Day Two

I left my house this morning and I forgot my phone. It's a Palm Centro. I use Sprint. Without it, I couldn't text message, and I tried to someone my cool Facebook application but looked foolish when I reached for the phone that wasn't there. On the way home from school, I tried to stop for lunch at Whataburger, but the line at the drive-thru was terribly long. Whataburger has a brand reputation for slow service. On the other hand, it's almost always worth it.

So, instead of Whataburger today, I stopped at McDonalds. I ordered a large Coca-Cola on the promise that I'd recieve a free Redbox DVD rental. Alas, my cup was covered in Olympic rings. No free Redbox DVD rental for me. Redbox is my favorite of all the $1 per night DVD kiosks. I honestly can't name another brand of DVD rental kiosk, but I know there is one in HEB and one in Randall's, neither of which I've rented from. I've tried to rent from both, but neither had movies that I wanted to see.

I enjoyed my McNuggets, but I think I would have preferred the Whataburger. A #1 combo, dry with only pickles and tomatoes is comfort food for me. I think it ha to do with growing up in Corpus Christi, the home of Whataburger. I had a rough morning, and I was looking to sooth my nerves with unhealthy food. McDonalds did the job, but I would have been more comforted by Whataburger. When I was living at home, my Dad would bring home a Whataburger when I was bed-ridden because of back problems. I think it says something about my brand loyalty (as well as my dysfunctional relationship with food) when I admit that what I really wanted today was a hug, but what I sought out was a Whataburger.

I bought groceries yesterday. I went to Randall's because I was told they had good specials running. The best value I got was on Starkist Tuna. cans were 10 for $10. I should have gone to HEB. There were more things I needed, but the prices at Randall's were too high. I have to say, I love the HEB store brand more than many name brands. As french onion dip goes, there is nothing better than the HEB brand in the purple and white tub. HEB also has great in-store deals where you can get several items for free if you buy one or two particular items. They call them Combo Locos. I missed HEB very much when I lived in the Dallas area. My parents live in Dallas now and they miss it too.

I'm not sure what more I have to say about brands today. I've spent a lot of time on my sofa, using my MacBook. I'm realizing how little I think about brands in a given day, but when pressed, my home is full of brands. It's a little bit overwhelming.

I'm still formulating my thoughts about brands I avoid. Yesterday I mentioned Franco-American (makers of Spaghetti-os), and today I'll add Windows to the list. Maybe tomorrow I'll have more to say about that.