While I was on vacation last weekend, we came across a road sign with my name on it which was totally awesome because that never happens. If we were still in high school, then we might have been tempted to come back later in the evening and locate it to new premises (i.e. my room), not that we did anything like that in high school. Nope. Never.
However, this street name seemed oddly appropriate when I considered my foray to the local 7-11 for a "midnight" run (well, lazy vacation midnight which means like 9 pm) for cough drops as it seemed something like a circular comedy of errors. Our last evening there, I ran out of cough drops. I've never actually used cough drops very much but they seemed vital to surviving this cold. All of sudden I was picturing myself having one of those coughing fits and not ever being able to stop coughing because I didn't have any cough drops. It was scary enough to propel me to change out of pjs and find my way to the store.
I leave the condo and head to the elevator. I walk into the elevator (which have never been my favorite since I got HORRIBLY trapped in a VERY crowded one on a missions trip to Buenos Aires). This elevator had a shopping cart in it. I look very warily at that shopping cart. Now, while I had seen it in use earlier in the week as a type of luggage cart for guests, the thought did cross my mind that a murderer/rapist type person had left it in the elevator in order to easily cart me off for his evil purposes once he knocked me out. (Active imagination, huh?). So I stayed well-away from the menacing looking shopping cart and extra vigilant for bad guys who might pop out.
On the first floor, I realized I didn't have the clicker thing to open the gate to get back into the community after I left. Phew. That was close. Back up the elevator, and then down again while suspiciously regarding the shopping cart.
Disembarking from the elevator the second time, I realized I didn't have my cell phone. But hey, I grew up without a cell phone, we're overly reliant on them nowadays anyway, I'm only going a half mile to the 7-11. I can do this without a cell phone - no problem. Look at how liberated from technology I am!! As I pulled away, I did start to worry, though - um, but Kira up in our room is the only person I know in this whole town right now, and I have no idea what her cell number is because the only numbers I have committed to memory anymore are my parents' home numbers, my work number, and some approximation of Kira's parents' number since they still have the same number from high school (pre cell phones doing all of this crazy memorization work for us). Well, I figure, worse case, I can borrow a phone and call Kira's parents and have them call her. And I'll just make sure that the clicker works before I leave so I'm not stranded outside of this gated community. There is a passcode you can type in , but the email with that code is on my phone. Sigh. Technology, you have crippled me.
Double checking to make sure the clicker works seems like an easy enough proposition. As I'm exiting I'll just point the clicker over the other side and make sure it works as I slowly drive out. I'm halfway through the gate and clicking and madly and ...the clicker isn't working. Crap. What if ran out of batteries or something. I really do need to make sure I can reenter this compound. Hmmm...what to do, what to do. I know! I'll back my car up. Oops! Let's make sure to avoid that giant planter in the middle of the road. Even though my sister totaled my car in college, I don't think this is a situation where "turnaround is fair play" applies. I'll just park around the corner here kind of in the middle of this lane, that seems smart, to leave my car in the middle of the road with no lights and no caution lights in the "middle" of the night. Ok, I'll do this quickly so no one comes flying by and runs into my sister's car.
I proceed to exit by the little walking path gate to side of the drive through gate. I walk over to the entrance gate and click madly. Success!!! It works!! I feel ridiculous, but it works! I walk in through the gate, hop in my car and drive the 50 yards to the 7-11. Walking seriously seems like it would have been the better option at this point.
I pick up the cough drops, wait 10 minutes in line while the two workers do a cash register shift switch (seriously? only me). Open my cough drops and start sucking on one, yeah, even before I bought them - such a rebel! I make it safely back through the gate, survive one more ride with the threatening shopping cart and then am home where Kira wonders why on earth it took me so long to run to the 7-11. Welcome to Jennifer Cir.
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