Two Comments -- Unrelated

First off am I the ONLY person in the world that doesn't sit around and google the names of people I used to know or know now? It has happened again where a person I knew from years gone by all of a sudden emails me (or in this case makes a comment on the blog) having found me online. Not that I'm complaining or anything but apparently this is another one to be filed in the "Trendy and/or popular things Ernie is oblivious to until he's one of the last people to clue into" folder?

The other thing I want to cover is a rant on the disappointment of something being discovered by everyone else. My favorite Trader Joe's used to be a regular sized TJ's in a strip mall in Daly City with plenty of parking and just off the freeway. In and out, no worries. But as is with economic growth and development, TJ's built a new and expanded building in the same complex. This began the domino effect of subsequently having the Safeway get spruced up. Then parking lot space was eliminated the facades of the storefronts were all pastel and the complex was given a hip looking logo and now calls itself Westlake. But today, I went to TJ's and I got stuck in the parking lot trying to find a space. The secondary parking lot has been torn up and in its place will be a new Linens and Things. I eventually made my way to the other side of the mall and parked. I got out and saw the what will be the kiss of death of what made this Tj's efficient and effective as a place to buy food. I saw the half finished monstrosity that will soon become....HOME DEPOT. It's a "Design Center" Home Depot, which I think might be the superduper sized HOME DEPOT. I think the analogy would go like this:

SAFEWAY:COSTCO
HOME DEPOT:HOME DEPOT DESIGN CENTER

The pleasant and painfree Daly City Trader Joe's experience is dead to me.