The Fly's Errands

Hey folks! I hope everyone's having a great week. Rather than post a bunch of news stories that can all wait, I'm just going to blather on about errands. Have you gotten to the point in your life where running errands and crossing an item or two off of your list seems like a major accomplishment? I got some important errands taken care of last night after work.

I dropped off my Birks* to be repaired, after having been unable to wear them for more than a year. They'll be ready on Saturday.

I picked up a Hoppe's Pistol Cleaning Kit and some ammo, in preparation for taking courses from Blackwater International at some point during the next year and a half. (I'll continue to slowly build a bigger stock of ammo in the coming months.)

I bought a leather journal from Barnes and Noble. I started keeping a journal when I moved to Van Dieman's Station a year ago, it's almost complete, and I want to fill up at least one more between now and my eventual departure.

I have some errands planned for today, too, and I think I'm actually going to pull them off.

I need to stop by Wal Mart to use a gift card for a couple of items.

I need to buy groceries - I'm not completely out of food, but I'm mostly out of food (save for MRE components, but those are best saved for special occasions and/or the Apocalypse.

I need to get pictures printed from my Independence Day/birthday trip to see the Butt Rubber and Olive Oil. That will be a Target run, and I may pick up a few other items while I'm there.

I need to see about getting the battery replaced in my good wristwatch; if that doesn't do the trick, I'll have to send it back to [Hometown] to be repaired.

I'll have some things to take care of on Saturday, too, and I have a really good feeling about my prospects for accomplishing them.

I'm going to check out the Blackwater Pro Shop.

I have to pick up my aforementioned Birks.

I think there are some more.

Just one more thing. When I was dropping my Birks off at the shop in Norfolk yesterday (something I'd originally intended to do yesterday, and then planned to put off until today), it was in the middle of an electrical storm. Long-time readers will know that I'm from the Pacific Northwest, so I'm uniquely accustomed to rain. I basically had to run to get my sandals to the shop before it closed, but once I'd finished that, I was able to just plain walk. It was so... Calming, to walk through the rain. I got quite wet, and the streets were literally flooding. It had been quite a while since I'd just walked down the street, in the rain. Aside from the fear of being struck by lightning, it was a really beautiful experience. Having been here for a solid year at this point, it's very easy to feel uncomfortable. In my life, this is and has been the most open-ended absence from my own stomping grounds that I've ever experienced, and that can be very uncomfortable sometimes. Having a few moments in which I was in my element (even if that element is water falling from the sky) was great.

Stick with me, folks. I think I'm going to have some really interesting material to share with you in the next couple of weeks. I have this incomprehensible feeling that I'm about to really hit my groove.

* Special thanks to Mighty Mo for being my stationary information source. That's right, she's like Miss Moneypenny, but without the sexual tension.