Ike has hit Austin.

There's no rain yet, but I thought I'd "stop by" the grocery store to pick up some beer. It was as busy as Sunday afternoon--at least, as the one time I went on Sunday afternoon, and then decided I'd never do that again.

So, I park all the way at the end of one of the rows near the side entrance. What the hell! I never have to park this far away. No matter, walking is good for me, and I'm not going to complain. I make it into the grocery store, and blink at the vast number of people who are there. Goddamn. I make it over to the beer section, browse around a bit before selecting my beer, and head to the check out line.

Just a quick intermission, I hate how expensive beer has gotten since prices have been going up. Now I NEVER get anything nicer than Shiner. Nothing fantastic was on sale tonight--well, some good stuff was on sale, but only in 6 packs, and it's such a much better value to buy 12 packs. I've been drinking a lot of Shiner Black lately--anyone who's been over lately knows this--as well as the old standby, Lonestar, and wanted to mix it up a little. I'm drinking Sessions.

Anyways, I figure I'll check out the isolated little check out that's over by the produce; it rarely has more than three people in line and hooooly fuck, the line extends all the way into the sort-of "cafe" area; I can't even see the end of it. I head back to the mass check out area, and stake my spot at the end of one of the express lines.

"Gee, it's just going to be a little rain and wind!" the man behind me jokes, surveying the crowds. "Yeah, your trash might blow over, you might want to get some extra trash bags," the man in front of me shoots back, and their girlfriends exchange looks. "We came here to get sesame seeds," the girlfriend in front of me comments. "We figured as long as we were here, we might as well get other things we needed, like toilet paper!" I scope out their groceries as they lay them on the conveyor belt: sesame seeds, trail mix, provolone, and toilet paper. Interesting, but hardly hurricane supplies.

"Yeah, we were just getting the necessities," the couple behind me giggles, laying their soymilk, pudding, and Debbie cakes down behind my 12 pack. "We're ready for anything!"

"You can really tell who isn't buying stuff for the hurricane," I finally chimed in. "That kid has his skateboard and his ice cream," I said, pointing at the kid with green hair in the adjacent line. "And that person's only got air conditioner filters." I pointed at a girl.

"You guys check out the water aisle?" the guy in front of us asked. "Man, no one wanted Dasani! Everything else is gone." We laughed.

Somehow, our the guy who checked us out was still smiling. I guess there are miracles.