The World of Stuff .com

A moment’s peace

I woke up this morning knowing that I would have to go shopping with my sister and my mom. It was time for my annual trip to the department store to get some new threads for school, and I accepted that. I was hoping to try some new things. See, people are generally right when they characterize me as someone who always wears plain t-shirts (usually with a pocket) and jean shorts. That’s pretty much what I’ve been wearing to school every day for the last three years. I thought about how to change it, and I pretty much decided to include more polo and button-down shirts, along with wearing long jeans (even though they make me so hot) and other sorts of long pants. And that’s just what I got. It took a while to find what size pants would fit me, but it was worth it, because the ones I tried on first were way too tight. My mom and sister also spent some time getting things for themselves.

Around that time it was time for lunch, so we met my dad and my grandmother at Smokey Bones, a restaurant I’d never been to. I’d heard that it was really good, so it was a good opportunity to check it out. Of course, I got a burger, but this time I decided to try a bison burger since it happened to be on the menu. (I’d been hesitating to order bison burgers at Ruby Tuesday. I thought those things were endangered!) So I went ahead and had that, and it was pretty good. It seemed to be a bit dryer than beef, and it cooks more thoroughly, so it seemed to be crunchy around the edges even though I had it medium. It was an interesting experience, but I think I’ll stick to beef in the future.

After that, my mom, my sister, and I went back home so that we could drop off the things we had bought (and so my sister could drop off her leftovers from the restaurant). After a few minutes of rest and recuperation, we went back out to a used clothing store. I was hoping to find even more clothes at even better prices, but a lot of the shirts were too much like the ones I had bought already. I guess I should have bought them anyway. I also saw a t-shirt that I sort of wanted to get, but I changed my mind after seeing that the previous owner had written his name on the inside of the collar. Kind of creepy, in my opinion. After spending about a million years there (because my sister bought more things), we went somewhere else. Where was it?

Oh yeah, Starbucks. You can’t forget Starbucks on a big day out. Even I joined in on the fun. After all, they make coffee drinkable! As we went back to the car, my friend Reid’s mom spotted us. I had just seen her onstage with Reid in The Pirates of Penzance recently, so that was a nice coincidence.

After a lot of driving around, we went to this enormous shoe store. I’ve never seen such a big shoe store in my life. It was like a department store’s shoe department times ten. My mom and my sister spent some time buying multiple pairs of shoes. I was there for moral support?

Finally, we went home. I was looking for something to eat for dinner when my dad “asked” me to mow the lawn. It was getting late, so it wasn’t as hot as I had thought it would be, but we still have the biggest lawn in the neighborhood, so it took me a while. Then I took a nice shower to cool off.

I was looking for something to eat for dinner when my dad suggested that we go out and do some driving. I obliged because I realize that I need all the practice I can get if I am to be a fully functioning adult in the coming years. I practiced driving for about a half an hour, going around in parking lots and backstreets. I was all nerves, and I also felt two foot small for being so clumsy with something I should have been doing two years ago. Toward the end, he wanted me to go down 10th St., a major artery, but by then my life was practically flashing before my eyes, so I said no way, José, so he took us home.

Then I was looking for something to eat for dinner, and I did. And now the rest of the day is mine. Actually, it’s night now. I’ve been gypped. I’m not used to being this busy.

Here are some humorous tales from an American visiting England for the first time: Just Who Is This Magna Carta Fellow?

Remember what the Internet looked like ten years ago? Neither do I. Luckily, one netizen (does anyone say that anymore? did anyone ever say that?) provides snarky commentary on how major companies’ sites looked in the early, amateurish days of the World Wide Web: Internet ’96.

One year ago: “I think guys have to wear a tie.”