Online grocery shopping

Tonight I was distracted by the fact that one of my friends ordered her groceries online.  Of course I had to do a search and see what exactly could be delivered to your door in the name of technology.  It wasn’t what COULD be delivered that surprised me, it was what COULDN’T.

“Real” food is an idea that most people are in the middle of shunning, which I have learned from the near-razing I receive at my place of work.  And this is exactly what can’t be bought at your local, online grocery store.  For coffee, one of my passions, there is Folgers or Arbuckles (never even heard of this one) which most likely was roasted 6 months prior to being shipped to whatever storage building it is in, alternatively freezing and thawing for 2 months before some poor sucker orders it online.  For meat, something our ancestors ate fresh from the hunt (or whatever), there are neatly contained brown tissue, canned and packaged to make a person think its actually meat still.  As if it were every truly a living, breathing organism and may still contain nutrients (which is the point of eating food, right everyone?).  Does anyone ever consider how corn syrup made its way into pork?  Gross.

I love grocery shopping… so going online seems like a cop-out for me.  And how can a girl pick out her own fresh veggies and fruits online?  Impossible!

An Update and a Rant

Update: I ran the CenturyTel Whistlestop Half-Marathon in Ashland, Wisconsin October 13th! Personally I think the race was the best and most exciting one I’ve ever done and I’m completely interested in doing the full marathon next year. The race follows an old train track (the track has been taken out), hence the title “Whistlestop.” The path is about 8 feet wide and its all dirt until the last mile when it goes through Ashland to end up in-town. It is BEAUTIFUL!

Rant: Social Workers think they are so special, or at least this stupid book I have to read thinks that way. Every single line that says something about what Social Workers do includes the words “unique” or some other similar word used to emphasize how “special” and “cool” Social Work is. I think it sounds like the authors are trying to sell people on becoming Social Workers so they too can be “unique” and “special” and “cool.” Here is an example of a sentence taken directly out of the book called The Social Work Experience: “Social workers, however, have the unique responsibility to advocate for clients” (pg 211). As if no one else EVER advocates for their clients! Grrr! I immensely dislike this class! It’s so ridiculous because the proff is a sniveling idiot who has a cackle-laugh and says random, irrelevant sentences on top of giving impossible exams that everyone gets a C on even though we can use our notes (which, by the way, I copied most of the book and still got a bad grade). Part of our course work–on top of 3 exams, papers and other stupid assignments–includes 20 hours of volunteer work and 10 hours of volunteer group work!! Is she insane?!?! Did she EVER think that this is a 100-level class and, therefore, supposed to have the course load of a 100-level class??????

Ok, I don’t feel better at all, but at least some of my dislike is outside of me now. I hope she somehow reads this. Or, better yet, the authors of the book. Here’s a message for you ladies: Social Work is not the answer because you don’t consider social situations, Sociology does. All you will ever be able to do is come along behind poor people, mentally ill people, lazy people and any other kinds of people and clean up their messes. And, after doing your “unique, special, cool” work, why don’t you write a book about it and try convince other people to clean messes with you too? Oh yeah, that’s what you did.

Ode to the Coffee Maker

A humble poet, yet
A crafty mind, sat
At her desk to
Write a love poem.

She began,

“To the noise at dawn
Of deep gurgling,
To the spew of liquid
Into the pot,
To the stained edges
Of plastic and glass.”

And did not finish,
For the coffee was ready.

© 2007 Beck Forsland