Secret Madness - Walmart

This morning I got up early to scan pictures and turned on the tv for some background noise. To my surprise, and delight, NBC was talking about local stores holding BIG sales this weekend instead of waiting until Black Friday.

Walmart had a Compaq Presario for sale for $298 starting at 8:00 a.m.!

Let's just say I was out the door in no time. The car was almost empty and so I did have to stop and buy gas at BJs along the way.

But, I got there at 7:20 a.m. and me, and all these techies, were flooding the computer aisle only to find out they handed out tickets for the laptops around 6:00 a.m. All were gone!

What is that? I can understand selling them when the store opens, but if you say 8:00 a.m. at least be within 15 minutes of it.

If I had been able to get a computer, I would have stayed and bought a few more items.

I just walked out.

Maybe Micro Center is having a sale....

If I were famous I couldn't ...

Today I took a break to go eat the Thai food I've been craving the last couple of days - http://www.sakoontra.com/about_us.htm.

Since my boyfriend was out of town and the one friend I thought to invite was occupied, I went alone.

I had the entire restaurant to myself and the waiters and waitresses didn't quite believe that I was a party of 1. I guess it's OK for grown men to eat alone, but not grown women? I would actually think that more mothers would call a babysitter once in a while and go out and dine alone, but I haven't seen to much of that.

It was quite nice. After every last sip of water, the glass was immediately filled. All food showed up perfectly timed and I felt like I was a famous person that had reserved the entire place to have a rare piece of personal privacy.

And that got me to thinking about famous people. I have no desire to be famous. Every time I turn on the TV and see the famous it builds my sense of gratitude for my private life. After all, only my personal friends and family would care to put "spin" on my life. But, I have a feeling that most of their time is otherwise occupied...or at least I hope that is the case.

So, here's what I think. If I were famous, I couldn't:

• have the entire Sakoontra restaurant to myself on a Saturday afternoon.


• walk down the street alone at any time of day listening to my iPOD.


• walk out the door to my car with no cameras pushing me over.


• walk out the door to my car and not talk to anyone if I so choose.


• buy cheap white t-shirts at Walmart because I'd have to spend $100 to buy signature tank tops so Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous have someone to talk about.


• just order all my outfits from Eddie Bauer three times a year and completely avoid ever walking into a clothing store.


• say what I think without causing an uproar in the press. OK, so sometimes I cause small uproars, but at least I can apologize to those closest to me.


• go out on the town without make-up and not have anyone take a picture of me for the tabloids. If you are always without make-up no one has an expectation for you to live up to.


• have the entire Sakoontra to myself.


• talk to whomever I want when I want to about what I want to and know that it will just be local gossip.
• buy whatever brand of cosmetics really worked for me because I'd have some agreement to advertise lipstick (when I don't even own a tube).
• stay in Friday night and just do personal projects.
• write all this kind of junk on my blog.

So, you see, it is nice being in the woodwork and having Saturday afternoons at Sakoontra to myself.

Secret Happiness - Biking - the wind, the road, the freedom

I have a secret happiness today. Spring fever set in after having one nice day this week. Since the last couple of weeks have been filled with the "Portland Mist" and cool weather, it is a relief to finally see the sunshine and feel it's warmth.

I've had the urge to ride a bike lately and so I drove home and changed into appropriate attire to test out a good bike. My entire life I've ridden bikes. I rode them on my paper routes, sometimes to school, at college, my first year or two in the DC area and as my nightly transportation in grad school. I vowed I wouldn't buy a car until I turned 30 years old, but that goal lasted until I was 28. Even then, the car sat in the parking lot most the time. When I moved to my condo, I stopped riding my bike and finally donated it to Goodwill or gave it away. That's been 3-4 years ago. Not good.

Anyway, I got to the shop and the store manager (Buck) helped me pick out a couple of bikes that could suit my fancy. He let me out the back door and I got to take some test drives around the back of Walmart, Michaels and Target. The minute I got on the last bike I felt at home. I didn't realized how much I missed that feeling of riding high up off the ground with the wind blowing against me. There is such a sense of freedom that can't be felt in a car.

I took it on one test drive this evening, but realized that the first day on a bike after a few years means sore body the next day.

Oh, and I also bought a back pack. Maybe this is a mid-life crisis? I'm reverting to how I dressed when I was 20. Hmmm.

Ok, I'm up late and Jay Leno just asked a guy why he rides motorcycles and he said "the wind, the road, the freedom."

Picture: Campground near Toronto, Canada where we rented some funky bikes way back in the 80s.

Weird: Right after I wrote this and AFTER I posted the picture, the guy told Jay Leno that he was raised in Toronto. Also, my little "Ode to Chris" entry ends up being old because my brother just barely posted in his blog for the first time in over a year. Meaningless coincidences, but nevertheless interesting.