I woke up this morning hating everything. Hated my puffy, wrinkling face, my hair that, although straightened last night, was getting everywhere. My arm was bugging me (see surgery from 2009) and didn't want anything to do with any article of clothing I put on. Nothing I put on even looked right. I hated that my kitchen now smells like vinegar because I have egg stuck on to a muffin pan from baking eggs stacked with polenta.
I drove to school and quickly began to hate the other drivers, including the idiot in the pickup truck who felt the need to weave around all the speed bumps in the parking structure. I turned on my computer and began to hate it and it's slowness, Google for removing the arrows on the scroll bar, and McAfee for ruining my life. I shut it down and went to class.
Oddly enough, my Pre-Calc lecture on things I already know, calmed me down quite a bit.
Leaving class, I hated everyone again for walking so slow and getting in my way. Relaxed again in Meteorology.
Met with some of the guys from the lab. As I walked in, the director apologized, saying he was just having an "f-word day" meaning he kept dropping the f-word. "Right on! Me too!" I said. Like anyone needs to apologize to me for that.
I had to run to HR up the road a ways to get my exempt status put on my paycheck for social security and medicare. Thank god because no one is helping me pay for my health care and I make $2,000 less each month than what I pay in bills. Of course parking in front of the HR building is metered...and I don't have any change in my vehicle except pennies, mostly because I have to use all my quarters for laundry and my dimes and nickels were used on the last parking meter. I took a chance. HR was at lunch.
I went back to my car to grab a snack, and a guy who had just put money in the parking meter, drove off. I pulled forward into his spot. I got out to try the HR people again and checked the meter. 6 minutes. They better be in.
They were. Took care of business and decided I was deserving of trying out the new ice cream place in town "Cream". Cream is a shop that makes homemade cookies and homemade ice cream, and then makes an ice cream sandwich with them. You choose the flavors and if you want any toppings. I would have gone earlier, but it's downtown. I do not frequent downtown unless I have to. It would be like going to downtown San Diego when you could just go someplace else in San Diego for the same thing. You really just don't. Unless you have to.
Actually downtown is right next to campus, and I could've walked. But I had already given up my parking spot and there was no way I was getting parking on campus at 1pm. How bad could it be?
Well, remember I had no change for meters? Right. So I paid $2.50 to park in a parking garage. Breathe Carrie. You will soon be eating a homemade ice cream sandwich made with homemade cookies and homemade ice cream.
I walked out of the garage and down the block to Cream. I had brought my camera so I could include some pics in this blog. I had read the menu already, so I had some idea what was there, but hadn't made any decisions. I had heard about this place from some girls at school. Everyone was talking about it.
I ordered double chocolate chip cookies and mint chocolate chip ice cream. The guy asked if I wanted toppings and I eyed the goodies in front of me. This might be overkill, but I ordered crumbled mint choc chips. While trying to stuff my mint chips into my sandwich, the guy broke my cookies and apologized. No big deal. I checked out. $3.25. Nice! I thought. Quarters back for laundry! Then I saw the tip jar. That's how things are these days. I would rather fork over a dollar for a tip, then give up the precious quarters I needed for laundry.
I walked out with my prize. This would've been a good time to take a picture of my sandwich, but I was downtown and there were sketchy people around me. I've got some rules I live by and I'm fairly certain they are what have kept me safe throughout my years of being a small female out and about on her own in sketchy places. One of those things is to not stop and do things such as stand on the sidewalk, pull out your camera and take a photo of your ice cream sandwich when sketchy people are about.
Well....then I was in a dark parking structure attempting to take a photo. By this time I was irritated again and decided to just eat it. It was messy. It probably would not have been had I not gotten the toppings. Otherwise it's just a one handed sandwich. But now it was broken apart and mint chips were everywhere. I wouldn't normally post such horrible photos, but you need to see what I was dealing with here. I'll talk you through what you're seeing.
I know, super horrible, but I was in a dark parking garage, PMSing and restraining myself from tearing in to this thing because I wanted to get a good photo and then it was too darn dark and if I stayed too long I was going to have to pay $20 in parking fees.
So that is a scoop of some magnificent bright green mint chocolate chip ice cream wedged between two homemade double chocolate chip cookies, and then placed into a little wax paper bag, like when you get a small order of fries at McDonald's. Shoved on top of all that is my crumbled mint chips. So the bag was there to catch the mess. I wasn't going to hang out eating in the parking structure, so I drove off...I drive a manual transmission vehicle. I'm not fond of doing things like this downtown.
When I went to pay the cashier in the parking garage, I almost got chocolate all over her. So of course I licked the chocolate off my thumb and then reached over to grab my change from her. Trying not to laugh, I was careful not to touch her with my slobbery hands. I pulled out of the garage and into downtown traffic, with pedestrians clogging the road at every green light that I wanted to turn left at.
I was making a mess. I longed for more red lights so I could eat my sandwich. It was really good actually. It's a good thing this place is downtown because that means I will hardly ever go there. If it were somewhere with a parking lot and some tables to eat outside, and not surrounded by sketchy people...I'd be in trouble. I would go back and try every combination available. But I wouldn't put any toppings on it. In my opinion it just isn't necessary and it adds a mess where there needn't be one. Homemade cookies mixed with homemade ice cream really does not necessitate additional toppings.
As I drove and tried to eat, I could feel mint chips falling all over my lap. I struggled to scoop them up before they became lost forever. I looked down to see that some of the chips had fallen between my legs and were now wedged and melting under my left leg. "Nooooo!!" I growled. When I got to a stoplight, I looked down again. Green and brown streaks of melted mint chips were smeared all over the seat under me. But my leg was still holding in the clutch. Quick! Put it in neutral and lift your leg! I slipped it into neutral real quick and looked up. The light was green. Dammit!!! So this is how I got chocolate all over my couch and bed sheets. As I drove, I was smearing the chocolate onto my jeans.
Totally distracted by this point, I got a little lost and completely forgot that I had to swing by the Post Office. I got home and realized my mistake. I went upstairs to pee and check the damage to my pants. Not too bad. Smudge of chocolate on the left butt cheek, but that's ok. I wet a paper towel and headed downstairs to wipe up the mess and head to the post office.
Ha. Yeah, pretty bad, huh? Those guys were not stingy with the toppings. There were a ton of mint chips left in the bottom of the bag when I was finished eating the sandwich, so I just dumped them into my mouth. Delicious.
So would I go again? Maybe if I walked there from campus. Like on a Wednesday when I have a 3 hour break in between classes. Then I'd walk over to Phil's Coffee on my way back and pay $3 for a small pour-over coffee.
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