just buy fruit, you grubby foreigner

Date	Celsius ° (C*9/5)+32=F	Place of run	Duration (min)	start time	One inside loop	9 flights (sec)
19 May	≈ 18	Nizhenskaya,Moscow,	≈36	07:47	1:17.64	35.88

Words:  364

            Good run today.  You will see from the time of the loop that I achieved a fine finish.  Last night, I wrote  how I was not running on my toes when I thought about throwing my arms.  About halfway around, I remembered to run on the toes.  I think it really helped. I’ll try to do better next time.  Maybe I will break the record of 1:14.xx.

You might wonder why the 9 flights took me so long.  Well, I ran up six flights carrying a bag of fruit, then I dropped it on the landing outside my door, and sprinted up the final three.  Carrying something always hinders a sprinter.

            I was carrying fruit because I eat so much of it.  A couple days ago, I wrote how I promised the insurance company that I was eating right while living a healthy life. 

The situation in the States is probably the same, but here food buying here uses a disgusting amount of plastic.  The custom is to put the produce into little plastic bags and then weigh it. Thus, forcing every bit of food to have its own bag.  In some stores, the customer is supposed to weigh the food and apply a sticker.  In others, they have a scale at the checkout.  Whatever the case, not only do people use several plastic bags when they leave the store, but also several bags to hold the vegetables and fruit.  The amount of plastic is ridiculous. 

            This morning, as is my custom, before going for a run, I put a bag in my pocket, and zipped a few bills in the side of my shorts.  I put the fruit in the bag loosely. In this store, the scale is at the checkout line.  The cashier looked at the nectarines, apples, and bananas strewn around her table and said, “How am I supposed to weigh these?”

            I pantomimed moving them onto the scale and said, “Put them here.”

            She looked disgusted.

            “Помочь?” (Do you want help?)

            “Не надо.” (“That won’t be necessary.” is the literal interpretation of her reply, but “Keep your grubby, foreign, mitts away from my pristine work space,” is what she implied.)