dairy roulette

Yogurt... yoghurt... yogert... It's one of those words that if you keep saying it (or reading it) over and over, you'll forget what it means and think you are just making some odd sounds. Fun!

I do this thing when I buy yogurt, and maybe some of you with some psychology insight can help me figure out if it means anything.

I wish I could afford to buy Stoneybrook Farms or the kind with the kangaroo on it, but I get Yoplait with the red label, even though I know it has high-fructose corn syrup in it. It's one of the few items that I won't buy the store brand of, however, because those are generally gross. I really only like a couple flavors-- cherry, strawberry, strawberry-banana and mixed berry.

But here's what I do: I only buy the yogurt when it's on sale, and it often is; 10 for $4. I get five, because I know I won't eat 10 before they go bad, and I get four of one flavor and one random flavor. Today I got four cherry (yum), and one blueberry (not so yum). Then, I put them all in the refrigerator with the label facing the back, and when I grab one to put in my lunch, I make sure not to look at the picture. That way, I know there will be four days when I will get a good one, and one day that I will have to just suffer through it.

This game accomplishes several things:
1. I have something to look forward to in my lunch. "Ooo! Is it going to be another strawberry-banana? Is it?!"
2. I give myself the opportunity to enjoy something that I think I won't. It would be a shame to give up on blueberry yogurt entirely, wouldn't it? So every once in a while I eat it by accident, just to give it another chance to impress me.
3. Even if I don't end up liking the mandarin orange or coffee or whatever flavor it is, at least I've made the commitment to trying it. Somehow, I think this is character-building.

Craziness. I know.