Time to fortify

I took hot yoga at 8am this morning. En route to the train I saw two (2) old ladies, both covered in face tattoos, visibly struggling to stay upright. I don't think they knew each other. Also a young guy was stomping around yelling "We need Trump back!" and looking to see if anyone might care to fistfight him on the matter.

All this to say, sometimes it feels like the world is teetering, that darkness is right on the verge of winning. Perhaps it already is; I saw beheaded babies on Instagram today.

I have my little indulgences, my "self-care" routines or whatever, that keep those bad things at bay, or make them feel manageable: yoga, surplus grocer, seltzer, elaborate dinners, drinking. And I think it's time to cut that last one out for the foreseeable future.

In late 2016/early 2017, when it felt like the wheels were really coming off the American experiment, I was tippling heavy for sure. It fogged things up in a way I thought I needed, but ultimately made me feel more helpless. Like a passive observer watching a movie about the world, increasingly anxious yet detached from it all.

May 2024 is a different time in my life, a different time in the world, yet I have the instinct that now would be a good time to dry up. The last two weeks have been pretty indulgent, ranging between 2-3 glasses of wine at home to a handful of capstone fiestas out on the town. Time to clear out the cobwebs — I want to be fully engaged with whatever comes next.

Speaking of indulgences, thank you for allowing me to gaze at m'navel for a bit. Ostensibly this is a newsletter about surplus groceries, but I suspect/hope you'll allow some detours along the way.

xo,

Jesse

P.S. I got some "Sure I'd pay for this!" responses to my recent query, so I'm going to introduce a paid option very soon. Key word is option: Only pay if you wanna.

Three pounds of gravy, brown variety, with a brand name that also means "a disease in which defective metabolism of uric acid causes arthritis, especially in the smaller bones of the feet."

Shopping at the surplus grocer this morning, very few customers in the store, and it occurred to me I couldn't recall a single holiday they've closed for. Nde confirmed my suspicions: "We open 365 days a year." But why?? I could stop shopping there on holidays to register my disapproval, but probably won't.

This is a beloved flavor in our household — we've crushed hundreds of these cans. Did you know that Abby likes to sing "Pom che-rry amour" whenever she drinks it, to the tune of Stevie Wonder's My Cherie Amour?

The grocer got some boutique seltzers in stock, and while I LOVE a new flavor reveal, these were markedly mid. All the natural flaves combined to create a mashup that's vaguely fruity and indistinct. I hereby decree: Seltzer should combine no more than two (2) flavors.

SPEAKING OF WHICH. These are two new introductions, absolute bangers, crushed with gusto.

Five-pound, unmarked bag of chicken tendies, allegedly Tyson brand, 1:30 to microwave completion. I'll eat 3-4 tenders before yoga, each dabbed with a bit of ranch. An upgrade from my classic pre-yoga hot dog? Hard to say.

I've already mentioned that SeaPak is a Preferred Haul Brand (TM), but this one feels a little...off. Please note that the dipping sauce is cream cheese/chive.

I love that we have a little just-in-case okra stashed in the freezer. Don't love that it comes from this brand.

Our household rice is almost always from Goya, cheaply secured at the surplus grocer. Abby found some perfectly safe bugs in a recent bag, however, and asked if I would purchase different brands in the future. You got it, lady!!!

Mascot blurred to prevent nightmares.