#5 Self-Checkout
1.
I was at a self-checkout in a grocery store. All of the scanners were
full and most of them needed some assistance including me. An older lady(70ish) was standing at the entrance to the
self-checkout alcove holding only a newspaper. The employee in charge
of that area repeatedly asked her to come over so she could get
checked out before they went to assist with the rest of our checkout
issues. For some reason, the older lady didn’t want to go over to
the extra register. It ended up being like a person trying to feed a
wild animal, coaxing it with food, before the employee finally gave
up and flat out said in frustration ‘Why won’t you just come
here?’ By the time I was finally helped all of the other people at the self-checkout had been helped and that older lady with the newspaper
had also left before me.
2.
Pulled in the driveway where I live after dark. The homeowners had
just gotten home before me. As I walked from my car across the front
yard they turned on the outside light. That was enough to light up a
coyote standing twenty feet away next to a tree. Luckily my freaking
out to get my keys scared it away, but if the lights hadn’t come on
maybe I’d have been its chew toy.
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| Don't worry, it's just me. |
3.
Did you know there’s no such thing as a seagull? Growing up on Cape
Cod I had always called the gray and white birds that live by the
water (and dumpsters) seagulls. In fact, most people call them
that. However in reality they are herring gulls and there is no such
thing as a bird called a seagull. Crazy. Here’s its ID page:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Herring_Gull/id
4.
It’s still amazing how much warmer 50 degrees in February feels as
compared to 50 degrees in July. One day this week it was sunny and 55
on my way to work and all I thought as I stood on the beach was that
I must really like my job because it was a perfect day to suddenly
have a 24-hour bug.
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| Over 50 degrees at the beach on Cape Cod in February hits differently. |
5.
Had my first infrared sauna experience this week. 28 total minutes in
140-degree heat. I sweat buckets which basically meant I had tons of
toxins I needed to get rid of. Also fun fact, my iPhone stayed with
me in the sauna (intentionally) and didn’t blow up, so that’s a
bonus.
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| Man it was hot inside that sauna. |
6.
Getting on the highway I was stuck behind a blue minivan with New
York plates. The big issue came from the huge sheet of plywood on the
roof. It definitely got a little wobbly the faster they drove. I
didn’t want to end up in one of those Red Asphalt driver’s ed
videos so I passed them before the plywood could fly through my
windshield and pop my head off like a dandelion.
7.
I found an old journal I kept during my time living in Las Vegas in
2000-01. It’s amazing to look back now at 46 to the daily thoughts
from when I was 22-23 years old. Some problems were definitely not
problems. Some obsessions made me laugh and shake my head. I’m
about halfway through it and at times I feel like the narrator
answering questions I was asking then. Overall a good trip down
memory lane.
8.
The latest ‘my life is like an episode of Seinfeld’ moment.
Remember the guy with the terrible B.O. in Jerry’s car? Where the
smell stayed long after the guy left? At the gym, there is a man whose
B.O. pours out of him, even through a thick sweatshirt. It is so bad
that the stink cloud hovers over the treadmill he uses long after he
leaves. Like Jerry says it’s mutant B.O.
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| Only slightly exaggerating how bad the B.O. was |
9.
I finally bought myself a new Blender shaker bottle. They’re great
for protein shakes and mixing other drinks for exercise, etc. Anyway,
I don’t know what the lifespan is on those bottles but I believe
that the one I just threw away I had for 12-13 years. Is that too
long? If it is let me tell you about a few gym towels I have that are
about the same age.
10.
Have you ever not heard a song for many many years and then you
listen to it and it instantly puts your mind back to where you were
when you were listening to it a lot? I had that happen the other
night with a song from the band Live. I hadn’t heard the song in
well over 15 years but as soon as it started playing my brain went
back to 1997 and the lyrics flooded my head. Music is so powerful.
