New Thing #147--Don't Get in a Rut

I only work 4 days a week, and let all the errands pile up for Fridays, the day I'm off. That makes my day off pretty busy and regimented. Because I'm a creature of habit, all my Friday stops are along a small section of Manchester Road--all the stores I need are there. Today I did the things on my to-do list, but at a location different than the one I'm used to.

The impetus for this idea was my decision to have a broken bed rail repaired. The rail (from Donald's bed) broke several months ago; he decided that putting the box spring and mattress on the floor was acceptable. Now that he's gone, I decided that the frame should go back in the room.

The furniture repair company is located in South St. Louis (about 20 miles from my house). They have great prices, and their service can't be beat. It's worth the trip. After beginning my plan of action for the day, the next thing was to find a meeting of the Twelve-Step fellowship I attend every Friday. Fortunately, there was one about five minutes away from the repair company at a time that was convenient. Everything else was easy; thanks to the wonders of chain stores and branch offices, I could easily recreate all my other stops.

I Mapquested everything out...first the meeting, then dropping off the bed rail. After that stop, I started to meander my way west on Interstate 44 back towards home. There was a branch of my bank in Sunset Hills, where I made a deposit and closed a no-longer needed savings account.
I hit a snag on the next couple of stops. I tried to buy ramen noodles for work at a big-box discount store-they didn't have the flavor I needed. I had a coupon I was itching to use from the discount shoe store in the same plaza, but came away empty-handed when they didn't have anything I liked in the right size. To add insult to injury, I ended up getting caught up in a traffic jam when I got back on the road!

A quick stop for ice cream calmed my nerves. I stopped in a grocery store that was on my route, and was pleasantly surprised when the ramen I needed ended up being on sale. I made it home just as the skies opened up and the rain started coming down.