Three Hundred and Six Days Later

The wind and sand storm, that tore through the complex on October 27, caused the planned “inspection and testing to ensure all smoke detectors are working properly and identifying whether your heating/air conditioning unit require a new air filter” by management to be rescheduled to this morning, between 9:00 and 11:00.

Not trusting myself to be civil with the guys, should they play stupid and ask me questions for which they already knew the answer, like ... why the smoke detector was hanging from the ceiling and how long it had been that way, I thought today would be a good day to get out, get away, head to the mall, log in some miles.

I was out the door and on the road at 9:00, with windows opened to air out the place, so the guys didn’t leave any cooties behind, and the smoke detector looking like this.
 

By the time I reached the mall, I decided to first stop by the bank in that center, grab some cash for the next few weeks, go next door to Starbucks, get a gift card for that nice mail carrier, then walk.

Color me surprised when I saw the bank boarded up, lock, stock, barrel, ATM machine.

That branch is now an abandoned building ─ due to Covid I’m assuming.

I’d have taken a photo for you, but some guy was sitting in the lot, eating his McDonald’s next-door breakfast, watching me circle the lot, looking at the building in amazement. He might have thought it was weird enough to call the cops if I’d started taking photos.

So, anyway, I had to do some backtracking to another branch. Fortunately, that branch ─ which had previously been closed, was now open for business and, luckily, there was a Starbucks two doors down.

By now, I was no longer thinking about logging in miles, but running other errands ─ like Sprouts, for those frozen organic fries I love so much and the Craft Store, for paint to bring my patio chair (damaged by sun, wind, rain) back to life.

Arriving at the craft store first, seeing the lot crowded, I went out of my way to drive all the way back to the furthest parking spot from the store, found a spot where there were no cars parked to the right of me, and no cars in the first two spots to my left.

I got out of the car, began walking across those empty spots, and here is where I almost died.

 

 Or at least almost became gravely injured by this car.
 

Because the female driver, busy running her mouth to her seatmate, actually looking AT her seatmate, came out of nowhere and began turning into the spot, coming straight at me.

I saw her as she began making the turn, but continuing to walk across the empty space, because I assumed she’d see me and let me clear.

She didn’t.

When I saw her not stopping, I froze, waiting for the hit, but her seatmate said something, whereupon she turned eyes forward and slammed on the brakes.

I didn’t say anything. Didn’t shake my head. Didn’t give her a dirty look. It was like an out-of-body, calm as a cucumber, detached moment as I continued on to the craft store, but I hope almost harming someone scared HER enough to be eyes forward in future.

I’m chalking up the incident as distracted driving, because I was in the parking lot of Michael’s Craft Store. However, if I’d been in the parking lot of No. 45 loving/Black Lives Don’t Matter Hobby Lobby, I’d have thought it was an intentional trying to run me down. LOL.

I took those photos after the fact, by the way, when I finished shopping and saw she’d parked a space over.
 

 While inside the craft store, I had a little impulse buy.
 

Outside

 

Inside

I need another coffee cup like I need a hole in the head, but the message of being "tired" so exemplified 2020 that I had to add it to my collection.

Arriving back at the complex around 12:15, I was met with the smoke detector looking like this.
 

It only took the guys 306 days AND, if it starts that infernal beeping again, I’ll pull it back out ... this time not on accident, but on purpose, because it worked better while hanging.