I was carrying my lucky coin today, but apparently not even that was enough to fend off the
ill-luck of a Valentines Day without a sweetheart. I had the day off (which is
normally a nice thing) so I rolled out of bed at a late 8:30, had some trouble
figuring out what to wear since I didn’t want red or pink, wore blue
yesterday, and green seemed too cynical; after all, the sun was shining, why couldn’t it be a wonderful day? Got myself ready, and a
to-do list prioritized (quite a few items on it, but nothing dreadful) and
found I’d lost my wallet. (Yes, I found I had lost my wallet, I can say that: I
discovered a loss. Funny language, ours.) I looked high and low, through six
purses and three coats, reviewed the events of the last evening, turned my car
inside out (yeah, I really did, you should see the poor thing!) and was about
to call my credit card company to report the loss, when I found it wedged
between the passenger seat and car door. (The wallet that is, not the company.)
Relieved, I was ready to hit Reasors, where I found out you
now get to upload, choose and print your own pictures from a machine. For a
quarter a picture. I only wanted one, so I gave the dude two dimes and a
nickel, thanked him, and went on my way. Tag agency was next, where I would get
the title for my new car switched from the previous owner’s name to my own. All
my paperwork was in my bag, and I found the place with almost (note the almost) no incident.
Do you have the
registration paper?
I believe I handed that to you with the form.
Oh, yeah.
Why didn’t you put
your address on here?
Sorry, I must have missed
that line, here is my license with my current address.
Uh, you get to fill
that out, find your own pen.
What is your relation
to the seller?
We are siblings.
What?
Siblings, brother and sister.
Oh. And he gave you
the car?
No, I paid him for it, the purchase amount is listed on that
paper.
Oh. Okay.
Are we good?
That will be $54 and a
few minutes. Yes? For.... two minutes of your time? Pink receipt paper?
If you use a credit
card it will be an additional four dollars.
Rright.
Sign. Sit.
I slouched in an old, wooden chair, hugged my wallet to
myself and desperately tried not to cry over the eight hours of pay, 20
coffees, 1/5 a college class, or 3 weeks of gas that just went up in smoke.
Catherine?
That’s me!
Here you are, good
bye.
Thhanks. Happy Valentine’s Day.
Now to my community college, where I worked on an
assignment due tonight while I chatted with the networking guy that, sorry, but,
needed to work in the precise area I had chosen.
Off to shop at Drysdales, where I run into a coworker who
saw me drive by and decided to follow me, and ask to shop with me, and where I
was going after...
Despite that slightly disconcerting experience, my shopping
was successful. I bought one item originally fifty bucks for eight. Yup, a sterling
silver ring with a cross on it, my Mother’s gift to me for the anniversary of
the day I gave my life to Christ. (The best thing I ever did.)
Now that coffee was seriously overdue! Not a block from the
coffee shop, I was all but stopped at a red light, texting a friend, and wham!
I rear-ended some nice lady’s car. No blood, no smoke, so we wait 30 minutes
for a cop.
Hello, big brown eyes.
(He really called me that)
License and registration.
What happened?
Alrighty, let’s get
ya’ll on your ways. Here’s you a pretty little $120 ticket, and you have a nice
day.
Thhank you, sir, happy Valentine’s Day.
At the coffee shop, I cried on my best friend’s shoulder,
(who also happens to be the barrista) and juggled a cup of ice water and a iced
heath-mocha cappuccino she made for me.
Ahh, breathe. I felt grateful again.
A stop at home, last minute touches to that assignment, and
back to school again. Where I was very lucky to find someone to hand the assignment
to, (she even said it looked good.) I then passed someone twice in the hall who
seemed very familiar, and was looking back and about to say something when his
professor herded him into a classroom.
The sunset was absolutely stunning as I left school. It
would be great to get up someplace to watch it before it’s over... I stop at a
different coffee shop where I plan to spend an hour of my evening addressing a
girlfriend’s wedding invitations. Tall buildings all have fire escape/ roof
access ladders somewhere on them, right? Well, not these. I ordered an Americano in a green mug and settled in to
write Mr. and Mrs. thirty times and overhear a couple of confused and
disheartening conversations that definitely didn’t belong to a Valentine’s
date.
Now for what this day was made for! I am going to a dance!
Nothing formal, but I’m excited. I left in good time, but was practically
stopped in traffic on the highway for 15 minutes, no big deal, I would be fashionably
late, right? I pulled into the parking lot and got out of my car before I decide
to call the friend I was going to meet, and see if she was there yet.
Oh, You didn’t hear??
Beth is really sick, it was canceled. I’m so sorry! Are you there?
You know what, today didn’t owe me a thing, and in spite of
everything, it was a good one. I wound up in a bookstore, paging through Architectural
Digest and eating an ice-cream sunday. What’s not to love? Happy Valentine’s
Day! Thank heaven it comes but once a year!
Post Script: That thump, thump, thump that I heard outside last night around midnight as I was writting, was someone egging my car.
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