Time and tide wait for no man, or woman, for that matter. By the time I arrived at the store, the sanyo rice cookers that had been put up on sale only yesterday were all gone. I really like those rice cookers because they’re so dependable and seem to last forever. The people who bought them probably thought the same thing too. They, too, would soon enjoy the texture and aroma of fluffy, white rice. But now, I had to look for another present for my mother-in-law’s birthday. She always seemed to have a dislike of me ever since I got her a tub of anti-aging moisturizing cream.