September 20, 2008

Crop circles, fat twins & hand dryers

The morning started out a little rough. I slept through the alarm I set (probably because I didn't end up going to bed until 4) and woke up at 11. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to make it to Tire King in time to get my oil changed. See, they don't take reservations on the weekends, it's on a first-come, first-serve basis. Plus, they close at 1 on Saturdays and aren't open on Sundays. Convenient. Things didn't get any better when, on the way out the door, my shoe got caught on the screen door somehow and I faceplanted on the walkway—landing, almost exclusively, on my right pinkie nail. I'm actually surprised it didn't bleed and isn't sore right now. I hate that screen door. The hinges are really tight and it always seems like it's attacking me.

I didn't get lost this time, although it took me a little while to maneuver my way to the place because some streets were blocked off downtown for an art festival. I got in and they had room for me to get my oil changed and tires rotated. I just made it though because, literally, about a minute after I handed the guy my keys, a couple came in and he told them they were booked up for the day. Phew! It only took a few minutes and only cost $15, thanks to a coupon I had. Every Durham Bulls ticket is worth $5 off an oil change at Tire King. Plus, for every batter a Bulls pitcher strikes out, another dollar is added on. So, when I went to see Jeff Niemann pitch and he nearly threw a no-no, that took an extra $13 off my bill. Thanks, Jeff!

After the oil change, I decided to walk around the art festival a little bit, since it was right next door. I strolled through, but nothing really caught my eye. Oh, actually that's not true. There was one guy there that did silk screenings of his old Atari system and of crop circles. That was my favorite I guess. I couldn't stay at the festival long, because I had to be at the mall at 2 for my follow-up eye exam. But, I decided to grab lunch while I was there. After all, there was a Thai booth and I think that's a rarity around here. So I pulled money out from the ATM and got absolutely raped on the service charge. $4.95! I paid $6 one time in Vegas, which should be illegal, but that's what you get for sucking at blackjack, I guess. I never would have thought that my second-biggest fee would be at a rinky-dink arts festival in Durham. The Pad Thai sucked, too...

After lunch, I zipped down to the mall. I grabbed a coffee and walked around Barnes and Noble for a little while, as I had about 15 minutes to kill before my appointment. I had actually been meaning to look around there sometime this weekend because the new Guinness Book of World Records came out recently and I wanted to look though for a beatable record. One of my biggest goals in life (in the top 5 on my "bucket list," you could say) is to someday be the holder some sort of world record (worst beard?). There was one that I had my eye on last year, but evidently I wasn't the only one that thought it was easily beatable, because it's changed hands this year. I did see that the world largest collection of back scratchers is at a dermatology office in Fayetteville, NC. Maybe I'll check it out sometime. The back scratcher I got myself at Prairie Dog Town has been invaluable to me out here! I also flipped through a book of North Carolina Day Trips and found the perfect place for my dad to have a vacation house: Bald Head Island!

I also saw something at Barnes and Noble that I wanted to buy for my friend Caroline, but didn't. It's the thought that counts though, right? Instead, I took a picture. We can call it a digital gift!



My eye exam went really well. The trial contacts that I got last weekend bothered me all week. When I could focus on things, they were really good, but they felt like they were constantly sliding around, which made focusing difficult. I saw a different doctor this time (last week was a sub) and she was great. She assured me that the prescription was correct, it's just that some people have difficulty with different types of plastic. She gave me two different brands to try this week and I have to call when I decide which one is best. Already, the first pair I tried is 10x better than the last set. It could just be a placebo effect, but I'll take it.

After the appointment, I walked around the mall for a bit. I decided to do some laps and get my daily exercise in. I had to laugh at myself after I made the decision, because I was like...walking around the mall for exercise? What am I, 80? But, let me tell you, those 80-year-olds know what's up. Exercise is so much enjoyable when it's air-conditioned and you can window shop and people watch at the same time! I saw an woman with the highest pants I've ever seen, a pair of female twins where one was fat and one was skinny (awkward!) and members of the Georgia soccer team. I tried on some sunglasses and also went into Spencer's for a little bit. I realized that getting Carolina a digital gift without having something to show Horia would be a little rude, so I found this badass hoodie. The hood zips up over your face to make a mask (with little mesh eyeholes. Wicked!



After that, I got my picture taken with the Chick-Fil-A cow and then did a few more laps. Altogether, I walked about a mile in a little under an hour. Oh yeah, I also wanted to mention the bathrooms at the mall, because they reminded me of something I never mentioned in an earlier blog. The bathrooms at the mall have these high-powered hand dryers called XLERATORS. They're pretty cool. They work really well (they actually make your skin ripple, which is funny), but they're nothing compared to the Dyson AirBlade they had in the bathroom at the St. Louis Arch.



After the mall, I came home, played some Madden, listened to the M's, put up a post on USSM, made the awesome video under this post, watched SNL (meh...) and Skyped with Cheryl. I found a sports bar to hit up tomorrow so I can finally see the Hawks play. Maybe they can pull out a win!