I've got a big thing coming up on Friday at work that's not going well at all (it's a dinner that not nearly enough people have RSVPed and not nearly enough work has been done on it because the main faculty envisioners are either really busy or disinterested, and it's up to me and my bosses to try to pull this thing together without either the ability or the authority to make judgement calls on what's being done) but has also consumed about 95% of my work time. This makes me wake up at 3:30 with a to-do list running through my head. So, instead of focusing on that, I thought I'd complain about Kroger.

Our Kroger has redesigned its entire space. It bought out the shop next to it and "expanded", although other than adding a bulk food aisle (more of a half aisle, really), I haven't found any additions so far. But, they're still working on it. Which is awful because they have to keep shifting around the inventory as they replace the floors. All the floors. Very slowly. So, yesterday the office supplies, cosmetics, international foods, and giant bottles of cheap vodka were all in the same aisle. People were wandering aimlessly looking for baking soda (in neither of the baking aisles or any of the scattered spice aisles) and vinegar. Vinegar was always hard to track down at this Kroger, but now you need a PI and a bloodhound.

I'm a list shopper, the joys of which I learned from Mom. I make a list in the order that the items are in at the store. I also tend not to deviate from that list unless something catches my eye, so I can just skip huge portions of the store (previously, the cookies and crackers, cereal and candy, baby food, greeting cards, and makeup were all in adjacent aisles, none of which I usually buy). This is really only possible if the order of food in the store stays the same. Our Giant at home, as far as I know, has not changed the order of its aisles in my lifetime. I could still walk in and go directly to the vinegar. Even Chris is irritated by the shifting around at Kroger, and he's more of a peruser. Now, not only are the aisles all jumbled, but the store itself is completely reversed. It's a sad, sad state of affairs.