Par For the Course

I should probably be writing the second part of the D&D 4.0 series right now. Instead, I write this.

I'd also like to point out that although this may read as a rant (and I guess it is, in a way), I'm not at all irritated or aggravated (or at least, no more than usual).

Par For the Course

So this morning I decided to do two things after work: go and fetch my new ID card from the local police station, and at the same time go and shop, since a local supermarket chain is throwing a sales. Both the police station and the supermarket are located near the center of my town (city?), and I live at the periphery of town (but everything is relative), so it seems convenient to combine these two tasks. The weather is fine for autumn.

I prepare to leave work at 4PM, which is a bit earlier than normal. Of course, by now it is raining. Not to be discouraged, I quickly ride home by bike, which probably takes five minutes or so; I live in an apartment complex very near work. As I bring my bike inside one of the sheds that are integrated into the building, this one being nearest my door, I am briefly annoyed by the multitude of bikes that are left just outside the shed door, and consequently, outside the door leading to the staircase leading to my apartment. They form a mini-maze that is navigable by foot but offers difficulty when handling a bike; sometimes more, sometimes less. Today is rather bad, but it could of course be worse. Not for the first time, I think about what would happen if there was a fire, or if someone had an accident and the ambulance needed to get near the door or just get a stretcher through the door. And I think about how it seems that of all five doors that lead inside to the various apartments, only people living near me seem to need to hamper door access with their bikes. Oh well.

Once inside my apartment, I just grab an umbrella and essentially turn around at the doorstep. I head for the nearest bus stop, which is almost right outside my door, except on the other side of the street. While I wait for the traffic light to turn green so I can cross the street, the bus rolls by the bus stop, and comes to a stop at the same traffic lights, which now have turned green for me and red for the bus. I make a questioning sign with my hand (Can I get on mid-flight, since you're standing still anyway?) but the driver shakes his head, something that I fully understand. I then head towards the next bus stop, which is just some 100 yards along the street, since more buses stop at that one. While I'm walking there, the bus passes me by, promptly followed by another bus. They are long gone once I reach the bus stop, of course. I silently muse for myself, again not for the first time, about the brilliance of setting up the bus schedules so that almost all buses that share the same routes always seem to pass by at exactly the same time. (And not only my route, by any means. Oh no.) Or for that matter, start from the exact same location all at once. Brilliant. Eventually, another bus comes by and I board it.

While on the bus, I start worrying about the police station closing just as I get there. I suppose I should have checked how long it will be open, but on the other hand, I had not cared that much as I was going to the supermarket anyway. If it's closed when I get there, it's closed and that's that; I'll still go shopping. I also ponder why so many shops close around 5PM at the latest, that essentially being the time when a lot of people leave work and at earliest will be able to visit any shops. I mean, I understand that the shopkeepers want to go home to their families as well, but on the other hand it feels like a poor business choice--surely 6PM would be possible, and could enhance business significantly?

I leave the bus and walk briskly the last half a mile or so, fearing I won't make it before 5PM. I make it there by 4:45PM, but by then the police station has already been closed for half an hour. Which, I might add, does not come as a surprise at all. There's something bittersweet about the situation. Long story short, applying for renewal wasn't exactly a smooth process either, so having problems picking it up actually feels entirely right in some twisted way.

I then walk to the supermarket. It's more crowded than usually, but that is to be expected. Another thing to be expected, unfortunately, is the mothers with their prams. I really can't figure out the logic behind bringing kids and babies to an already more-crowded-than-usual supermarket. It's not like it isn't difficult to move along as it is. Oh, and aisle junctions are obviously the best places to park those carriages and strike up a conversation, because then you can block two paths at once! (Well, OK, so maybe I'm a bit irritated. But no more than usual! *grin*) But other than that, shopping goes painlessly. The only thing that I was particularly interested in buying on sale is sold out. No surprise there either. But I buy a lot of food, planning to put most of it in the freezer for next week and beyond. And some other stuff as well. Shampoo. Liquid soap. Toothpaste. Toothbrushes.

Once I get outside, it's raining more than before and I have both hands full (and then some) so I can't use my umbrella. Luckily for me, one bus going my way is real close. So I start running towards it, 30 yards or so. When I am one yard away, the driver closes the door and pulls out from the curb... and drives two yards to stop at the red lights. I pass the door and the driver looks out of the window at me, and shakes his head. So sorry amigo, can't let you in any more. And is that a smile I see on his face, as I stand there in the rain? Now, I'm not convinced that he noticed me and did it on purpose... but frankly, it does not seem at all unlikely. Cars have rear view mirrors, and he sure seemed to be quite too aware of me in order to not have noticed me. But if he did, and it made him feel like a big man, well, what can I say but good for him?

Me? I did let out a curse, and then head for another bus going my way, which miraculously hadn't yet left. When I get home, I notice that one of the shampoo bottles had come open, and there was shampoo everywhere in that bag.

... So there. Two hours from my day. What do you think?