Day off

I didn't work today, due to some unique scheduling at the SATC. I enjoyed myself, all in all. I slept in, and then bummed around for a while. I wanted to work out, but knew that my body would never accept overt exercising (my body is rebellious like that), so I had to fool it, instead. I chose to take a brisk walk--on my way to Starbucks. I got some exercise (at least a mile, total), but my body didn't realize it was working out. My body thought it was just going for a frappucino. Good grief, the things I have to do, just to keep my brain at least one step ahead of my physical self!

Anyway, I cleverly combined a trip to SB with a trip to the grocery store. I figured: Chances are, if my body got a clue and suddenly shrieked, "Wait a minute! I don't need to walk to Starbucks. I can just drink tea at home on the couch to get my caffeine fix. You tricked me!" I could throw in the self-righteous fact that "We're not actually going to Starbucks, not really. We're going to Savemart for basil and vegetables, and just stopping at Starbucks along the way," and what with the need for leafy green veggies and the exorbitant price of auto fuel, walking to the store would seem like a good idea, even to a persistently lazy body such as mine. I just hoped that the body wouldn't notice the lovely reading book it was carrying in its right hand, with which I planned to enjoy some relaxing time sipping a frappucino on a sunny day. I bought basil, pine nuts, spinach, and a few other small items, and browsed through a scrapbooking store (it was lame, worse than the other one in town, which is smaller in square footage but greater in selection and customer service), and settled down to read about the Phoenicians and some of their colonies (a la Carthage or Leptis Magnus) that have been excavated. Good stuff.

I forgot to mention that it was a nice, warm day. It has been chilly for most of the time, these past few months. So I was pleasantly surprised to discover that after I started out on my walk, I was becoming too warm. Most folks know that I often don a layered t-shirt look, wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt with a short-sleeved t-shirt over it. This is comfy, as I get the look and feel of wearing a t-shirt, with all the warmth of wearing two layers, one of them long-sleeved (which is important for a cold-blooded person such as myself). So I was wearing my t-shirt outfit with denim jeans, and I actually had to shed a layer. I didn't want to have to go back to the house, so I ducked into an empty field, and removed my long-sleeved shirt (every girl should be able to remove underclothing in public, if called upon to do so), while crouching behind a patch of weeds (those weeds grow awfully tall there) for an added measure of privacy (there was a guy moving across the street). Then I tied the shirt around my purse strap, and gaily flounced my way down Goshen and through Savemart and Starbucks. I'm sure people wondered what the cloth bundle on my purse was. Yes, I am the weird person that people report encountering in grocery stores.

Upon returning home, I bummed around a bit more, then cleaned the house, which included sweeping the kitchen, washing dishes, and not much else. Oh, yes, and I also made pesto (which was why I had to get basil and pine nuts) and breadstick type things (I'm really quite good at cooking; it's just that I usually choose not to). And did three loads of laundry. Rebecca came over for dinner (hence the pesto), and we had such a great time talking and laughing. I met Rebecca a few years ago in a Torrey class*, but we didn't really get to know each other, due to circumstances of our lives. Now, however, we are both living in Visalia, and we are looking to find friends who are kindred spirits. The great thing is that although our personalities are a tad different, we have very much in common, having both grown up as MKs**, having gone to Biola, and knowing a lot of the same people and types of things. We even have the same favorite book by L.M. Montgomery: The Blue Castle! Of course, Rebecca is headed for success (I believe) at a job down in the Thousand Oaks area, so she may be moving away soon after we've become friends, but that's okay; I wish the best for her, and we'll just build our friendship long distance and when she visits her family in the big Vis.

After a bit, Mum and Mia arrived, and we've been having fun ever since. It's bedtime now, though. We'll have a fun and busy day tomorrow!

*We had some good laughs, reminiscing about that class. Kant and Coleridge and crazy stuff!
**Speaking of which, I realize that my "You know you're an MK when..." list was probably a bit too esoteric for most of my audience. At least Rebecca thought it was funny. It was also very long. Sorry about that.