My Weekend Errands

So, yesterday when I was at the Super Target, it also happened to be free sample day. (Don't forget that this is the Super Target, so there's a grocery store in there in addition to all of the housewares, Halloween costumes, and women's active wear. Also, I might or might not have gone shopping just because I knew it was free sample day - you'll have to come to your own conclusions on that one.) And, as I was wandering through the aisles, I came upon the Slim-Fast meal bar stand right next to the woman with Ghirardelli dark chocolate squares, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about this odd organizational choice since. Are you supposed to see the chocolate first, and right after you bite in look over to the diet products and feel overwhelmed with guilt so that you must have both products? Does the chocolate make you realize that you've been having way too much of that stuff lately, so you buy lots of Slim-Fast vowing to finally start that diet you made a New Year's Resolution about? (You're going to ignore "Soap Opera Digest" at the register too. This is willpower.) Or, maybe the diet products shame you, and frustrated with yourself, you give in to the wonderful comforting power of chocolate and end up with the "family size" pack even though you know you're going to be the only one eating it? It makes no sense to me, but I imagine some consulting or marketing genius is behind the move, and I want to know what the rationale is. Personally, I skipped the Slim-Fast and went straight to the Ghirardelli lady without any sense of shame or personal defeat. I like to think of this as a sign, not of my lack of impulse control, but rather as an indication that the weight-obsessed media and numerous images of Nicole Richie haven't gotten me down. I'm just that strong - try not to be in awe.