Today I took a day off from work. Call it a mental health day, call it a comp day, call it whatever - it was great! Now, it wasn't quite Ferris Bueller style, but nevertheless, it was well worth it. Just knowing that everyone was holed up behind their computers having the life sucked out of them from the fluorescent lights and I was on my way to enjoying the sunny 70-degree weather made me giddy like a school girl.After a lazy morning of catching up on personal emails and making a real breakfast, I headed out to run some errands - but first, a stop at the car wash. I never drive and my car is wearing a good 1/4" coat of pollen, so I decide to treat it to a bath. Besides, if I'm going to be zipping around the city, I might as well do it in style. 11am on a Friday and I'm on my way down 13th Street to the Mr. Wash and what is this I see? A line?? Yes. About 30 cars are stretched down two city blocks with the same idea as me. Who are these people? Don't they work?
Car wash aborted.
I keep heading south, past the Washington Monument dodging packs of tourists who don't want to obey the walk signals. But, I'll give them some slack. They're on vacation, unlike the patrons at the car wash. Across the 14th Street bridge and I'm soon arriving at the Pentagon City Mall (one of my least favorite places, but I'm desperately in need of a new dress for a wedding next weekend). The parking lot is packed! I drive around twice before finding a spot. Seriously, there must be more housewives in the area than I thought.
Wrong. They are teenagers. Hoards of them. Isn't it a school day? For a moment I think I've time warped to the summer. Fortunately, they are not browsing the evening dress collection at Nordstrom so I'm safe for a while. Until, that is, I want to eat. There they are again. With food court vouchers! I decide to check out a few more stores until the lines go down but the only one within eyesight is some store called Forever 21. The fact that I'm 30 should have stopped me from entering, but I was desperate to kill time until the teeny boppers got through the Taco Bell line. (Gross, I know, but it IS my day off). I immediately concluded that this store is a disaster and that they most certainly won't have a dress for the "black tie invited" wedding I am due to attend, but I pick through the racks anyway, hoping for a miracle. No such luck, I'm better off in the Taco Bell line.
With tacos in hand, I set out to find a table and grab a seat at the end of a really long row. Creepy diplomatic man is sitting diagonally across from me and out of courtesy I ask if the seat was taken. Big mistake, he took that for my interest in conversing with him. I've never eaten three tacos so quickly. On my way.
2 1/2 hours later, mission accomplished and I'm on my way home. Back up 13th Street and the cars are STILL lined up at the car wash. It truly may be the same people, so I skip it again and decide to go to the gym. U Street is lined with shoppers and all of the outside tables at Starbucks are filled. For 3:3opm on a week day there are even more people at the gym than I expect, but it is no problem to get a machine. Still, I wonder what these people do that they can get to the gym in the middle of the day. I spend an hour and a half there, on the treadmill listening to my newly downloaded Amy Winehouse album, and then I watch the first 20 minutes of Oprah on the bike. Life is good. Oprah's playing Deal or No Deal with Howie Mandel and a lucky audience member goes home with $100,000. I head home with two sore legs.
Back in the hatch, I tidy up a bit, prep the porch for the summer and settle down with a good book.
What an excellent day. I'm sorry for those of you who were stuck at work, but from my observations today, I don't think there were too many of you!
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Expenses (on the road to saving something):
- May 3
- Mother's Day flowers/gifts: $168
- May 4
- Lunch: $6
- Parking: $2
- Dress/ Alteration: $200
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