My sons do not particularly enjoy going shopping with me. Why is that?

It clearly takes longer than normal. This is indirectly related to my job as a product manager where I am responsible for print quality. This means that I meticulously check every packaging in the supermarket. So I shop less purposefully and instead stroll through the aisles...

Over time I have developed a soft spot for rice packaging. I inspect these very closely. Several factors play a role for me: What is the surface position of the print? How do the illustrations look? Is the print clean? If the criteria pass my test, I also like to grab a package from further in the back. This way I can see if everything is printed from a single batch and what tolerances were taken into account. My sons know how to take advantage of my behaviour in a stone-cold way. I often find various packs of sweets in the shopping cart after my checking routine.

Other shoppers notice my behaviour too. I can all but read their glances like “Is he going to buy it or not, what’s he doing looking at rice packaging for 10 minutes?” The funny thing about it is that I don't really like rice.

Even if my passion for shopping may sound strange at first, it does show me that my job is more than just work for me. So much so that I am still interested in it in my spare time. As long as I don't take a colour fan to the supermarket, I'm not worried.