November 2004

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I was lazy the first part of the weekend, and could get away with it because I had stopped on my way home on Thursday to do some errands. That meant, however, that I had to spend some of today going shopping.

My first clue this was going to be an adventure was when I looked out the window and saw the big blue truck. It was parked in two spaces next to my car, and in such a way that seeing to back out of my parking place was definitely going to be a challenge. I procrastinated a bit, hoping that its owner would need to leave. I've seen him and the truck before, but I'm not sure whether he lives in my building or the one next to me.

The big blue truck is an oversized pickup truck. It's not only longer than usual, it has a top over the bed so it's a good bit taller. I'm pretty sure the truck has more interior space than my apartment. In fact, I think it's probably larger than the State of Rhode Island. Usually, if it's parked near me, it's not quite so close to my car. Which is why I haven't complained about it before---this is the first time I've really had a big problem getting out on account of it.

I procrastinated as long as I could, then went out to get the errands started. I checked before getting in my car, and there didn't seem to be much traffic in the parking lot. Luck was on my side, and I did manage to get out of my parking spot without incident.

The adventure continued at the shopping center. The two stores I was in (a drugstore and a grocery store) were both busier than usual for a Sunday afternoon. And they were both filled with grim-faced people. It was as though they had heard some weather report calling for massive amounts of snow, and they were determined to get everything they possibly could before disaster struck. I was pretty sure there wasn't anything bad in the forecast, so I stuck to my original list.

In the grocery store's dairy aisle, there was a bit of a traffic jam. I was not its cause. I was minding my own business, steering my cart alongside the two carts of empty cardboard boxes a stocker had parked mid-aisle, when I came upon a woman who wanted to go the opposite direction. She was glaring at me. Since her cart looked to be heavier than mine, I decided the right course of action for me was to back up before she ran over me. There was no place to turn around until I was at the head of the aisle. I hope she found whatever it was she was after in that aisle. If she didn't, no doubt there was hell to pay.

I managed to get the rest of my shopping finished, and headed home. There, the adventure continued as I got ready to get out of my car with the groceries. One of the bags decided it needed to rip, dumping its contents as it did so. The mercy in this one was that I was still in the car, and a little judicious realigning of the contents of the other bags made room for the things that were suddenly bagless.

Once my purchases and I made it into the apartment, all was well. Since I didn't need to go back outside for anything, I shut the door and sighed with relief. Enough adventure for one day!