While it might seem expensive for an appetizer at first, once you realize that just the one order can serve 2… maybe 4…. shoot, even large parties, you realize the widom of ordering the never-ending Chorisadas.

I can only imagine the offensive hilarity that was this spectacle. In case you don’t realize, Irving, the kindly chap in the upper left of the poster, is also Chinese Charlie, that unmistakably Asian man to the right (I kept the image size big so that you can click it and get a closer look).

That’s right - his stage name, for what I can only imagine was a box office sensation, was Chinese Charlie. “Ancient mysteries… MODERNIZED” (emphasis added, sorta – it depends on how you interpret the wrapping all-capped text on the poster) and his name was the first target.

Oh, and PLEASE!!! Someone out there tell me what those characters on the poster actually say. Something tells me it’s either packaging instructions off of a random box or entirely made up.

The last in a 3-part series of posts that resulted from ONE trip to the grocery store…

This caught my eye. Just thought it was funny…

End Trifecta.

Or maybe a pet scooter? Oh… a pet tree that grows money! I bet you allow those, right?

OK, so I know… there was an “S” there. You can see it faded in the picture. But my friend Mark and I really didn’t notice it at first. Oh, by the way, these are the same folks that only accept “cash” - so at least they figured out the underline method somewhere between the register and the door.

But even if the “S” were darker, my dog doesn’t have a bike, so he wouldn’t bring one in anyway.

Wait… some people’s pets have bikes?!?! Hahaha… Satchel would look so funny trying to ride a bike. And it would have to be so SMALL!!!

The second in a 3-part series of posts that resulted from ONE trip to the grocery store…

Holding your Starbucks cup while shopping and pushing a cart is not an issue at Stop&Shop. No, sir. 

I’m sure many of you have seen grocery stores with the Starbucks store right inside, screaming to you as you come in, “You look tired! Come! Come over here… we have TONS of methods of postponing that mid-afternoon fatigue crash another few hours.” But this last grocery run was the first time I’d seen such synergy between Starbucks and the store itself.

It was the shopping cart. I mean, look for yourself:

I very well may just buy a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate every time I go to the store now. In fact, I might just go for the drink and then push it around in a shopping cart until I’ve had enough time to finish it. Really, it’s that exciting.

I do expect a “WARNING: Do not place hot beverages near young children” sticker in the near future… or depending on how much they get sued for, it might say, “WARNING: Do not place hot drinks in holder!“

My sister Jane and her husband went to Berlin recently, where she took these photos of the crossing signals. Her comment was, “Every time we crossed the street it made me smile.”

I can see that! There’s much more character to them than the American versions. And another small thing to note, the little walking man is green - as in, “Go.” Makes sense.

I guess our whitish-blue version of the walking man helps separate it from the green traffic signal, but I think the light’s shape covers that base and I like the idea of being consistent. If you’re waiting to cross the street, whether your a car or a person, green = go.

The first in a 3-part series of posts that resulted from ONE trip to the grocery store…

We switched from being Shop Rite grocery shoppers to Stop&Shop shoppers recently. (We decided we preferred the fresh cleanliness of Stop&Shop to the foul-smelling, often rotting general condition of Shop Right. Such an obvious decision as we look back on it…)

There’s a parking garage under the store which we hadn’t used until our last trip. Obviously, my immediate thought upon deciding to give it a whirl was, “How on earth will they get my cart full of groceries from upstairs… to DOWNSTAIRS?!?! And will I pick up my cart now or when I’m up on the main floor?” I know… dramatic. But I really was intrigued…

Turns out they have done nothing less than create the eighth wonder of the world. It’s a giant escalator thing, sans stairs. Just incline. I call it, the Cartscalator. When you roll a cart onto it, there are little guards on the outside of each wheel that immediately lock into place. Shopping cart: immovable. (see below)

Done and done.

I thought it was black magic at first – or maybe some sort of high-powered magnet. Both of which are cool, but not nearly as practical. So kudos to Stop&Shop. Now if only there were some way to hold my Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate while shopping…

*cough*

Somewhere there is a woman having her picture taken, sitting on a table with a burrito in her hands and a sign on the floor that says, “Please return chairs!” If you see her, tell her we had the table first and to go get her own dirty chairs…

But seriously – this was in our office and I have no idea who put that sign there. But whoever you are, the placement of that sign was classic. I hope this picture passes down through generations.

So, either they actually take credit cards or you can use Monopoly money. I had normal cash with me so I didn’t get a chance to find out. But next time, I droppin’ a “500″…

I was reminded to put this post up when Alex sent me a link to a site called the “blog” of “unnecessary” quotation marks. I like it. You should definitely leave here to go read it…

NOTE: In preemptive defense of myself, the posting two after this one is not incorrect usage of quotation marks – it’s a reference to Mitch Hedberg’s “escalator temporarily stairs” joke. Watch Mitch here. But unfortunately, the escalator joke isn’t in that video. Though, you can watch a spin-off of the idea instead.