Even though I make my living in IT, there are still times when the things you can do over the Internet amaze me. Take today, for instance. It just so happens that my wife’s twin sister once again finds herself living at a women’s shelter in Florida (you know, that sun-shiney state for shady people) for what seems like the 1,734th time after her latest go-round with a former husband she just can’t seem to break away from.

So yesterday when we got that frantic call from Tam, I asked her what her immediate needs were and she replied food and cigarettes. Seems she was OK for now – some of the other residents were sharing their food with her – but that wasn’t a situation that was going to remain tolerable for long. And so another Gilbert, AZ-initiated version of the Berlin Airlift was needed, and pronto.

In the past, this would involve a trip to the local supermarket, buying a whole bunch of stuff, then dropping it off at the local UPS Store (one of my absolute favorite places to go, BTW), where our groceries would be packaged up and shipped to her. But not today. It was Tracey who got the idea of doing everything over the ‘Net – after all, we just spent this week doing our taxes and paying them online, why not try grocery shopping?

So Tracey found AULSuperStore for all her grocery needs. I think she’s hooked. No getting dressed, hopping in your car, wheeling a shopping cart around, and waiting in line to be checked out. Just grocery shopping in the comfort of her own home. Now granted, you probably wouldn’t want to do this for your everyday shopping – after all, you still have to be able to buy perishable items – but considering the circumstances a wonderful way to get what you need done without all the hassle. The shipping and handling charges were even reasonable.

Same thing with Tam’s cigarettes. After checking a bunch of websites (not being a smoker, I was amazed at how many there were!) Tracey settled on this smoke shop run by the Seneca Indians of upstate New York. While this online commerce isn’t quite as straight-forward as the groceries were (after all, there are a whole slew of regulations associated with purchasing tobacco products) she nevertheless still found great deals you would never find at your local supermarket or convenience store. Again, all without the hassle of traveling – perfect for people like Tracey who prefers rabbits to people and spending her free time relaxing around the house.

What a marvelous technologically-advanced age we live in.