Living on the edge, that's what it is. Shopping on Tuesday! Buying pre-cooked pork! Next stop: skydiving without a chute!

I recognize some of my checkers - but it's clear they have no idea who I am. The employee manual seems to require them to look at my receipt and say, "Thank you, Mrs. Sleepy, you saved $0.02 today." And despite how many times I've been at that particular checker for the past seven years, they still end up pronouncing Sleepy more like "Slopertree". (Obviously my last name isn't Sleepy...but it's about as easy to pronounce. So I just don't get why it's always such a trial for people.) Anyway, I corrected them for three years, then I gave up and simply smile politely and wish them a happy day.

I'm not sure which of us is actually in a better situation.

If you ever get to thinking you're anonymous, just ask your mail carrier what they know about you. That'll cure you.

Or wait until you find out that your garbage man was a high school friend who now knows a lot more about you than you thought he did. ;-) But like Beth says, it would be nice if the grocery store checker would act like they know you once in awhile.

at the risk of becoming that well known by my local supermarket checkers, i go to a new supermarket each time i shop, in order to preserve my anonymity. it was not a big deal in the beginning, but now my slowly increasing grocery-radius has me driving to dallas just to get milk. it's starting to be a strain on both my time and pocketbook. you know: "i just need to run and get some paper towels. i'll be back next week."

hmm, that was weird.

I agree with Jim. My mail carrier couldn't wait to fill me in on his thoughts and observations about a former husband. I was shocked! Every time he gets the opportunity, he asks me if I've seen the FH. When I tell him no, he gets big eyes, shakes his head and gives me that all-knowing look.

Of course, I wonder what he says about me!

Beth, I *think* I prefer my situation, as long as I don't discover that the checkers are getting together at break and laughing about my choice of cereal. Which I'll bet they are. I'm so embarrassed...everyone needs a little fiber in their diet, you know...

Jim, I sort of wondered about that, but naively (apparently) thought that things were so hectic that you guys didn't have a chance to focus on the details of who was getting what in their mail. I guess over time some of it sinks in sub-consciously, huh? (That's called "giving you the benefit of the doubt." ;-)

Gwynne, now that we have neighborhood dumpsters, it's easier to hide your trash-identity. I'll admit that I've seen things in our dumpster that I'd love to know which neighbor threw them away (pardon the grammar).

Kyle, I *thought* I saw you this weekend, buying dandruff shampoo! It'll be our little secret, though.

Of course, I wonder what he says about me!

Julie, some things are better left to the imagination. ;-)

Onetime in the Burger King drive through the window person noticed it had been awhile since I had been through ... is that a bad or good thing? ....

I suppose it depends on what, exactly, they remembered about you. ;-)

[I'll assume it's your cool car.]

yum!! pork roast....... what time is dinner????

As soon as you can get here and show me how to turn on the oven...

[OK, it's microwaveable, but that just seems so, so...cheap.]

Eric, re: "Perhaps it's a natural phenomenon of being a long-time resident in a smaller city ... perhaps it's a testimony to the low employee turnover at this particularly supermarket ..."

I'd go with both ..... I can count on stopping and visiting with at least three employees-who-have-become-friends whenever I visit my supermarket (H.E.B.) - and sometimes, it's more. I tried grocery-shopping at Wal-Mart for a while, and ended up going back to H.E.B. - the people were one of the reasons I went back.

Jeff, I'm also referring to HEB in this post (I'm sure you knew that, though). I wouldn't go so far as to say that I've made any friends there – my goal is still to get in and out as quickly as possible – but all the faces and many of the names are quite familiar now.

We still have to go elsewhere to find some of the brands or specific items we prefer, however. I'm not completely happy about the extent to which the store's Hill Country Fare brand is displacing some of the national brands.

The fact that I have gone through the MacDonald's drive-thru every morning for the past ~20 years should be an indication of how well known I am there. I can't decide if I should be embarrassed or... Yeah, embarrassed. And yes, it's pretty much the same order every day. A biscuit with bacon. Bacon - it's candy from pigs.

Les, I doubt that your situation is all that unusual. I suspect that the vast majority rarely if ever vary their breakfast routines. It's the one meal of the day where having choices is not really a good thing. We're not geared for decision-making at that time of day.

Yup, all it takes is a comment from the pizza guy: "I now know right where to go when I get handed this address."

That severely curbed our pizza diet. At least from that particular store.

Tricia, one word of advice: "DiGiorno."

'Course, you guys probably have better pizza up there than we do down here.