I dressed in full athletic gear, including that really cozy pair of underwear that covers your bellybutton and prevents any VPLs. (That's Visible Panty Lines, and I hate that I had to explain that because I find the word "panty" particularly grating.) Gideon dropped me off downtown at before he went to work, and I went into Mud Street Cafe.
Mud Street is one of my favorite places to eat in town. I wish I were famous so that they would pay me for mentioning them here. (Note to my nonexistent agent: get on that.) After ordering a hot chocolate, a croissant and fried potatoes, I hunkered down with a copy of Sylvia Plath's unabridged journals. Nothing complements fried food better than reading the intimate thoughts of a woman who would go on to kill herself with her children in the next room.
A tourist commented on my hot chocolate when it arrived, saying it looked really tasty. I told her that it was and hoped that my lips being covered in whipped cream would illustrate this. We spoke for a while, and she said she liked seeing a young woman out alone.
"You know you have a good life when you can enjoy your own company," she told me.
I did not tell her that I was more excited about not having to share my whipped cream with Gideon than spending time alone. Anyway, I wasn't alone. I had Plath.
Once I finished eating, I walked downtown. I found a shop hosting a going-out-of-business sale, where I snagged six pieces of hand-beaded jewelry for only $5. I would post photos here, but I'm going to give some of the pieces (maybe all of them) to family and friends for Christmas.
I wandered into a custom jewelry shop a few minutes later and stayed there for a while. The woman who co-owns the shop struck up conversation with me, mostly because I was the only person there. She had me try on rings and necklaces and I suddenly hated myself for being 20-something with $27,000 in student loans and no antique topaz rings.
My interaction with her was nice. Usually, I find myself feeling nervous when someone who works at a store talks to me. I can't help but think how this person wants me to buy something and how I am absolutely not in the financial shape to purchase anything remotely fine but would like to browse through these things all the same.
It was different in this store; the woman told me a bit about how the shop opened and shared with me tips on what kinds of bands would look best on my fat fingers. We stopped talking when other potentially paying customers came in, but that doesn't make our conversation any less pleasant. The shop was Magee Jewelry, if anyone wants to pay me for promoting them already.
I bought a strawberry-mango-pineapple smoothie after that and walked 1.5 miles home on a steep incline. I was really excited about this part, because I couldn't walk up that incline without stopping at least twice a couple months ago. Today, I didn't have to stop once.
When I got home, I showered and watched an hour-long Keane set on Youtube. I also ate a plain tortilla.
It was a great day. Oh, obligatory photo of my cat:
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| Is there wet food? |
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