just the two of us. We usually at least have Sachin join us but a) that's just not a good idea this year, and b) he's in Atlanta right now anyway.
This will be the first Thanksgiving Shobhit and I spend just the two of us since 2011, when we just went out to eat at an Indian restaurant in Los Angeles. And even though we typically have Indian food when we spend Thanksgiving at home, to my mild surprise Shobhit felt like skipping that this year. So, it'll actually be something closer to traditional, albeit the vegetarian version: Field Roast Celebration Roast; scalloped potatoes we bought at Costco; salad; dinner rolls; pumpkin pie. That's totally fine by me, actually. I like to mix it up a little sometimes.
Anyway, I had already eaten dinner last night by the time Shobhit was back from work, having some of the pasta I made for dinner which was quite tasty, if a little heavy on both the salt and the pepper thanks to a seasoning mix from a broker that I added to it. When we got back from shopping, Shobhit took most of what I left in the pot for him after packing lunches, and then later put a bunch back for me to pack more lunches, stating that he wasn't that hungry. An hour later he ate two butter and jam sandwiches.
And, we watched this week's episode of HBO's The Undoing.
And now we're up to today, and I just finished our weekly Zoom Office Lunch Meetup. Our sixteenth week! I remain ever so grateful that we're doing this, even if it's mostly just the same few select people who attend. It's one of many ways we can stay connected, in one way or another, while this pandemic otherwise isolates us all in ways we never anticipated.
The meetup was a record low today in attendance. It was literally just Rebecca and me for so long—until quite close to 12:40—that I really thought this week would be just the two of us in the end. But, then Noah hopped on, which was nice. He clearly would have hopped on earlier, except that "Justine scheduled a noon meeting, like a psychopath." Indeed!
Even the conversation with just Rebecca was fun though, as we talked a lot about TV shows and movies. And with Noah on, we talked a bit about pets, and also the holidays. Rebecca is Jewish and has never had a Christmas Tree, but she and her boyfriend apparently usually visit his parents in Montana for the holidays, which clearly cannot happen this year. She said he's pretty bummed about it, so she's going to surprise him early next month with their first-ever Christmas Tree at their house. I thought that was very cool and very sweet of her. A nice, heartwarming holiday story already!
In the meantime I need to get back to work.
[posted 1:05 pm]