Of Clocks, Gardens and the Craziest Shopping Trip of All Time
But Monday didn't work out. Why? Tico Time. One of our guys that does simple construction jobs for us was supposed to show up early and finish the gardening frames. I'd watched Jim measure, ponder, calculate, look over the boards left over from making the concrete frames from the French drain, then measure again, calculate and start again. Like I said the other day, how the thing went is very much an illustration of our differences. After all the manly pondering I now have a gardening frame. Jim likes it so well its likely I'll get to large raised flower beds for the front too.
But because Tico Time stretched out until like 2 pm we had to reschedule that shopping trip to Liberia. It happened today and it's been quite the long time, like early February, since we're run to Liberia and hit everything all at once at the same time. We wore our masks, we scrubbed, we hand sanitized and social distanced, but now we have everything we were running low on, and then some.
After telling Jim I was looking anti fatigue mats for the kitchen, but would have to order them from Amazon because I'd not seen them anywhere, and the same thing with large decorative clocks I'll be damned if I didn't find them today at the Do It Center. And a huge pile of other things as diverse as hot glue gun sticks, a toilet paper holder, and other foolish things like two large numeral clocks for the pool area and the patio.
I was amused upon arrival at the Do It Center when they insisted Jim and I wash our hands at the free standing sink outside. So I washed my hands to enter the store, walked over to the rest room and had to wash them again after answering the call of nature. Then I realized I'd left my phone in the car. Three hand washings in five minutes.
The other places we went, first Pequeno Mundo, we had to use their hand sanitizer as we entered. A few groceries, another small fatigue mat before heading to Wal Mart. Wal Mart is where things really started to take a surreal turn.
Upon arriving at the store there was a medical officer there manning a thermal scan looking to see who coming into the store had an abnormally high reading. I felt comforted by all the steps these places are taking. Wal Mart has their cashiers behind plexiglass, all associates wearing face masks, and hand sanitizer every place.
It was, as usual, the other Americans lurking about that gave me the most laughs. I saw an assortment of very odd things used as face masks, from cut up tube socks, to a face shield made out of a huge pop bottle. But the weirdest, and I shit you not, was a guy that had placed an eye mask. You know those quilted with a layer of fabric, a layer of batting and another layer of fabric things you wear to block out the light when you sleep? He had one over his mouth with duct tape holding it down firmly around his mouth. With his nose completely uncovered. Completely useless and bizarre as hell.
I was happy to find out that Wal Mart here finally started offering Pick Up service, where I can place my order online, pay for it, and have them bring it out to my car. Next month as this likely will continue I will do just that. Drive down to Liberia, pick up my groceries and crap, turn around and drive back.
The last place was the butchers shop. It was there I saw COVID 19 precautions taken to the weirdest of extreme levels. I had to wash my hands before entering at the sink outside. We were only being allowed in one at a time, with one person at each area. One at the ordering counter, one at the waiting for the boxed meat area, and one at the cashier. At each station you had to use hand sanitizer again. Had been washed and sanitized a total of four times before I left.
I had been planning on stopping at my favorite bakery on the way home, but when we were out and about at the Do It Center I ran into the owner. He started to immediately chew me out for wearing a mask. He thinks COVID 19 is a hoax, a media driven hoax. I used to think he was smart. Not now. Now I feel like I don't want to put a penny in his pocket, or patronize a business run by someone who thinks the virus isn't real and likely is not doing anything to mitigate the threat. I'll make my own raisin bread and rolls.
The scoffers of this illness with small businesses worldwide might just find that their ridiculous stances drive off all their regular customers. Vote with your dollars folks!
It felt pretty risk free shopping today. Plus there are zero active cases in our state of Guanacaste now. With the travel restrictions in place no one is even traveling through to spread it. I'm happy about that.
Our car air conditioner died on the way there so it was a sweaty hot mess of a day. I was glad to get home to the pool, and swam just as the bats started waking up and swooping around.
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