Trade offs

I always say that one of my very favorite things about living in LA is being able to shop at Target. Yes, I know there are Target stores across the country (about 1300 of them according to the last press release I wrote, just over a year ago), so maybe I should clarify that what I mean is, the best thing about not living in New York anymore is that I can finally buy in bulk. And Target just happens to be the most fun place to do that.

Like most New Yorkers, I had no car, no trunk to load up with gallon water bottles or economy packs of toilet paper. A slave to the streets, my purchases were restricted by what I could physically carry home and up the four flights of stairs to my apartment. Not that I could have bought in bulk anyway: my apartment was about 350 square feet and had only enough cupboard space to house a handfull of groceries. And unless I wanted to share my 350 square feet with the waterbugs in the building, it was really best to try and keep groceries to a minimum.

On my first full day of living in LA I went to Target and stocked up on supplies. An 8-pack of toilet paper, a 6-pack of sponges, 32 bottles of water. You've never seen anyone so happy about wheeling a shopping cart out to her car or loading her trunk with the most boring of daily necessities. I hadn't been that excited about a purchase since the Prada sample sale of 2004. No wonder I loved LA - it was just so easy! Another thing I picked up was a 12-pack of paper towels. Or maybe it was a 9-pack - I don't remember anymore. All I know is that I have been here for more than a year and I have not purchased paper towels since. I've been working on that last roll for a good month already and I still have half to go.

Now if only I could make gasoline last that long. I wish they sold that at Target. Three bucks, my friends, three bucks...