groceries

i was at the supermarket last monday when i heard someone say, "ang hirap mamili ano?"  (hard to choose)

ooops.  it was a high school batchmate.  he probably caught my perplexed look pondering the merits of this rice and that sugar, ha-ha-ha

it is our office outing this weekend and my officemates presented to me a menu and a list of items for approval.  i, however, didn't stop at approving (maybe i should have, ha-ha).  i volunteered to pick up certain items at the grocery myself (i passed at the wet ones:  hotdog, chicken, the like).

well, when i go to the supermarket, i regularly buy only the following items:

- chocolates
- nestle pure life mineral water
- del monte pineapple juice
- libby’s chicken vienna sausage
- century tuna hot and spicy
- gardenia high calcium milk bread
- kraft cheez whiz
- lily’s peanut butter.

yup, that's it.  the same stuff over and over.  shampoo, toothpaste, toilet paper and other oft-used, non-edible stuff i buy in big sizes as they're cheaper in bulk.

imagine my bewilderment therefore when suddenly i had to shop around for unfamiliar things:  rice, sugar, coffee, cooking oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegar, instant noodles, this and that canned good, junk food.  hey, it's not that i don't know what these things are.  of course, i do, ha-ha-ha.  it's just that you won't find them in my place so i'm really not familiar with their packaging.  (i haven't done any cooking in a loooong while, the LPG at my house has been sitting there for two years : })

when i volunteered to do the groceries, i told my officemates to be as specific as possible.  put the brand, the flavor, the size.  leave no room for discretion, ha-ha-ha.  they pretty much complied, except for the junk food.

they listed piattos, v-cut, tortillos.  ugh!  the only junk food i used to buy was lay's classic potato chips.  and then i read something about it not being good health-wise so i stopped, boo-hoo-hoo.  i wasn't able to get any of the chips my officemates listed as when i went to the aisle, i was faced with a whole lot of flavors per brand.  yikes!  which ones do they like?  plus they listed tortillos.  what was there was tortillas.  i asked the refiller whether there really is a tortillos.  he replied there is a tostitos.  ooops.  i decided to pass again.  i just  might pick up the wrong brand and/or flavor.  just let them shop for these stuff together with the chicken, etc.  : }

anyway, i think i got a passing mark when i brought the groceries to the office the following day.  the only items i failed to get were the chips and the wine (the wine, too, had different flavors and they listed just the brand).

we're all looking forward to the outing.  time to unwind.  it's going to be fun and we're going to be full.  smile, laugh, burp  ; )