May 2nd, 2009

Metabolically, Jen and I are almost complete opposites. She usually eats small amounts of food, and then burns that food off quickly. Whereas I can eat a small planet’s worth of food, and my tea-light powered metabolism will do practically nothing to burn any of it. And apparently, sickness amplifies our natural metabolisms. She is driven to eat less, while I am stricken with deep hunger pangs and unexpected food cravings. Since we’re both sick right now, these differences in our relationships to food are omnipresent.

Early Friday afternoon, I was in need of food. But she wasn’t interested in eating, really. She had scooped up a few handfuls of Traders Joe-O’s cereal, and that was all she needed. And due to my ravenous, sickness-induced hunger, I had eaten through just about all of the food we had here in the house. She was in no shape to go anywhere, so I decided to take the bus to town to get me some foodz. Once I announced my plan, she put in a request for me to bring back two of life’s essentials: Pepsi and chocolate. I considered heading downtown to get things done. But I decided instead to ride up to the north side of town. Even though it’s farther away from where we live, it’d actually be easier to make the trip, given the nature of the local bus service.

I rode Route 1, which winds its way through the south-central part of town, into downtown, and eventually through the “main drag” of San Luis Obispo’s north side. I jumped off near the Albertson’s plaza, hit up a nearby ATM and grabbed some lunch at Panda Express.

Then I walked over to Albertson’s, a store I think I’ve only ever been to once before. I wandered around its crowded aisles, eventually locating some chocolate chip cookies for Jen, as well as a case of Pepsi. I paid for the groceries, giving the cashier my sister’s old phone number to cash in on a three-dollar discount. (I’ve never bothered to get a discount card for Albertson’s.) I made my way back to the bus stop, taking note of some of the people I passed along the way. I think that, even though San Luis isn’t really a big city, the place does have different sections. And the north side, as I affectionately refer to it, is home to many scraggly-looking college kids, and oddly enough, a lot of perturbed-looking old people. At least, that’s what I encountered outside the Albertson’s. Anyway, while I waited for the bus, I took this photo:

It’s difficult to tell from the picture, but it was overcast and threatening to rain. Thankfully, the rain held off until after I returned home.

I went out on a similar trip later that night to get some dinner. But I won’t bore you with that story. Wouldn’t want to bring down the excitement level too far from what’s already here.

Tags: Albertson's, California, Flickr, food, health, San Luis Obispo
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