My Week Thus Far

As we find ourselves closing in on the weekend, I'd like to just talk a bit about how my week has gone, so far.

It's been hot, much hotter than normal for our area. A heat warning was issued yesterday afternoon. I get my weather information from MSN. Their site is easy to use and the information is always accurate. At 4 in the afternoon, they listed a temperature in Binghamton of ninety-five degrees. I checked the current temperature just a few minutes ago and it's much too warm for the 1 a.m. hour at seventy-six degrees. I've had my air conditioner running around the clock for four days now.

I know better than to go anywhere in such weather so the only times I left the building all day were to take out my trash, at about 4:30, and to go one block up to the convenience store, just before 8 o'clock. I really wanted to cook a nice dinner but just couldn't bring myself to do it. I ordered two pizzas and a garden salad from the Domino's just across the river on Vestal Avenue.

I left a note with one pizza telling my fellow residents to enjoy it. I ate two slices of the other pizza along with the salad for dinner.

That covers Thursday.

Wednesday I needed several things from Wal-Mart so I went to their store in Vestal. I was appalled at the number of customers not wearing face masks. Several people also ignored the color codes for which way to enter the various aisles. I got everything I needed in just twenty minutes. I should have had more time to work with, but the #57 bus got there behind schedule. I left myself ten minutes in which to check out before the next #57 was due to arrive.

No problem, right? Wrong. The self checkout stations were only handling debit and credit card transactions. I normally use one of them to check out, but the smallest bill I had on me was a $20 bill and the bus costs just $2. I found a regular register with just three other people in line, two of whom were together.

I should have been checked out with a few minutes to spare, but the first person, whom I've been in line with before, at other stores, took much too long, as usual. The other two people were nice enough to let me get ahead of them. I thanked them when they did that. But I still missed my bus by a few minutes.

No problem, right? Wrong, again. The #47 which would have gotten me to a transfer point with the #5 inbound (which has its stop closest to me just a few hundred feet from home) was behind schedule and I missed the transfer. Long story, short, I sat in the heat for forty minutes before the next #57 came through. That's the one that, had I taken it all the way downtown, would have had me sitting another half hour or so before taking the #5 the other way.

By that time, I was miserable from the heat. I was so relieved when the driver said that if anyone needed to transfer at Binghamton University, she would radio ahead and ask those drivers to wait for us if need be. We made it there with a few minutes to spare.

Tuesday, all I did was walk to the main branch of my credit union to get some cash. The ATM was out of service, but thank goodness, the lobby was open. I walked home and stopped to get a sub for dinner.

Monday, I didn't even leave downtown. I went a short distance, to get a sub and came home.

Today is expected to be a bit cooler, with a high temperature of eighty-two or so. There's nothing I need to do, or nowhere I need to go, so I'm going to take things easy. I'll leave the building just for the two minutes or so it takes me to take out my trash.

I am so bored these days. But I'm safe, which is the important thing. Chances are, dear reader, that you've seen the most recent numbers on Covid-19 by now. I want to write more about all that, but I just don't know if I have it in me to do so.

Wishing you a pleasant and safe weekend.