“All the well laid plans”

A quick trip to the supermarket

I had planned to do my shopping for the week and finish working early to avoid the rush hour. Unfortunately my boss had other ideas: A rush job, which needed to be done urgently, today.

So, I changed my plans and stayed late. Guess my boss was the one with the bigger plan this time.

When I finally managed to sneak out, I got into my car and drove into the street. I had arrived just in time for the traffic jam! An endless sea of cars back to back with no way in or out from the roundabout. Well, I did not get to go to the carnival last time they were in town, so guess I could enjoy myself in a merry-go-round for a while, listening to my favourite tunes on the radio.

After a while the traffic had hardly moved an inch since I joined and the music station was more talk than tunes. Guess the radio station had the bigger plan this time.

I finally arrived at the supermarket after driving in a back-to-back traffic for much longer than I had planned to and was running late.

Now it was time for plan B: Park the car, get in and out from the store as quickly as possible and shop only what was on my well planned shopping list!

There were a few hick-ups in that plan: The car park was jammed and after circling it for the third or fourth time, I managed to get in time to queue in to a spot when another car was leaving. Secondly, all the shopping trolleys were in use.

While looking around I managed to find one standing there all by its lonesome. I soon found out why: When I pushed the trolley trying to move it to the right, the trolley went the opposite direction. Lastly, I had forgotten the well-planned shopping list on the kitchen table while leaving to work in a hurry when a well-planned morning had failed due to an unplanned phone call.

Well laid plans and all…

I finally got inside the store and was now moving towards the section where they sold the “home made cooking” type meals. I could already taste a well-grilled chicken in my mouth and made plans in my head on how to accessorize the dish. When it was my turn at the counter, and with a big grin made a request to purchase the chicken, there was nothing left but pork.

And so it was time for plan C: Go to the frozen food section and choose a chicken pizza.

After shopping was done and I had maneuvered my way out through the crowds of shoppers with my rickety trolley I finally reached the cash register. The customer before me put something on the conveyor belt that immediately caught my eye: ‘Closed, please move on to the next available register‘.

And then it was time for plan D. I moved to another register at the end of a very long line.

I was finally done with my shopping and heading towards the escalator on my way down to the parking lot. When I reached it, I noticed people pushing and pulling, some even lifting their trolleys. The reason was soon revealed to me, the escalator had stopped working and people were jammed in it and trying their hardest to get forward on the sticky non-moving machine.

So it was time for plan E: Take the lift.

After queuing for a lift ride for much longer than anticipated, I finally managed to get to my car, drive home and eat my frozen pizza. Did not enjoy it as much as I would have a well-cooked meal, but I was well-fed and ready to start planning my next day.

The lesson learned here is, you don’t always have to have a plan or be prepared for every situation. Live a little and remember that sometimes it’s good to just go with the flow.

As for myself, I still keep making my everyday plans!