Tis The Season

Ah, yes ... the holiday season. You know it is upon us when you see the Dearfoams appear in Boscov's and when empty mall storefronts are suddenly filled with Hickory Farms folks.

Coincidence? Or Conspiracy?

I don't buy into conspiracy theories, but this is just too close for comfort.

What would you say if I told you that someone had written an op-ed article about the credit crisis back in February, outlining everything that has come to pass in the past 30 days. And what if I told you that person was then exposed for his own lack of judgment and publicly humiliated and disgraced in March.

Would you think it just a coincidence? Or is it a conspiracy? Judge for yourself by reading this article by ... you guessed it, Eliot Spitzer, the former governor of New York State.

I think this article hit too close to home for the Bush administration. They sent the FBI in to dig up whatever dirt they could find on Spitzer and unfortunately for Eliot, and for us, they found Ashley Alexandra Dupre and the Emperor's Club. They brought down Spitzer in spectacular fashion and guess what - this article got buried.

Spitzer was just a distraction, boys and girls.

Fill 'Er Up!

The Disco Chopper on Ballston Ave had its grand reopening ceremony on Sunday. I wasn't there, but they had an official flag raising, entertainment and a proclamation was read by the mayor.

What I want to know is this - what was the reason given for the new carts with cup holders?

Why would anyone need a cup holder on their grocery cart? I try to spend as little time as possible in the grocery store. Unless you are going to hand me a cocktail when I enter the store, I'm not going to linger and socialize and enjoy a beverage while I shop.

Of course, given that I can't find anything now that they've reorganized it (why is the coffee in aisle one with the greeting cards?) maybe I will need some fluid to keep up my strength as I wander in search of the canned pineapple (it's not marked, but it's in the vegetable aisle at the end near the back of the store).

And here's the next challenge. If I'm downing a soft drink, I'm going to need to use the rest room. Where, pray tell, is that located? I haven't found it yet.

Lest you think this is just one big bitch post, let me leave you with this. I totally hate the new checkouts. Having the bags back behind the counter makes it impossible for the customer to assist with his/her own bagging. Now, I'm happy to let Price Chopper bag my groceries for me, but how many times have you been checking out only to find that the cashier is also bagging? I don't know about anyone else, but so far I've found that the checkout process is slower and more cumbersome than ever.

What about you? How do you like the new and improved Disco Chopper?