Odds and Odds

Here are some recently-witnessed oddities:

1. The Celery Stalker: When at the Jewel purchasing the ingredients for the Split Pea Soup, I needed some celery. I had a hard time getting to it because another shopper (female, late sixties, burgundy coat) was standing in front of the celery. But not just standing . . . she had opened a package of celery and was ripping pieces of it off. I didn't watch closely but I assume she was discarding the grubby ends and whatnot. The question is not what she was discarding, but why she was doing so. Last I knew, celery was sold by the package not by the pound (but is it legitimate to remove parts of produce sold by weight that you do not like so as to save money? I have my doubts). Perhaps had I stuck around longer I would have witnessed her taking her chosen stalks/pieces of stalks and repackaging them. I should have just asked her. In the future, I will inquire when I witness such oddities.

2. The Internet Surfers: Despite having a blog, I am really not all that tech savvy. With the help of my husband (a Computer Applications and Finance major, NTB), I was able to install a stat counter here on NTB. Every once in a while (okay, every day), I like to check to see how many hits NTB gets. The stat counter has a cool feature wherein you can see how someone arrived at your blog. Most of my readers type nottobrag.blogspot.com to get here. Pretty straightforward. Every once in a while though, I can see evidence of an internet search that brought a new reader to NTB, however briefly. Thanks to my recent post about the awesomeness of candy cane pens, I have probably had twenty people visit my blog who used search terms like "candy cane pen" and "candy cane peppermint ink." I did have one visitor whose search term, "candy cane escort," was perhaps seeking something entirely different. Who is this Candy Cane and where might she escort you? Not to a study lounge or final exam is my guess. My commentary on Daisy Fuentes bedding has also made me a good match for a surprising number of people seeking more information about "daisy bedding" and "Daisy Fuentes bedding." Who knew? You might also recall my post about Sandra Lee and the conversation it inspired between me and my pal and fellow blogger Actchy. I doubt though that witty repartee about Food Network personalities was what one visitor was seeking. His (I'm assuming a he) search terms, cut and pasted in the interest of accuracy, were: http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Sandra%20Lee%22%20breasts% 20pictures&hl=en&start=10&sa=N
That is funny.

3. The Check Writer: This last one is not so much an oddity as a pet peeve. I was shopping on Black Friday with my mom, sisters, and sister-in-law. We were in the Macy's shoe department. Very busy. Very crowded. Long lines. A young woman goes to pay for her shoes and writes a check. I don't get that. I write checks for some of my bills, but I never write a check in a store. Why? Because it's a pain, what with trying to remember the date, fish out your driver's license, and write the correct amount. I can see wanting to pay directly from one's checking account instead of say, charging something on a credit card, but isn't that the beauty of the debit card? I realize I should be more sympathetic and that there may be people who don't qualify for a debit card. But then again, I don't see a real difference between authorization to write checks and authorization to use a debit card . . . except that a debit card takes a fraction of the time. This may be another situation in which I am just being unreasonable. I'm big enough to admit that. NTB.

Have you witnessed any oddities lately? Do brag about them by leaving a comment.