Pensive Plan

“What time is it? Is my computer still on? I see sun through my shades and--10 AM? I could swear it was just 3...let me watch this movie now...”

“Wow that was just...wow. I can't see how Jerry thought Garden State had a “lack of plot.” That was a beautiful and funny movie, nothing like what I expected from the trailer. It was great to watch Zach Braff essentially “come back to life” over the course of the movie, and how could anyone not love Natalie Portman? She was beautiful, funny, weird and REAL. The movie fell into a few Hollywood cliché pitfalls here and there, but was otherwise an inspirational portrait of life. I'm done being numb and sitting around every weekend waiting for the next Monday! I was going to shop for my dad's birthday on my lunch hour during the week; that's as good a reason as any to go out. Rice Krispies here I come!”

“OK, it's a quarter to 1 so I should be able to mail my mail before the 1PM pickup and--CRAP! I got a check from my dental plan reimbursing my last visit! I have fifteen minutes to get to the post office AND the bank! Me and my luck....”

“I can't believe I got a parking spot right in front of the post office, or that I'm pulling in to the bank with five minutes to spare! Can my new movie-induced attitude of action be changing my luck? One teller open...and she's calling over that old man first...and he's asking for checks and she's giving him a registry....and he's hard-of-hearing....and now she's asking the girl....and now he's clarifying again....and now she's asking him to have a seat and muttering under her breath....ok, good I made it with a minute to spare. On to the stores. I don't know where, but the open road will guide me!”

“Wow. That is a lot of bird crap.”

“OK, minor obstacle aside, I am on the road and whoaaaaa, dizzy spell. Not again; I've been doing so well for weeks. OK remember, it's just panic. Change the mental channel. Change the mental channel. Think about something else. Turn up the radio and sing along...Chevelle, that'll work...”

“Hey, I'm here! That wasn't so bad. Odd, there seems to be an extra structure jutting out of the back of this mall. There's something familiar about the color of those concrete blocks too. I'll have to check it out after. Guess it's been a while since I've been here.”

“Whoaaaa....is that what I think it is? It is! There's a new Target twenty minutes from my house! This is AWESOME! Best day ever. I wonder if it's sad that I'm excited about this?”

“This is so weird....the last time I was walking here a few years ago this was a parking lot. It opens into the mall too....that's wild. I wonder what I'll blog about tonight...maybe I'll do one of those stream-of-consciousness posts. It's been a while. I'll start making note of my thoughts while I shop, and review my earlier ones. I've got a great title too, and I bet I can tie in my weekly sketch somehow...”

“Excellent. I've got my shopping almost done and it's not even three o'clock yet. With one person ahead of me on the express line, things couldn't be going smoother.”

“I never heard that beep before.”

“OK, she keeps scanning it and looking confused. And now she's staring into the ether. Let me turn and see what she's looking at....”

“Yeah...yeah it was at nothing. Wait, that item is broken...better tell her and ask if I can run back and get a better one. Hopefully she'll get a price check on the problem item in the meantime.”

“Wow, to the back of the store and back in less than a minute and....why are there five people ahead of me now?”

“Great, finally back and her manager is punching in the code manually....and there's that weird beep again...and now they're both staring. And now she's ringing up the replacement item I just ran and got. And now THAT one isn't reading either. Double-you. Tee. Eff?”

“OK, I'm finally outside and the random values they assigned the problem items are less than what I told them it said on the shelf. It could have been worse. One more stop and I can go home.”

“That's so weird. They completely remodeled that supermarket. Time for tunes and travel. Awesome; I've been hearing this Green Day song a lot but I'm not tired of it yet! ‘I walk a lonely road...'”[segues into singing aloud]

“Huh, our pastor's still recovering from his bypass operation. This sub is doing a pretty decent job filling in though. I like what he's saying about hunger. We hunger and thirst, and there is food and drink in this world. God hungers for us, and we exist by His will. That's an interesting way to look at it.”

“OK, a little dinner, maybe a quick game, and I'll get out the old sketch book and then work on tonight's post.”

“Damnit, how many levels are there?! I've been playing this for HOURS....almost to level 50 though so I should beat it soon.”

“This is insane. Why can't I stop? Nearly 80 levels....I'm running out of time....let me save the level code and pick this up afterward.”

“I suck. I suck I suck I suck. Ugh. Why are the eyes so crooked? This is a horrible angle. This is not the angle to start with after so much idle time. Maybe I can clean it up after I scan it.”

“Nope. That was horrid. The whole left side is wrong. I'm going to have to fix it the old-fashioned way, erase and redraw until I get it right.”

“This is as good as it's going to be. If I am going to keep this up, I have to post the bad stuff so my progress will show when and if I improve. Question is, do I start the post with the picture or put it in chronologically? I guess I'll put it at the top of the post.”

“OK, I'm on my final thought. This idea seemed a lot better in Target. Target...that Swindle figure looked hot; I should have picked it up. I wonder when Human Resources is going to send me that gift card for my five year anniversary? I totally should put it toward this, or maybe some of those shirts I was looking at. Man, Target has everything. And now I'm blogging about Target. And now I'm literally typing every thought that goes through my head. This was a bad idea. I have to stop. I have to stop. I have to