Five Things Friday Vol. 95

Five Things Friday: just five things I’m thinking about or things that made my week, or things that I otherwise feel like sharing.

It’s always a sad day when you have been buying something for years and you show up at the store one morning and find out the item has been discontinued. Sigh. This happened this morning at Trader Joe’s with their “Muesli”. This is the second item in a short period of time that I bought regularly and that Trader Joe’s discontinued (remember the European whole grain bread that was discontinued a few months ago?). 

I was previously told by a store employee that they often discontinue stuff not because it doesn’t sell, but because the distributor raises prices or discontinues a product. If they don’t find a competitor with the same or better price, they just let the item go. It’s a huge bummer. I know, I know, I can mix Müsli myself, it’s not very complicated (and luckily I still have one more bag and can write down the exact ingredients to replicate it) but this one was just really good and convenient to have in the pantry.
Has one of your favorite items been discontinued recently? What was it? 

*    *    * 

Yes, I watched the Presidential Debate yesterday and yes, it was beyond cringe-worthy. Jon Stewart summed it up nicely in this video clip. (Hat tip to Tanja, who sent this to me.)

Look, I don’t want either of these two as the next president but I think it’s still a good time to remind yourself that one is old and stutters sometimes (and I disagree with him on many things) but the other one is a pathological lier who speaks only in hyperbole and is hell-bent on destroying this country. The choices are not great, but the choice must be obvious.  

*    *    * 

This afternoon, I had an appointment at our local Fleet Feet running store for a “fit appointment” to get my feet professionally scanned and measured. I’ve been fitted at the store for running shoes a few times before but this is the first time where they used 3D technology (well, if you recall that I work with multi-dimensional data in my day job, you probably know why this was super-exciting for me.) Fit Id provides a full scan of your feet measuring everything that matters and helps you understand where your body places pressure on your feet while you walk and run, if you have a neutral gait, or if you pronate or supinate.

What I learned was fascinating (if nothing new): I have a pretty neutral running gait, very high arches, and arch flexibility, and apparently, a long foot relative to the average female (I wear a shoe size 9). The image below is the actual scan of my two feet. Something I didn’t know; my right foot is slightly shorter than my left. Not a big deal in my case, but apparently, some people have a whole shoe size difference in their feet. Who knew?

*    *    * 

I know some of you guys are really into personality tests. In the mentorship program that I am currently enrolled in, we have a bunch of online seminars for the mentées that revolve around self-assessment and I attended a “Strength Finder” seminar this week. Have you heard of the Clifton Strength Assessment test? Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be freely accessible, but it was an interesting test. It emphasizes what you’re good at and how you can use your strengths to your advantage. This reminds me that I want to retake the Enneagram test again, because I think we’ll have a seminar about a little further down the road.

*    *    *

This weekend, I am going to spend time with my friend Susi in the Bay Area. I haven’t seen her since January (WHAT?). We’re going to watch the next EURO 2024 match between Germany and Denmark together (tomorrow at noon!) and then hang out for the rest of the weekend. I am really looking forward to some “girl time”.

How was your week? Did you learn anything new about yourself?