Rainier, Diet Pepsi III

[Ciderhelm]

My biggest frustration with blogging is that I write a lot. I'll write something I put a bit of work into (like the Kael'thas post below), or write a really long article, and then I'll bump it off with another really long post such as this.

I'm totally new to blogging. I've only started as a result of the suggestion coming up on the WoW-US Warrior forums. It's been a good experience, and so has building this website, but I'm still not sure what's expected. I've never read blogs before.


Rainier & Where I Live
I've been amazed to look at the number of people visiting the website. As I've brought up before, Veneretio clued me in to Google Analytics, which gives detailed traffic charts and maps. Yet, looking at it, I only come back to realizing how much I love where I live.

I live in Washington State. If you are even aware of the state, you probably don't know much about it beyond the fact it rains.

What you don't know is that we have one of the most beautiful environments in the world. The Western half of our State is a mountainous rainforest. Mount Rainier, the largest mountain the the contiguous United States, is visible in nearly important populated stretch in the state (except for Spokane and some of the cities which have other mountains blocking their view, such as the Olympic Peninsula).

I'm big into hiking and big into photography. I'll be taking more pictures just as soon as I can, maybe even this next week. Unfortunately, with my Hard Drive out again, I won't be able to share those with you just yet... So here are some from Google:

Diet Pepsi, Part III: On The Waterfront
Ever seen that Marlon Brando... the one that made him famous? On the Waterfront? It's a pretty terrible movie by today's standards. I wouldn't suggest watching it (I've angered every artsy movie buff by saying this).

The movie is historically important because it changed acting. It portrayed a real character, not a caricature. In this case, it was a man fighting against the labor union that fed him. He is emotionally confronted by a murder he witnessed. His choice is to continue living off the fat or to take a stand at the risk of his own life.

Well, the Diet Pepsi saga continued today. I've now come to the belief that the Safeway grocery store union is skimming off the top, just as Marlon Brando did in one of the early scenes in the movie.

I went into the store and headed for the soda aisle. It's 3:00 AM and the night crew was cleaning up. The store was freshly stocked. Every type of soda was missing stocked to the back, and it was a playground.

Except the Diet Pepsi.

I'm surrounded by soda, all of it on sale, and I'm staring at an empty rack for the one type I'm actually there to get. No 24-packs. No 12-packs. No 6-pack bottles.

I head around the store. Maybe I should pick up some groceries. But in the back of my mind I know what I'm here to get, and it sure as hell isn't carrots and celery.

On my way out, I see a conveniently placed sign: Diet Coke, Buy 2 Get 2 Free. The price? Just as good as the Diet Pepsi sale. Am I settling for mediocrity? Sure, but we all have times when we have to cut our losses.

I head on over to the cash register. Then, one of the night crew asks me a question -- "is there anything I can help you find?"

You are thinking to yourself, 'Everyone asks that question. That's what they are paid to ask. They don't expect an answer.' I know. I used to be a Sears DLP and Plasma television salesman. But this time, yes, there was something he could help me find.

"Do you happen to have any Diet Pepsi," I ask.

"I'm not sure. Did you check the soda aisle?"

I've got a cart full of Diet Coke, what do you think? "Yes."

Then it happens. "Let me go check in the back." He goes to the back. Not twenty seconds after going through the rubber flaps to the storage room, he walks back out with a whole warehouse cart of Diet Pepsi. "We must have forgotten to stock this, it was right in the front!"

Coincidence that this cart happened to be there? Coincidence that this one time they forgot to stock the Diet Pepsi? I think not. This has been happening far too long.

If I shut up about it, nothing will happen, right? I'll get what I came here for, no one has to know. We went to the checkout. I purchased my soda. I begin walking away. The cashier runs and catches up to me.

"Don't know if you'll want this, but the computer just printed it."

A coupon for a free Coke product.


This is corruption. This is petty crime. This is what turns normal men into mobsters. Next thing we know, Safeway employees will be throwing bodies from the rooftops, shooting policemen, and stockading investigations.

I just hope we can find the Marlon Brando who will return normalcy to Pepsi traffic in my city.


As facetious as I'm being and as much a joke as I'm making out of this, this actually happened to me a couple hours ago. It is absurd. If you are wondering more about the context, check my past blog entries:
Diet Pepsi
Diet Pepsi, Part II

[Kazeyonoma]

WoW, that's really interesting, i wonder if Safeway has been getting some sorta deal with coke.

chances are the whole coupon deal is the result of getting a good deal on massive quantities of coke, and safeway now has to get rid of it or eat the overhead. So they are forcing people to by the coke by holding back diet pepsi (i hope i'm not just repeating the obvious!) Well, as much as I would love to say do the Marlon way and stand up to it, its probably just a phase to try to help in emptying out their overstock in coke. From a business standpoint you have to see where they are coming from, even if it is a disservice to their consumers. What can ya do?