My Independence Day

I don't have a car. I don't say it to complain, either. I don't have a car and I'm fine with it. I actually considered buying Nemesis's car until the same day I started considering it, Ambrosia's car broke down. I realized that I've made it this far without a car, and I can keep going still some day when I might even be able to afford car maintenance, gas, insurance, and air fresheners. In the meantime, I've decided that I need to become more independent. Ambrosia complained about the bus because it makes her dependent on someone else. Public transportation works the opposite way for me---I am not inconveniencing a friend. At work I claim I do it to protest gas prices. Toaster Oven points out that if you can't afford the tip, you can't afford the restaurant. It's the same with me and gas, I guess. If I can't afford the gas, I can't afford the car.

So. Two weeks ago (or was it three?) I decided to give this whole self-sufficiency thing a try. I decided I'd go to Walmart and back on the bus all by myself. The problem is, I took the wrong bus and it stranded me a couple miles away from Walmart, and across the freeway from my little brother's (Brother 4) apartment complex. So I decided to forego self-sufficiency for the day and beg a ride. I called him and waited for him to rescue me and take me to Walmart.

I decided to give it a try again today---the self-sufficiency thing, I mean. It's Independence Day, afterall, so I should declare my independence. I decided that I would bike to Walmart this time since that way I would get exercise and also. I checked on mapquest and it was only about five and a half miles one way. Of course, I wouldn't be taking the quickest way because I wanted to avoid the major roads (namely University Parkway). I found a route that used four basic roads---Bulldog, Columbia Lane, 1700 North, and Sandhill Drive. It looked pretty simple on google maps. I didn't make it all the way to Sandhill Drive, though and ended up taking Main Street in Orem. When I passed a man and his daughter selling cherries, I asked how to get to Walmart. He gave me simply instructions that I clearly did not understand. After driving around and going up and down a lot of hills, I finally found myself a block away from University Parkway. I decided that I'd bike the rest of the way on University and then take Sandhill home. I wasn't on Parkway for more than a minute before I ran over a three-inch nail and popped my back tire. So I ended up walking from that point (near University Mall) to Walmart, still hoping that I could be Indpendent by simply getting someone at Walmart to help me with the tire.

There were supplies to do the job at Walmart but no one to help me do the job. So I called my brother---a different one from the one that I called two weeks ago. I told him to take his time in coming to help me and I would wander around Walmart. I got the cleaning supplies I needed and wandered the isles for the next hour waiting for Brother 2 to come. So much for being self-sufficient.

And so much for spending the rest of the day cleaning for cleaning checks like I'd planned. Instead, Brother 2 and I went slack lining in the park and called a few friends to join us. Now it's 4:00 and I still haven't showered... and I picked up a few things at Walmart for new projects...

(By "Brother 2 and I went slack lining," I really mean that Brother 2 slack lined and I watched.)