Shopping during the Lockdown

"Jay, the practical enthusiast" (jay-m) 03/26/2020 at 13:10 • Filed to: None

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My wife grew up in Mongolia during the Soviet occupation. “You guys have never dealt with empty shelves before, have you?” That was her reaction to the craziness going on across America right now.

She went on to tell us that she was 15 years old the first time she used toilet paper. Before that everyone used newspapers. Empty shelves were a way of life. You made do without and rationed what you had. We’ve been rationing our paper products for the last 2 weeks.

My wife usually does the shopping but today I wanted to go out to see what it is really like. Are things as bad as the news is making it out to be?

We decided to grill out today, steak and potato salad. Here’s my shopping list. I know you’re laughing at me. This fool thinks he’s just going to go out and buy toilet paper on a Thursday during the Apocalypse? Well, it’s been on our list for the past 2 weeks.

First stop was Sam’s. There was toilet paper and paper towels! But they were the giant industrial sized rolls so I didn’t buy them. Otherwise, they had everything else on my list (that I planned to get there).

Next I went to Publix. The ribeyes were not on sale. The only empty shelves were the paper products. Again I got everything on my list. But when I got home I realized I forgot soy sauce. It’s easy to forget something that’s not on your list. So one more trip to Publix.

On the way back I stopped at Wawa to put air in my tires. I noticed a couple riding bikes with toilet paper in their basket. They must have come from the CVS across the street.

Jackpot!

So it turns out stores are full of food. Not always the brands you are used to, but there were almost no empty shelves. Maybe the world is not yet coming to an end.

ttyymmnn > Jay, the practical enthusiast 03/26/2020 at 13:18

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My immediate thought when I went into the cleaned out grocery was the pictures from the Soviet Union in the late 80s.

Jay, the practical enthusiast > ttyymmnn 03/26/2020 at 13:22

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And yet somehow people survived. It was a much harsher life, but we're going to get through it.

ttyymmnn > Jay, the practical enthusiast 03/26/2020 at 13:23

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Black market, most likely. 

Mid Engine > Jay, the practical enthusiast 03/26/2020 at 13:26

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no alcoholic beverages on your list?

Jay, the practical enthusiast > ttyymmnn 03/26/2020 at 13:26

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Even today, almost 30 years after the fall of communism, black markets are still common in Mongolia. My wife's parents worked for the government so occasionally they were able to get luxury good like fruit. 

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Jay, the practical enthusiast 03/26/2020 at 13:27

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over here theres now a run on beauty products as the hairdressers wont be opening for a while.....(guess im the only person round here thats trying to spend less whilst waiting to see how badly the economy craps out)

other than tp...wich still seems to be getting hoarded the shops are pretty well stocked tho... 1 or 2 items per person on painkillers tho

Jay, the practical enthusiast > Mid Engine 03/26/2020 at 13:29

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We still have beer and wine but at both Sam's and Publix the b eer and wine aisles were completely stocked.

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > Jay, the practical enthusiast 03/26/2020 at 13:31

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The local market for me does not keep it on the shelves. They keep it in the back  with a sign saying you have to ask an associate to get it with you.

Jay, the practical enthusiast > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 03/26/2020 at 13:32

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Paper products surprised me. At Sam's people were buying napkins in place of toilet paper. Publix had no paper products whatsoever. CVS had a limit of 1 per customer. Most cleaning products were out, but there were still some there. There was less of everything, most shelves were not completely full, but there was still plenty of food.

Jay, the practical enthusiast > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock 03/26/2020 at 13:34

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CVS did the same. They kept it behind the counter. I'm sure they will sell out today (people in neighborhood groups on Facebook regularly post which stores have it) but they had a lot of it.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Jay, the practical enthusiast 03/26/2020 at 13:35

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oh yeah no shortage of food here..especially fresh stuff... pasta and rice are getting hoarded tho... canned foods were for a while too but that seems to have stopped now

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 03/26/2020 at 13:35

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But how will they deal with being trapped in a house with children if they can’t buy painkillers in bulk?

UserNotFound > Jay, the practical enthusiast 03/26/2020 at 13:40

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Yeah, except, there’s no newspapers anymore. What am I supposed to do, wipe my ass with a blog?

(lol)

Chariotoflove > Jay, the practical enthusiast 03/26/2020 at 13:40

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The supply chain isn’t so much the problem as this low level mass hysteria Americans are indulging. 

ttyymmnn > Jay, the practical enthusiast 03/26/2020 at 13:41

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Hard for us to imagine fruit being a luxury. 

Jay, the practical enthusiast > ttyymmnn 03/26/2020 at 13:48

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And not just finding it. A small pack of strawberries would cost around $20 (adjusted for inflation). Needless to say, it was a special occasion to have fruit. 

haveacarortwoorthree2 > UserNotFound 03/26/2020 at 13:49

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Well, Deadspin is back ......

Jay, the practical enthusiast > Chariotoflove 03/26/2020 at 13:53

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If I only took pictures of the paper isle it would look like supermarkets are empty. 

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 03/26/2020 at 14:04

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duct tape fixes everything

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Chariotoflove 03/26/2020 at 14:05

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I am somewhat sympathetic to, if exasperated with, the average American. But more than making a run on the toilet paper, what I shake my head at, is that the Parks People in Marin County and elsewhere had to chain the parking lots at the state beaches and trail heads because the yuppies were going there in droves. As a middle school teacher, I’ve grown much less impatient with the 13-year-olds in my charge. At the same time, I’ve grown intolerant of adults who reason and act like 13-year-olds.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock 03/26/2020 at 14:16

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That’s smart, stops the crazies from walking out with 3  years worth of TP

Chariotoflove > Jay, the practical enthusiast 03/26/2020 at 14:18

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My daughter finds that wryly amusing.

Chariotoflove > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/26/2020 at 14:18

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It is frustrating how supposedly  educated people won’t use common sense.

Nom De Plume > ttyymmnn 03/26/2020 at 14:28

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Try living in Mongolia at any point in history.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 03/26/2020 at 14:49

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Speaking of, I need to find a supplier of european ibuprofen. The stash I brought back from Italy has gone dry.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 03/26/2020 at 14:51

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is there a difference between our ibuprofen and yours?

i could probably mail you a couple boxes over if need be

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 03/26/2020 at 14:55

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Yeah , the max dose you can get here without a prescription is 200mg/pill vs 400mg. So yeah, one could just take more pills but the formulation seems to be different. The european stuff works better and lasts longer.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 03/26/2020 at 15:04

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righto yeah we gots the 400mg pills here

if you need me to send some over just drop me an adress diehellcat at gmail dot com

(dont expect next day delivery tho..lol..takes forever from here..and shopping for painkillers is a bit more of a pain in the arse than it used to be over here)

(also dont know how customs feels about pills)

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 03/26/2020 at 15:09

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I don’t think you could mail them, but boutique foreign importers are often allowed customs exceptions so I might find some if I hunt around.

For instance, Kinder Surprise are banned here due to choking hazard yet somehow the local Brazilian market has them 

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 03/26/2020 at 15:12

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lol good luck finding them then :) offers there if you need it

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Chariotoflove 03/26/2020 at 15:21

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They cane use wut they ain’t got.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Chariotoflove 03/26/2020 at 15:28

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I’ve grown intolerant of adults who reason and act like 13-year-olds.

A certain highl y prominent politician comes readily to mind...

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > Jay, the practical enthusiast 03/26/2020 at 15:57

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i read "humans" instead of "hummus"

DipodomysDeserti > Jay, the practical enthusiast 03/26/2020 at 15:59

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I have student’s who’s parents grew up in soviet occupied Uzbekistan with the added treat of being Jews. They’re like, what’s the big deal?

Jay, the practical enthusiast > RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire 03/26/2020 at 16:17

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We won't resort to cannibalism until after the supermarkets run out of food.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 03/26/2020 at 17:27

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My area has been similar for weeks. I can get all the fresh produce I could ever want, but if it’s shelf stable or toilet paper, it’s gone. Meat was also slim pickings for a while there.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 03/26/2020 at 17:35

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i still dont get the tp

i can understand canned food and shit..but tp? get a pack of 24 rolls and your good for a few weeks....get a hundred and i have to wonder what the fuck you are expecting...the end of the world?

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 03/26/2020 at 18:14

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We buy 2-3 Costco packs of TP a year, I can’t fathom what you’d need that much more for.

Mind you, we’ve seen them out of it during normal times, so we usually have a second full package on hand, but we didn’t have that before this broke out and we’re now running low. Getting dire.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Chariotoflove 03/26/2020 at 22:31

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“In the halls of knowledge, there's still a surprising amount of stupidity."