KPB vs the GSS

OK, does this ever happen to anyone other than me? You go into the grocery store (grocerteria to Anna), and, although you plan to do a bit of wandering, you are basically going in there for just a couple of things. Point being, you don't plan to spend a lot of time in there, in and out because you're busy and have lots of things to do. Unfortunately, at every turn, on every aisle, you meet your GSS, your Grocery Store Stalker, who is only in the grocerteria to thwart any attempt you make at being an efficient shopper. They don't actually want to purchase anything for themselves; they only want to keep you from accessing the things you are trying to buy.

Here's my most recent encounter…. I go into Whole Foods today at lunch today. I'm only getting a couple of things and my lunch. But…on my way to the soy milk, soy margerine, soy yogurt, Smart Dogs, and tofu section (compliments of Reeves' allergies), I make the mistake of going down the aisle where they have the discpensers of rice, grains, nuts, and wasabi coated peas. All I want is some wasabi peas to take back to the office for a snack. We all love them, and these peas looked better than any I have ever seen. Alas, I was plagued by a couple who would eventually turn out to be my GSS. There they stood, examining the unnecessarily large selection of trail mixes just below my peas! Does it matter if this one has dates and that one doesn't? "Honey, this one's $4.53 a pound, and this one's only $3.96." OMG, unless you are planning on buying a truckload of this stuff, does 57 cents really make that much of a difference?!?! Have you seen how big a pound of this stuff is!? But, because I'm Southern, I wait, for what I think is an inordinate amount of time. Finally, I have to say, "Excuse me" and reach above them to get my peas. You would have thought I stepped on their toes and pushed them to the ground! Now the fight is on. They have officially assumed the title of GSS. Not only do I have to side step this woman in order to make it out of the aisle, but then, when I finally make my way through the store over to the prepared foods section, who is standing in front of the only bits I want to choose from? That's right, my GSS! THEY WOULD NOT MOVE!! I finally just had to choose something else to eat because I noticed roots growing from their feet. I know they kept standing there just so that I couldn't get my split pea soup, those Evil Minions!! And, as a final taunt, they rush, as fast as their geriatric legs could carry them, into the check out line towards which I am clearly heading, and , again, because of this cursed politeness which has been bred into me, I let them win.

Please tell me this happens to other people too, and it's not just some grocery store curse I have.