My brain is returning to normal today. I don’t know what I’d do without all of my HPS friends. Several of them called or e-mailed yesterday, and then again today, just checking up on me. They all know exactly how I feel. I don’t have to explain a thing, and no one says “don’t worry” because they know we all worry.
I woke up still in that channel changing state of mind – unable to focus, decide what I wanted to do for the day etc. Then Sheena called and it just sort of settled me down for the day. But, I missed church – again. Who decided that church was supposed to be on Sunday morning anyway? Yeah, yeah, yeah…spare me the lecture.
I really should have been working today, but decided I needed some exercise, so I went to run some errands. I ate lunch at Casa Paloma, the Mexican grocery that provided the chips and salsa at the trivia tournament HPS fundraiser. I try to eat there when ever I’m headed in their direction because they’ve been so supportive of my HPS fundraising. They even have a bulletin board about HPS by the register with some of our photos on it.
Although my apartment is clean, my lack of furniture is starting to drive me crazy. I need storage, and I’ve got it in my head that I want to buy a trunk to use as a coffee table and paint it in a semi-traditional folk German style. I haven’t done that sort of painting in years, and haven’t finished even a simple painting in over two years – but hey, this line of thought was working for me, so I went with it.
I went to the unfinished furniture store, but the only trunks they had were these very country farm looking ones that had slats in the side – not the look I had in mind. So, onward to F.O.B., a store that looks like it belongs in Hong Kong. They specialize in all Asian furniture. While that isn’t really the style of my stuff, I like the idea of not having a “style.” I’ve got a lot of things from all my travels, and I’d always hoped that one day when I had money (which isn’t likely) I’d have sort of a global theme. What do you know but F.O.B. was going out of business. That got my little brain going in one direction at last.
Hmmmm….sale……70 percent off sale……hmmmmm…..but, I still couldn’t afford anything. And, most of the pieces left were huge – too big for an apartment. No matter, like I need to be spending money.
Then it was on to TJ-Max, only because it was in the same strip mall, and I couldn’t be so close without poking my head in there. My second bedroom serves as my study/art studio/HPS satellite office. It’s sorely in need of organizing. Score! I found two good-sized, cloth-lined baskets perfect for putting a bunch of loose odds and ends into and then setting the basket on a shelf. They were only $7. So, I picked up several.
One of the many downsides to walking everywhere you need to go is that when you go shopping, you can’t put your purchases in the trunk of your car. So, on to Whole Foods for some salad and fruit items – with several large baskets in hand. The baskets filled up the entire shopping cart and I got a number of looks.
I put my food items inside the baskets and it was on to Borders. To be honest, I was enjoying just poking around and would have liked to continue, but I was starting to get very tired. I’d already walked more than two miles, and now had all these packages to carry as well. Borders is a great place to call a cab because here in the great suburbia – Johnson County, the big green jail - you never know how long it will take for a cab to come. It could be 10 minutes, or it could be several hours.
So, I ordered an ice tea, called the cab, and settled in for the wait. Borders has a café, a perfect place to sit and wait. Or, I leave my packages with the information desk and browse around while I wait. It didn’t take long to finish my drink and the café was crowded. It felt awkward to sit there without a drink to nurse, so I picked up my load to leave it with the information desk. Horror – they’ve pulled out the desk and replaced it with a damned kiosk! No where to leave bags! Great! Just Great!
So, I tried to browse around Borders with all these packages. It seemed like every time I turned around I was knocking something over, or running into someone, with all these bags!
I gave up.
I sat on the ground outside of Borders and waited. The only benches were in the rain. I HATE this sort of thing. Everyone that walks by looks at you funny. What are you doing sitting on the ground, the imaginary thought bubbles above their heads seem to say. Are you homeless? People with cars just don’t get it.
I called the cab around 3:00 pm, and it finally came around 5:00 pm. It would have taken me less time to walk home, even with the bags. And with a rest, I probably could have done it.
But, the trip did clear my head. This evening I’ve been pestering various TV stations around the country – sending e-mails and leaving voice mails – trying to get some press for HPS in certain markets where I think we’re likely to find more HPS’ers. So far these efforts have proven useless, but hope springs eternal.
Tonight I’m wondering, if I’m at 69, would I have really been able to do all that walking today? Yes, as I was doing it I was breathing heavier than I am sitting here and typing – but I did it.
I woke up still in that channel changing state of mind – unable to focus, decide what I wanted to do for the day etc. Then Sheena called and it just sort of settled me down for the day. But, I missed church – again. Who decided that church was supposed to be on Sunday morning anyway? Yeah, yeah, yeah…spare me the lecture.
I really should have been working today, but decided I needed some exercise, so I went to run some errands. I ate lunch at Casa Paloma, the Mexican grocery that provided the chips and salsa at the trivia tournament HPS fundraiser. I try to eat there when ever I’m headed in their direction because they’ve been so supportive of my HPS fundraising. They even have a bulletin board about HPS by the register with some of our photos on it.
Although my apartment is clean, my lack of furniture is starting to drive me crazy. I need storage, and I’ve got it in my head that I want to buy a trunk to use as a coffee table and paint it in a semi-traditional folk German style. I haven’t done that sort of painting in years, and haven’t finished even a simple painting in over two years – but hey, this line of thought was working for me, so I went with it.
I went to the unfinished furniture store, but the only trunks they had were these very country farm looking ones that had slats in the side – not the look I had in mind. So, onward to F.O.B., a store that looks like it belongs in Hong Kong. They specialize in all Asian furniture. While that isn’t really the style of my stuff, I like the idea of not having a “style.” I’ve got a lot of things from all my travels, and I’d always hoped that one day when I had money (which isn’t likely) I’d have sort of a global theme. What do you know but F.O.B. was going out of business. That got my little brain going in one direction at last.
Hmmmm….sale……70 percent off sale……hmmmmm…..but, I still couldn’t afford anything. And, most of the pieces left were huge – too big for an apartment. No matter, like I need to be spending money.
Then it was on to TJ-Max, only because it was in the same strip mall, and I couldn’t be so close without poking my head in there. My second bedroom serves as my study/art studio/HPS satellite office. It’s sorely in need of organizing. Score! I found two good-sized, cloth-lined baskets perfect for putting a bunch of loose odds and ends into and then setting the basket on a shelf. They were only $7. So, I picked up several.
One of the many downsides to walking everywhere you need to go is that when you go shopping, you can’t put your purchases in the trunk of your car. So, on to Whole Foods for some salad and fruit items – with several large baskets in hand. The baskets filled up the entire shopping cart and I got a number of looks.
I put my food items inside the baskets and it was on to Borders. To be honest, I was enjoying just poking around and would have liked to continue, but I was starting to get very tired. I’d already walked more than two miles, and now had all these packages to carry as well. Borders is a great place to call a cab because here in the great suburbia – Johnson County, the big green jail - you never know how long it will take for a cab to come. It could be 10 minutes, or it could be several hours.
So, I ordered an ice tea, called the cab, and settled in for the wait. Borders has a café, a perfect place to sit and wait. Or, I leave my packages with the information desk and browse around while I wait. It didn’t take long to finish my drink and the café was crowded. It felt awkward to sit there without a drink to nurse, so I picked up my load to leave it with the information desk. Horror – they’ve pulled out the desk and replaced it with a damned kiosk! No where to leave bags! Great! Just Great!
So, I tried to browse around Borders with all these packages. It seemed like every time I turned around I was knocking something over, or running into someone, with all these bags!
I gave up.
I sat on the ground outside of Borders and waited. The only benches were in the rain. I HATE this sort of thing. Everyone that walks by looks at you funny. What are you doing sitting on the ground, the imaginary thought bubbles above their heads seem to say. Are you homeless? People with cars just don’t get it.
I called the cab around 3:00 pm, and it finally came around 5:00 pm. It would have taken me less time to walk home, even with the bags. And with a rest, I probably could have done it.
But, the trip did clear my head. This evening I’ve been pestering various TV stations around the country – sending e-mails and leaving voice mails – trying to get some press for HPS in certain markets where I think we’re likely to find more HPS’ers. So far these efforts have proven useless, but hope springs eternal.
Tonight I’m wondering, if I’m at 69, would I have really been able to do all that walking today? Yes, as I was doing it I was breathing heavier than I am sitting here and typing – but I did it.
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