Remembering basic things

 Hi!

Another Sunday, another internal pressure to post something! Even though currently I am not thinking about this because I have been busy becoming more stable on my bike, there is something that I have had on my mind and wanted to write about.

I was born in 1994 in Romania and spent all of my childhood and teenage life there. From what I remember life was pretty simple back then. Most people would get their milk and other dairy products from the market or from the "milk man" that everyone knew and trusted. The market is still real, but I don't know how good it is still is. Most people went to the corner shops across the street for their groceries where one would simply wait in line, tell the clerk through a small window what they wanted and then pay in cash and leave. In most shops, however, you would be able to walk in and look at what you want before waiting in line and telling the employee to get you what you want. I still remember this corner building by my apartment.

There were three shops: two shops that could probably fit 4 customers inside at a time where I would buy bread and milk, soda and candy. For some reason we never bought cold cuts and meat from there, but we did go to other corner stores where that is all we bought. Then there was another shop where there was no inside. Well, the woman working there was inside and you would be outside separated by a table and a big scale. The woman was selling vegetables and fruits. 

She would write down everything I asked for on a piece of paper and calculate it all in her head before telling me the final price. She would double check it with her calculator sometimes, but I think she was trying to keep her mind fit by also doing it in her head. I remember waiting in line, sometimes in the rain, no phone to distract me, getting the groceries, making some small talk, getting asked about my parents and other things. She knew me and my family and we knew her.

This is how people shopped until supermarkets showed up. I can genuinely still remember my mom talking about how much more practical a supermarket was because you could just grab your cart, walk around, take your time and then go to pay when you are ready without inconveniencing anyone who maybe wanted to buy just a thing or two and be out. At the little corner shops you would have to wait until the person in front of you was done with their shopping list. 

Another thing that I remember is bakeries. I have a distinct memory of visiting my grandma who lived in a pretty rough part of the city and how she would ask me to go buy some bread. I would go to the bakery in the neighborhood where people would still bake things from scratch. There was just an open window, a handwritten menu taped to it above the opening and a baker dressed all in white asking you what you wanted. In the back you would see crates of different types of goods that were going to get baked. These people actually started work super early and were probably already open by 5 am. 

I also remember a burger place by the tram station. I was very young and the owner already knew me because I would go there pretty often. You would just wait outside, order through the little opened window and then get your food to go. This one time they raised the prices, but since there was no way I could have known, the owner let me pay the old price.  It was such a wholesome experience even bumping into him years later after the shop closed down. 

I can't think of other examples right now, but I feel like back then we also had way more handmade things, whether it was food or a vase or even complete furniture pieces. Someone always knew someone who could do something for you. I sometimes think about how people used to live and work in the same house for generations, probably before industrialization happened. Working from home now and even being able to employ your entire family just does not happen anymore and when it does, it is a huge privilege for everyone. 

So yeah, what is life like now?

Now you go to stores and restaurants, where all you care about is the products. You put them in your cart, rush to the checkout, maybe make small talk with the cashier that you barely know and is too tired and underpaid to care and you go home. Honestly, sometimes it is nice to not be interrogated about your entire family when all you need is some bread, so I am not too sorry about that.

Now a homemade sweater that grandmas would have made for you and costs 500€ is fancy. It can be worse and cost like 50€ and be made by slaves somewhere in Asia because have you ever tried to make a sweater? That shit takes you months and good materials cost a fortune. 

One organic gmo-free, gluten free and grass fed banana for 10€ is fancy. Buying baked goods or food made by the hands of the owner that you can personally talk to, is fancy, expensive and a privilege.

Now even the internet without ads which includes youtube, news websites etc is a privilege that costs you money. I recently went on an official German dictionary website and thought I had accessed a scammy copy version of it because of the amount of ads. 

I just hate it how so many things that were just normal and common have been replaced by chains, ads and subscriptions while the real thing is only available to privileged people who are willing to pay the price for it. I have yet to find a bakery in my town that is not a chain and does not just heat up frozen stuff they get delivered. The last one I knew of here closed down and it was run by Turkish people. Maybe that is where I should look again... 

Anyway, let's hope this post goes viral once other normal shit that we have now becomes fancy and expensive, like owning music, software, movies or even the devices we use. 

See you