Why did I eat oatmeal with tiny bugs in it this morning?

Why did I eat oatmeal with tiny bugs in it this morning, you may ask yourself. And I would have an unsatisfactory answer for you. Is it a sense of thriftiness that made me resist throwing away a brand new carton of oats? Or perhaps desperation, as I needed to eat quickly to get to work? Maybe tiredness? – I haven’t slept enough all week and it’s finally caught up with me. Is it any better that the boiling water killed them, so at least they weren’t squirming their way down my throat. Or that I also put raisins and a banana in with the bugs? Perhaps what really drove me to eat buggy oatmeal were the starving children in Africa.

Did your mom pull that one out every time you didn’t want to eat your vegetables or drink the milk once the cereal was gone? Mine did so even when I was inclined to throw away the salad dressing bottle before the last dregs were consumed. But I’m not starving, nor am I in Africa. This begs the question; do the starving children in Nepal want my buggy oatmeal?

Judging by the passing of the expiry date (February 2008), I am guessing not many Nepalis eat oatmeal. In fact, this carton was imported from the United States, so that may make it prohibitively expensive for Nepalis. They are more likely to eat sampa (a flour that’s cooked prior to purchase, one just adds water prior to eating), although that’s a Tibetan food, really.. Or just some toast and tea. Or crackers and tea. Lunch is the big meal ‘round here. Anyway… I’ve digressed.

Perhaps you’ve come to the point where you’re asking yourself, self, why doesn’t she return the carton and either ask for a new one or get her money back. Well, hm. I am very conscious of being a Westerner and all the privilege, like returning groceries when they’re sub-par, that implies. I don’t want to seem like I feel entitled to food without… bugs…? and even as I type that, I realize how silly that sounds. Of course one expects new food from the supermarket to be bug-free. Even a Nepali expects her food to be bug-free when she brings it home from the store.

Ok. Here is my oatmeal action plan:
1) Don’t eat any more.
2) Bring it to the store and tell them it’s buggy, and that I bought it recently, so it probably contained bugs from the get-go.
3) Ask for my money back.
4) If refused my money back, ask for another carton of oats, within expiry date.
5) If refused a replacement product, know that at least I tried.

Update: I exchanged the oatmeal carton for a new carton with a current expiry date. crosses fingers for an unbuggy breakfast!