Dearest Rachel –
So I mentioned yesterday that I would let you know about how our errands that afternoon would go if I thought they were interesting enough to relate. And they held up part of that bargain, I suppose – although it may be more a case of them being the most interesting thing to happen, rather than that saying much about them. It’s not easy putting something together sometimes, especially given the limited amount of time I have – which, as it so happens, applies to this story as well.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Our first stop turned out to be both the most boring and the most interesting, depending on how one looks at it. On the dull side, it was a trip to the bank; on the other, it was about getting money deposited into our accounts, which is always welcome, no matter how rich or poor you are. However, this still required completing paperwork done to submit to the federal government (by way of our lawyers, who’d supplied me with the paperwork in the first place just the other day). It would seem that all we needed was for the bank to apply some sort of embossing seal to a couple of pages, and we would be ready to return it to our legal team to send to Washington, at which point, the amount of the bonds would be wired to our account. It seemed to be all very nice and neat…
Except that the bank apparently needed more notice to get in touch with their head office – or as they called it, their “back office.” Apparently, they didn’t have such an embossing tool on hand at their branch location, and would need to obtain it from their headquarters (or hindquarters, if you go along with it being their ‘back’ office). They did make copies of everything, and told us that they would call when everything was approved and ready, giving us notice to come in right away with the papers yet again. As with a separate transaction (that I really hope I’ll be able to get to you about soon), it would take around two or three business days before going through.
Well, it’s been nearly six months at this point since we put all this in motion; what’s a few more days?
So while this was the most unusual part of the trip, it was also the least productive, leaving me wondering whether this was worth telling you about at all. On the other hand, the fact that there are still hoops we have yet to jump through in order to get this taken care of might amuse you, for all I know. Then again, considering where you are, and what difference money makes to you, would it be of any concern to you at all? Probably not.
The other part of the trip was to burn off this month’s coupons at the local superstore, but while I had a few items on my list to buy – and Mom came up with a few for me to hunt down, too, if I could – I wasn’t sure that we had enough things to use them all up. I’d asked Daniel to write down what he could think of before taking off for the ‘office,’ but that was apparently insufficient notice for him to come up with anything, either.
Anyway, since there was the possibility of buying something that should be kept refrigerated – or worse, frozen ~ we agreed that we would need to grab our early dinner before hitting the supermarket (despite being well aware that this would stifle most impulse buying). Our first stop was the ramen place just off the triangle (as I’d indicated a taste for curry, and Daniel had no objection); however, upon arriving there, we discovered we were about an hour into happy hour, and I’ve told you about their limited menu at that particular time, and we had no intention of repeating that experience.
So we settled on a Korean place within the triangle instead; while their stock-in-trade are hot dogs (or rather, corn dogs – clearly influenced by the American occupation), they have added new things to their menu, including bulgogi and katsu bowls. Which is basically what we got, slathered (to some excess) with a spicy mayonnaise. Daniel seems pleased to the point of being thrilled that these dishes make it more likely that I’ll be willing to take him there, as opposed to him going on his own when the mood strikes him. I’m just glad he’s happy, but I’m not sure he should get too enthusiastic, as there are plenty of other places within walking distance that I might still prefer, but whatever.
Finally, we wrapped things up at the supermarket, and it was pretty much as standard as you might expect. The items Mom asked for (particularly seasoning packets for gravy and dressing, which the two of us barely notice at the best of times, let alone seek out) proved to require a bit of hunting. And for some reason, the “monster cereals” – that I made the faux pas of finishing out of Logan’s stash last week, and thus felt duty-bound to replenish – continue to remain absent from the shelves. Some years, they have leftovers of the stuff well past Halloween; this time around, they have vanished barely a week into October. Guess they needed more notice that they would have to stock the shelves.
And since I keep bringing up that word, here’s where I considered it the theme of the day (or at least, our trip out); as we were beginning our perusal of the produce department, I felt a buzzing in my back pocket. While it’s normally one spam call or another, I still take my phone out to check and send it to voicemail all the same (which they almost never leave; imagine that).
This time, though, it was a call from Lars, who had already contacted me the day before, indicating that our customary walk might not be possible, as his father’s health had been particularly concerning over the weekend. As he’s in his nineties, it’s not surprising, but it’s still of paramount importance, and in a situation where it’s either him or me, Lars would understandably need to defer to filial piety. However, it would seem that his father seems to have recovered, to a certain degree, and he would be free for a few hours later on today – which, of course, is why I don’t have a lot more time to put this together for you, so I had to get a head start on this last night. Good thing I didn’t have a lot in the way of coherent dreams to tell you about – although I vaguely recall returning to college with Daniel, and meeting up with Rebecca Parham, for some reason.
So yeah, with less than a day’s notice, I’m off to the woods. It’s the sort of life I’d like to be able to live by, but it’s still not as easy as I expected it to be when I vowed (internally) to be more spontaneous and flexible. Still, I think it’s the kind of life you’d have wanted to live more, and therefore the way you’d like me to strive for, so I’ll keep heading that way; by the time I rejoin you, I’ll be the way you wanted me to be… maybe.
