Grocer's Delight

Online shopping does not intimidate me. I buy all my textbooks off of Amazon and study the clearance sections at American Eagle weekly. Some readers may ask, Oh who doesn't do that?For my senior formal I bought my dress off of Ebay and I even purchase the majority of my make-up off of discount websites that sell high end mascara for cheap. I thought I would buy almost anything online; but when I first heard about ordering groceries online, I turned up my nose in disinterest...Then I moved to DC.

Big city learning lesson #67: Toss out everything I thought I knew about grocery shopping and succumb to the ridiculous extravagance of online groceries.

When I first moved to my apartment, I thought I had moved to the perfect location. Coffee shop on the corner, 7/11 on the end of the block and a metro in walking distance. Did I mention the view of the Capitol in my living room window? But no, oh no, nothing is really perfect. The reality is that during my stay in DC, I have ended up doing both.

I walked to a not-so-safe-Safeway a couple times for my food rations . The distance seems overwhelmingly far when you're walking (no car here, remember? if you feel sorry for me, send money), not to mention one has to push a bag Lady type cart the entire way there AND back to hold all the groceries. It also has started raining in DC so walking for long distances will become much more interesting....well scarce...in the near future.

(A slight exaggeration of how I look when I have to carry my groceries to my apartment from Safeway...)

Ordering groceries online is not that much more convenient. You would think it would be a simple and easy process, however, it takes just as much street sense as the traditional food shopper. For starters, you still shouldn't order groceries online if you're hungry or tired. I once ended up buying diet root beer in glass bottles for no reason except my tired butt had a craving and yet still attempted to be "healthy". Now I have alcohol looking beverages on top of fridge that I do not want to finish.

Either way, there is no easy way to get food in this town unless you're going out to eat. While I am a big fan of all and any restaurant in DC, my budget has not allowed that. Instead, I get to figure out how to gather and hunt for nourishment just like my ancestors did in years past. It's been a growing experience trying out both but some days I just really miss Wal-Mart or a Target in driving distance.