Tonight, I believe, marks my most successful night of dumpstering yet. 7-11 had far more donuts than I could possibly consume, even if I ate nothing else for a week. I took one shopping bag full, and wistfully left the rest -- enough to feed an entire police station -- behind. (Because trans fatty acids taste better when they come from a dumpster.)

Also from 7-11: cookies, several sandwiches, mcmuffins, and monster sized burritos. The sandwiches and burritos are of highly questionable safety since they contain dead animal matter, and evidence suggests that they may have sat in the dumpster unrefrigerated for up to 24 hours before I arrived. Right now, I am giving one of them "the test" -- take a couple of small bites, find out how my mouth reacts first (tastes ok), and then wait a while to see what the stomach says before eating any more.

But we haven't even reached the climax yet. At the Vitamin Cottage dumpster, laying right on top of everything else was a box containing several unopened cartons of organic orange juice! Posted expiration: Not until next month. Besides that, I found fresh brocolli, a fruit salad, a box of waffles (box slightly dented, but waffles in unopened sealed plastic), and some other fresh fruit.

Since my backpack was already stuffed full from 7-11, I searched for more shopping bags to no avail. Finally, I resorted to emptying one of the trash bags that was already almost empty, inserting my new findings into it, and carrying it as best I could while I rode. I only took 2 cartons of the orange juice (my load was plenty heavy already), but it's so good that I might go back for more of it later.

Having already feasted myself on donuts, I hadn't even bothered to stop at several of my other usual "instant food now" spots. On nights like this, it almost seems too easy.