random thoughts – Day 1,838 – (Saturday) – out of the house

Today was the big day I left the house all by myself and was back out in the world. There were errands, an event to attend, and innocent fantasies about grocery shopping and visiting St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop.

The day kicked off with coffee like every other day. I was registered for a two-hour webinar with a resume coach that began at 10:00. There were five attendees from locations including New Jersey and Maryland, plus the coach. It was my third resume workshop in about as many weeks and each one has provided different helpful nuggets. At first, two hours seemed like it would be a long time, but it went by quickly.

After the webinar, there were two hours before the start of the event downtown. Pizza was extracted from the freezer and reheated for lunch. A product return was logged with Amazon, and I checked the hours for the preferred UPS drop-off and saw it closes at 1:30 on Saturday. Assuming, of course, I didn’t screw up the military time in which it was displayed. And why was it shown in military time? Sir, I don’t know, sir. Also, why was it spitting snow? 

The minute the car started I was greeted by the yellow “you gotta check something out” indicator. The last time that light was on by itself it was something with the gas cap and sensor. By the time I got to the UPS store to return the “elegant lace long swing Latin skirt” that was supposed to be for women but arrived in a child size version, the glow of the low tire pressure indicator dominated the instrument cluster. The driver front tire was showing 25 puny pounds of pressure, another was at 33, the other two were okay at 35. There was a stop at a gas station for air, because hey, it had been six glorious weeks without such a stop and clearly I was overdue. I accidentally overfilled one tire when I didn't hear the dinging sound.

Rainy day in downtown Lowell.

It felt a bit early, but from the gas station I went downtown for the event. The spitting snow had turned to rain, enough to take the umbrella from the car, but not heavy enough to use it. 

I looked in the window of the bakery but decided to not place myself in the path of that specific temptation and kept walking to the bookstore for different temptations. I hadn’t been in there for at least six weeks and things were different. There was a vinyl record vendor tucked in the back area where the used books used to be and the used books are now in a different nook. It's a small shop, but I still find it a little overwhelming when I'm not there for something specific. 

My 2025 4x4 raffle prize.

The event was the "Four by Four for Education" at The Brush Art Gallery and Studios. I checked in and a card with my name went into the bucket. There was plenty of time to preview the art on the shelves and note several that I liked, and chat with people, many of whom I hadn’t seen in ages. I was number 30 in the lottery draw and chose a mixed media piece with silver, pearl, and turquoise. 

The beauty of this event is how quick it is. It took only 45 minutes for the names to be pulled and the canvases to be chosen, but at the end of it I was exhausted. As I prepared to leave, I calculated I could home on the couch settling in for a nap by 3:15. Grocery shopping was off the schedule. 

Even with a stop at Family Dollar for coffee creamer, which expanded to include chips, popcorn, jelly beans, and mascara, the timeline estimate was close. I waited about an hour to enjoy the nap, finishing the series The Lady's Companion on Netflix. Now I can look forward to going to bed.