One of my personal Christmas (and Thanksgiving) traditions is that I have to have ham. And not just any old ham if I can help it. Ham with a honey/brown sugar glaze. Specifically the Honeybaked Ham if I can get it.
I called my local store to reserve a ham -- Joel suggested getting a small ham instead of slices this time around. No, he doesn't eat it. But he thought it might be cheaper in the long run. So when would I pick up this ham? I decided on Thursday (yesterday), thinking that I'd run by and pick it up after I took my friend to the INS to be fingerprinted (starting naturalization process).
So that's what I did. My friend didn't mind the detour, since she took yesterday off. I drove by the store slowly, noting the parking lots for that shopping center were crowded and busy. I could see a snaking line throughout the store. I kept driving.
Cut to later yesterday. I was working at the Studio from 5-7pm and if I got lucky, I could get out early and make it to the ham store before they closed at 8pm. Well, a customer wanting to match threads in her Persian rug came in at 5 til the hour. I waited on her, and it took a while to come up with 8 different colors in varying shades of rose, toast, rosy-brown, and brown. 27 strands of yarn and $2.90 later, I was able to close out the cash register -- at 7:22pm. And then it took me a little while to actually get out of the store. By 7:34pm I was on the road, calling Joel and praying I'd make it.
This store is not far from where I live -- meaning I was trying to drive 15 or so miles in pre-Christmas shopping traffic in 20 minutes. I made it to the store by 8pm -- praying I wouldn't do to them what was just done to me. But the store was still open, I knew what I wanted and they had it, and I was out of there by 8:08. They were happy, I was happy and the ham is in the fridge waiting for Christmas Day. Whew.
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