Hey, cracker! Be more of a cracker!

[thistlechaser]

I never did rant about (or finish my Yelp review on) my local grocery store. My beloved Safeway. Just a minute or two drive from my apartment, I've been shopping there for more than ten years.

Then they got self-scan machines in.

When it's an option, I have no problem with scanning my purchases myself. When it's an option. It's not an option at my Safeway anymore, it's required. (Sometimes they have one single check-out lane open, but when they do, there's a massive line for it.)

Self-scanning is fine for a few items, but it's a royal pain in the butt for an entire cart full of crap. It takes a LONG time, and the machines error out endlessly. (Plus the stations aren't made for scanning a whole cart of groceries, which makes it even more frustrating.)

Anyway, Lunchables were on sale, which usually would still not be enough to make me buy them, but I stopped and looked at what they are: Crackers + cheese + turkey or ham. If I'm going to eat crackers with cheese anyway, this was kind of a handy packing. 4/$5 was a really good price, too. So I got them.

The meat in them is pretty icky. I don't really like wet meat. So I eat the cheese and the crackers, but tonight the cheese stuck together so I had crackers left over at the end and ate one plain. It was sweet. What the heck? Nothing like a cracker at all.

I guess if we needed further proof these were evil made for kids, it's putting meat and cheese on a darned cookie.

On a related note, I had wheat thins for the first time in decades. They were amazingly good, like a really crisp cookie. Last time I had them they were thick and woven with "wheat" (something whole-wheat, nasty to eat). Today's wheat thins I'd happy eat as a cookie replacement. Oddness. They really need a new name.

RP continues to be good. I continue to fight off some kind of sickness (I went downhill this morning, but feel quite good tonight). Cruise is booked, vacation time is approved. Passport is in the works (takes a couple months for them to mail it out, but the paperwork is all submitted). Now if only the weekend were a few months long, life would be perfect! :P

Comments

[veloxe.livejournal.com]

Wait, you mean your Lunchables cheese didn't come pre-stucktogetherinamass? Mine ALWAYS came like that. For like 5 years in school it came like that. But yes, they aren't really crackers. Although not really cookies either. I can't really think of what they would be.

I remember I would make super stacks out of them and pretty much eat the entire pack in one super cookie cracker sandwich thing.

I hadn't thought about a Passport for the cruise. I thought you were just going to Alaska? Or is it because you'll be going through Canadian waters/making Canadian stops on the way? Or is it some weird American thing about leaving the mainland?

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Sometimes the cheese is even in the container wrong, so you're trying to get a piece free on the wrong side -- impossible!

I like small sandwiches, so they last longer. I really wish the meat was better though, it's kind of nasty.

And yeah, there's a stop or two in Canada. I'll wave to you as we dock!

[veloxe.livejournal.com]

Gonna be hard to see you on the other side of the country. Maybe I'll send one of my BC minions accept the wave for me.

I hear it's rather beautiful in BC as well. I know you're not really doing anything there, but certainly be sure to keep an eye open.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

*checks* Just one stop in Canada: Victoria, British Columbia (7 AM to 2 PM). I'll wave really, really big so you can see me! :P

[elo-sf.livejournal.com]

technically she does NOT need a passport if it is a closed-loop cruise in the western hemisphere (closed = leaving/returning to same US port), but it is always a better idea in case you get stuck in a foreign country

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oh, huh! I thought I read on the Princess site that it was required. I must have misread.

[elo-sf.livejournal.com]

It's a hyper-technical set of rules and you ARE definitely better off with a passport. People w/o sometimes have problems because their birth certificates don't meet all of the rules.

Are you coming/going from the SAME US port? E.g. leave Seattle-return Anchorage will NOT work for example.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yep, in and out of San Fran. My mother would (understandably) like to save the $150 on getting one if possible, but I think it's going to be safer if she has one. No need to risk her not being able to go, when the trip's for her!

[elo-sf.livejournal.com]

Understandable, and if she got stuck in Canada and needed to be airlifted back NOT having the passport would be a > $150 problem. Which is why it is recommended. It is not required for the closed loop.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ah, that makes sense!

[elo-sf.livejournal.com]

btw this topic comes up about once/week on CruiseCritic message boards and the answer is always look you do not NEED a passport, but it is highly recommended. Also if you are going to skip the passport, read the fine print about the birth certificate requirements.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oh, huh! I've been visiting that site now and then. Good to know!

[elo-sf.livejournal.com]

it's a useful site, I recommend scanning the princess threads about "but if you ask" and also the "secrets" thread. There is a bunch of useful information about freebies that you just need to ask for. Also it's nice to sign up for the roll calls for your sailing might give you a few people to know a bit before the cruise and just wave hi to.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I think we do? From the Princess site:

3) As of June 1, 2009, Passports or Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) compliant documents are required for domestic cruises including: Alaska, Bermuda, Canada, Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexico and Panama Canal. Neither oral nor written declarations of citizenship are accepted.
a) U.S. and Canadian citizens ages 16 and above traveling on domestic cruises may present one of the following valid WHTI-compliant documents:
Passport Book RECOMMENDED travel document; accepted for travel by air, land and sea
US Passport Card Limited to land and sea border crossings
Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL) Limited to land and sea border crossings NEXUS Card Accepted for land and sea border crossings. Air travel is limited to participating airports. For more information visit www.cbp.gov
SENTRI and FAST Cards Limited to land and sea border crossings

For information regarding WHTI compliant documents, please visit www.getyouhome.gov.

Link from this page https://book.princess.com/cruisepersonalizer/pifBasicInformation.page "Travel Document Information. When Applicable >> " link.

[elo-sf.livejournal.com]

What's your cruise itinerary? Is it a closed loop.

Notice it says "RECOMMENDED" next to passport book.

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

I think what you had before sound more like Triscuits than Wheat Thins, what do you think?

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's possible! It was so long ago, it could have been.

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

Iiiiii hate the self-checkout lines. I have enough control to do MINOR things, but then when, inevitably, something goes wrong in the major things, I have to WAIT to let someone else fix it. And often I have to wait A LONG TIME.

Gr.

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

And they won't let you just /cancel/ the transaction, which would solve about 80% of the problems which you otherwise have to wait on, and take up someones' attention for.

Mrg.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yes! And the attendants don't even check what the problem is, they just hit the button on their control station to unlock things. What's the point of that? Why not let US unlock it then? Grr.

[gconnor.livejournal.com]

They are putting sugar in everything, to make it taste better. So we'll eat more and buy more. Well, corn syrup, but it's the same thing.

And I agree with you, if I have more than a couple items, I prefer to wait for the real checker. I have worked as a bagger (Courtesy Clerk :) before and I'm happy to let someone else do it now. Sometimes, I even say "Yes" when they ask me if I want help to the car.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yep. And unfortunately it works. :/

I actually like bagging my own stuff, so I can put things together that I want together, but scanning it? For more than a couple items? No thanks.

[firebyrd.livejournal.com]

I think you're getting Wheat Thins confused with Triscuits. Wheat Thins have always been, well, thin. ;) Triscuits, on the other hand, is almost like a cracker made out of shredded wheat. Wheat Thins and cream cheese are for the win, but imo, Triscuits are nasty.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

, is almost like a cracker made out of shredded wheat.

AH HA. Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking of. I must have gotten them confused, yes.

I really, really liked the Wheat Thins, but I have horrible memories of Triscuits and no desire to try them again.

[kamalloy.livejournal.com]

If they are going to require self-scanning, then they also need to do what my local grocery store did and provide hand-held scanners and bags so you can scan and bag as you go. Yes, it does make it easier to shoplift, but I think enough people are honest that the losses are manageable.

I actually like doing the self-scanning as I go, because it usually means I don't have to spend that much time in the checkout. But my grocery store also still has a good amount of actual checkout lines. And people do need jobs!

Also, you probably are thinking of Triscuits, like other people have said. I like the new flavored Triscuits that they have now, though. The rosemary and the black pepper ones are tasty.

[elo-sf.livejournal.com]

it seems that with a scale they could address 99% of shoplifting. Scan and bag and then "seal" bag, weigh each bag based on UPCs and done.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Scanning and bagging as I shopped would rock!

And I kind of wanted to mention the shoplifting aspect, but I wasn't sure how to do it without it sounding wrong. It would be very, very easy to steal with the current system. It makes me very uneasy.

And I think you're right! I think it was Triscuits I was thinking of.

[socksofjello.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing they figure that minor product theft isn't a big deal compared to the money they're saving by laying off the employees they formerly hired to man the checkouts.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

That's what I was thinking, too. Which makes me mad. Did they pass on savings to the customer? No. They fired at least a dozen people, with no change in our prices.

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

My local store that emphasizes self-checkout (Doesn't require, but their normal checkers are very slow and there's only 2 of them late at night) shows up in the police log a lot.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Heh, I'd believe that. I wonder how many people who wouldn't otherwise steal do so because they resent the self-scanning so much (especially the way it's done here, where there's no choice about it).

[elo-sf.livejournal.com]

ps - Princess is running a special that my mom got the phone rep to do, buy an ocean view get a balcony cabin, it saved us $300/cabin

[elo-sf.livejournal.com]

I mean $300/person

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Woot, thanks! I emailed the lady handling my booking, and if that fails I'll call them and see if I can get it, too.

[elo-sf.livejournal.com]

also 2012 shore excursion guide is now out and some of the excursions from Skagway cross into canada and DO require a passport.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

That's good to know! I haven't even looked at excursions yet...

[sahn.livejournal.com]

Kinda funny. When I read your title, I thought your post was going to be about white people.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

That's what I was thinking when I wrote it! "This is going to sound an awful lot like I'm going to write about white people..."

[achika-soladia.livejournal.com]

I love Lunchables, but I know they're not healthy. Typically I only eat the pizza ones though. =x

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Uncooked pizza scares me! Unmelted cheese, ick. Or can you microwave it?

[achika-soladia.livejournal.com]

You can microwave it. I typically don't. I think they have some heating instructions on the box but dunno. I tried it warm, I didn't like it as much.

I miss the Pizza & Treatza variety.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

This is not a good pre-breakfast conversation. So hungry!