random thoughts – Day 1,395 – (Thursday) – winning

Today’s work escapades included a trip to Lawrence. The dashboard informed me via the gas gauge that the car had around a quarter-tank of fuel with “43 RTE” (range to empty, not short for "route"), and I fully intended to fix the problem on the way out of town.

One route of my neighborhood takes me past three gas stations, so it’s not like I’m in some remote area. The first station (Shell) is always dramatically more expensive than the others. Further down the street is a station on the left, which was empty, but I didn’t feel like dealing with a left-hand turn to get in there. The next station is tiny, sometimes has the lowest price of the three, and was jammed with vehicles. So, I kept driving.

The fuel indicator changed from 43 RTE to 55 RTE, and the trip was 15 miles each way, so I chose to stop worrying about it. 

Parking lot snow, Lawrence, MA.

At the destination, there was a big snow pile in the parking lot. It sort of looked like a deflated cloud fallen to the asphalt or some sort of mashed potato version of a soft sculpture of a baked potato I once saw in a museum as a kid and I wanted to play on it. Unfortunately, it was a work day and a work function and there was no time for stomping on a snow pile. Not that I would be able to explain in a rational manner, anyway.

On the way back to Lowell, the dashboard suddenly showed “LOW RTE on Rte. 495. Yikes. How did we go from 43 to 55 to LOW RTE on a 15-mile trip? I don’t know what “low” means in terms of actual distance, but it felt like an adventure in the making. Would I make it all the way to Lowell? Is running out of gas on Route 495 something to call AAA for?

The worry was for naught. I made it to Lowell and the gas station. After filling the tank, I pushed “yes” in response to “Do you want a receipt?” Yes. Yes, I want a receipt. The machine emitted noises like it was printing a receipt. There was no receipt. I hate that. Don’t ask me if I want a receipt and not deliver one. This is right up there with “See clerk for receipt.” If I wanted to go inside, I wouldn’t be paying at the pump and avoiding human contact.

The project was a success. The journey was a success. And I didn’t run out of gas. Win. Win. Win.