Yesterday started out with so much promise. I was up early to work at Mercy, and my shift passed by quickly and smoothly--the kids were in good moods, they kept busy, and I had enough free time on the train and during down time to finish an entire book (a free verse fiction, it went fast).
I went home and made lunch, read some more, watered my thriving plants, and awaited the arrival of Jesus (boyfriend variety, not the Second Coming). We walked down to Humboldt Park and caught the last night of Puerto Rican Fest, with its crowds of people, street vendors selling anything you could want with the Puerto Rican flag on it, flashing carnival rides and games, and FOOD.
We ate arepas, tostones, arroz con gandules, alcapurrias, and pastelillos. It was pretty typical fare, though to be honest, writing about it makes me hungry for a jibarito. We walked around the carnival area, people-watching and listening to music. For those of you from Colby, imagine Cheese Days in a giant grassy/tree-lined park with reggaeton playing and Puerto Rican flags adorning everything.
The rest of the night is where things fell apart. We returned home to change and go to the gym. (Okay, Jesus changed and I gathered books to read in the gym's lounge area while Jesus worked out.) As I got in the car, I stepped in a puddle of something nasty in the gutter, so we endured the smell of sewage on the way there. When we got to the gym, we saw that all the lights were off and no cars were in the parking lot: the gym was closed. That one was on us for forgetting Planet Fitness is only 24/5, not 24/7.
After that failure, we decided to continue on with the night's plans: rent a Redbox movie. I had reserved Oz: The Great and Powerful earlier that day, but I forgot my wallet at home, so back to the Naw we went. I grabbed my credit card and we went in search of the only Redbox in my neighborhood to still have a copy of the movie. Here's where my morale really hit a low. The Redbox was located at a Walgreens. Inside a Walgreens. Inside a Walgreens THAT HAD ALREADY CLOSED FOR THE NIGHT. First, I couldn't believe it. Walgreens doesn't close, does it? And even if it does, they don't keep their 24-hour, no-human-supervision-needed, movie rental kiosk BEHIND LOCKED DOORS, do they? They do.
I can get over the $1.30, and even having a fun movie to watch--we'll try again another night--but the principal of the matter really got me. Who made that inane decision? There are thousands of outdoor Redboxes. THOUSANDS. Why, why, why put this one indoors, where it is unavailable for several hours each day?
We were defeated. We stopped trying to get plans back on track and just went home...but of course, there was no parking to be found. Jesus drove loops around my surrounding blocks for about 15 minutes before reversing down a one-way to grab a parking spot. We were done. No more trying to do anything except cheer on the Spurs in Game Four (they did win).
Last night wasn't our night. I should say, though, we got through it together. I think I made Jesus sad when I kept over-dramatizing how awful I thought the night was going. It was less awful with him around. :)
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