…somehow always go awry.
As I’ve mentioned before, Husband is moving back to his hometown of Philadelphia in June, leaving me here in D.C. I may not have mentioned that he will be taking his car with him, and seeing as how he (now we) has a massive medical school debt, we aren’t exactly in the position to purchase a second car so that I can have one. So, I will remain carless. This wasn’t really a concern – I’ve never had a car with me in D.C., and one of the huge perks of living where we do is being in walking distance of so much. Walking distance to the lab/hospital, a drugstore, a major chain grocery store, etc. Well, until the end of the month.
Husband was reading our little neighborhood newsletter which is left in the atrium of our condo every month when he let out a little gasp of shock. Wondering what could possibly be of such interest in our neighborhood (the last interesting tidbit was the busting of a prostitution ring in the neighborhood “spa” nearly a year ago), he read a blurb detailing the major renovations of our grocery store… indicating that it would be closing in 2 weeks, the entire building would be razed to the ground, and rebuilt, with an estimated closing time of 9 months.
Right in time for Husband to drive off to Pennsylvania with the car.
A girl can survive on popcorn alone for 9 months, right?
This is why I <3 PeaPod... and I think they have it in D.C. too!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOh no! Well, how about synchronizing your weekly grocery shopping with a friend who lives close by and has a car? A pain, but it could work if you have close friends in the area who wouldn't mind.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
What shitty timing! I like Bella's idea, but if it comes down to surviving on non-perishables, there's always spam and hostess products too.... :-)
ReplyDeleteI've never lived in D.C., though I've visited several times, but how close are you to a metro line?
ReplyDeleteBrutal! Where is the next nearest grocery store? Can you transit anywhere?
ReplyDeleteI guess on the bright side, you found out before you arrive at the grocery store only to find that it no longer exists.
Miss Outliar -- We do have Peapod, and the renovating chain will also be doing delivery. My fear with that is lab conflicts, because I have to be home for delivery. My condo does not have a doorman/front desk of any sort, so if I am not home, my groceries would literally be left outside on the front door. Even if I choose the latest delivery time, 8pm-10pm, that means I have to leave the lab by 7:30, and the way my days often go, that means that I'm getting to lab by 5:30am, and what if something goes wrong (like usual) and I find myself caught in that frame of letting multiple days worth of work go completely to waste... or leaving my week of groceries out on the sidewalk to be stolen and having no food? The wrath of my PI is scarier, though losing out on the money would make Husband quite angry.
ReplyDeleteBella - Unfortunately, I have zero friends who live in D.C. with cars... everyone with a car lives out in Virginia!
Mad Hatter -- Spam?! After not eating meat for over 10 years, I think Spam might possibly, potentially kill me. And it seems funny to admit this, but I've never had a Hostess anything. My mother, who grew up on those things, decided to raise me healthier than she had been. I have, however, had one Tastykake, because Husband said I would be unfit to get married in Philadelphia had I never tried one.
History Enthusiast -- I'm a 2 mile walk from the nearest metro. A long schlep with a gallon of milk.
withoutadornment -- It is so strange that there have been NO SIGNS in the grocery store itself, no announcements, nothing. And apparently it is closing in 2 weeks. We were just there to do our grocery shopping on Sunday, and absolutely nothing. Husband just noticed it in the local newsletter. I mean, if we hadn't read it, in 2 weeks would we just show up to a giant "CLOSED" sign and stand around scratching our heads for 20 minutes?
We sort of had something similar happen though it had a weird twist to it. The owners of the property the grocery store was leasing kicked them out when their lease was up thinking they could get more money.
ReplyDeleteOnly tons of older people relied on having that grocery store close that they could easily get to and were in a bad situation so they rallied together to get a new one in in a few months.
Sorry I don't have many suggestions (though cup of soups can last a nice few months and there's always living off of cereal too) but maybe other people in the neighboorhood could start making a fuss about losing the grocery store as well.
What about signing up for a CSA? They have one that drops off at our work building.
ReplyDeleteAnd there should be some farmer's markets opening soon...
oh no!!!! you know, you will find a way to make it work i know it! my fiance only goes to the market 1 time a month since his hours are so long. he has a car, but same type of idea. he just loads up his trunk to the brim and relies a lot on freezing meats and using frozen veggies and bread too. maybe you could get one of those funny little old people carts and truck your groceries home via public transport on a day you aren't working etc?
ReplyDeleteOk, this is a really out there idea, but could you have it delivered to the lab? I only mention this because I get most of my amazon stuff delivered to my lab and then take it home. Yes, this officially means I have no life.
ReplyDeleteIf she had it delivered to the lab, how would she get it home?
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry this is happening Julie, what crappy timing, I hope you can find a solution that works for you.
That. Sucks.
ReplyDeleteI really hope you can figure this out - I'd suggest a taxi but that costs money. Do you know ANYONE in your area that could accept your food delivery for you?
Sending you good luck vibes.
Yikes. If you weren't such an accomplished chef, I'd say it isn't too bad...I eat all my meals at work for most of the week. Then again, I survive mostly on crackers and candy. Hmmmm.....
ReplyDeleteErm, rut-roh. Good luck Julie!
ReplyDeleteCount me in as a friend with a car! I'm technically on the VA side, but I would be totally willing to help you out. I had no car the first year I was in Nashville, and a friend helped me out. This will be my paying back the good car karma. :) Can't wait to meet up with you and show you my new place!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry Julie!!! What about a bike? I am planning to grocery shop by bike this summer because i will be out of a car too....
ReplyDeleteYou shouldn't discount the possibility of outearning hubby. There are PIs out there who make more money than they know what to do with thanks to IP revenue streams or spinoff companies they've formed or expert consulting their hired for. Saul Silverstein and Charlie Rice are two names that comes to mind immediately. So you never know!
ReplyDeleteNo matter what you earn, your husband should never hold the difference in your salaries over your head like that. Major life decisions should always be made together with a consideration of both parties. I mean.. YOU're the one with the uterus. Does that mean you can withhold pregnancy if he really wants kids and not even allow his opinion in the discussion? No. Besides, if he thinks about it more, I'm sure he'll agree with me that your career satisfaction will lead to a happier household which will impact his overall happiness as well. :-)
I should also mention that a classmate of mine recently found out that her PI at ADARC made $200K a year.. and that was before HHMI! So you can do allright as a PI even without a lucrative patent.
ReplyDeletethat sucks ass. big time. no suggestions sorry
ReplyDeleteAll discussions of uteruses (uteri?) aside, here's some advice that was helpful for my survival during a period when I was living alone: (1) chinese food delivery is key. I cannot emphasize that enough. And no matter what people will tell you, you can keep the leftovers for at least two weeks. (2) Focusing on calorie dense foods will allow you to survive longer on the food that you buy. In other words, don't waste space on fruits and vegetables but rather, focus on foods like mozzarella cheese sticks with ranch dressing. (3) In a pinch, don't be afraid to resort to ketchup from eight year old packets on those 5 year old cardboard-like crackers in the back of your pantry. That's a meal loaded in carbs right there. (as a side note, if you are running low on ketchup packets, the orange sauce you get from chinese delivery can be substituted).
ReplyDeleteOh no!! May peapod be your friend. . .
ReplyDeleteHello delivery! :)
ReplyDelete