Perfect weather for running (Day 9)

I had an extra hour today.

What did I do with it? Not much. It was just extra time to spend by myself, thanks to daylight savings. I did have another run-in with Thing 2 today, though.

When I got up I decided I was going to go for a run outside, and not at the gym, for multiple reasons. One, I figured that there wouldn’t be anything good on the TVs at the gym and I wouldn’t end up running for long before I got bored. Two, it was a beautiful day.

But before I went, I obviously checked what was on the tube. I love American programming and I actually have time for TV now, so it seemed like a great opportunity. I ended up watching Dan in Real Life. It’s definitely not in the running for my new favourite movie.

North Carolina has perfect weather for running. It’s like a spring day at home. But, the twists and hills of the roads here made me so lost and sore that the great weather could not make up for it. First I ran until I found a sidewalk, because I was pretty scared about getting hit by a car. Then I saw a sign for a bike path, and thought I was good to go for the day.

The path was a lot shorter than I expected one to be, and it ended with an extremely large incline. I found another path, and followed it until it, too, quickly ended. But I ended up in a place with sidewalks, and I was happy with that.

I realized I was probably going to get lost after the second path. I didn’t really know where I had come from, and I definitely didn’t know where I was going. And when I saw a sign that said ‘Carrboro City Limits’ I knew I wasn’t in Chapel Hill anymore.

I just kept going. I felt good, and it seemed like I was going downhill, so I kept on trekking. And somehow, I ended up back where I had come from. I had worked my way in one big circle. So I decided to do the loop again, now that I knew where I was going, kind of. And then I did it again. I ran somewhere between six and seven miles, but I should have gone more.

When I figured the hills would make me sufficiently sore for the next couple of days, I went back home. Thing 2 was in the kitchen when I walked in the apartment. I feel like she’s always cooking, when she’s not locked away in her room.

But it smelled weird, so I tried to keep my small talk to a minimum. I’m sure she appreciated that, because I got the feeling she wasn’t interested in anything I had to say. I’ll just keep forcing her to engage in conversations with me until she makes it clear that she doesn’t enjoy it. None of this beating around the bush stuff.

I went to my room and changed and decided to head to the mall. I didn’t have any work to do, because I hadn’t heard back from the Tigers pitching coach, and I haven’t been given any new assignments yet, or even given any old ones back for improving.

Since I knew there was a mall, I knew what it looked like, and I even had the address to give the GPS, I was pretty sure I could make it there.

On my way out, Thing 2 asked where I was going. I was impressed that she pretended to be interested in what I was doing with my day. Progress? Maybe. Maybe not.

I went to the mall, with my list of things to get from Target, and a schedule of the movies. I got there right as Due Date was starting, and I really wanted to see it, so I went.

I embarked on my journey of heading to the movies alone. It wasn’t so bad. I got my popcorn and went to the back of the theatre. It was already dark, so I don’t think it was evident to the sea of strangers around me that I was by myself. But I don’t think I really cared about the North Carolinians and their opinions of my movie-going status.

The show was a good one, and when it was finished, one of the other ones on my list was about to start. And that’s when I might have broken an American law of some sort. I went into the second movie, Convicted, without having gone back outside and paying for another ticket.

I just walked in. I felt a little bad, but the fact that I had already purchased pop, popcorn and a four-dollar bottle of water, made me feel almost like I was entitled. But I know I wasn’t.

Convicted was a good movie, too, but I might have enjoyed it more just knowing it was based on a true story. I like non-fiction.

I was almost surprised at the fact that I didn’t feel strange going to two movies by myself. But I would like to make a friend, or find someone that might go with me next time. I’m still working on that.

After the movies, I went to the mall, to try and sort things out with my American phone. I haven’t been receiving emails and the Internet is not good, so I wanted to find out if there was anything I could do. Apparently not, according to the useless guy working at AT&T. I guess I will call the number for them, because the person I spoke to on the phone last time was very helpful. I’d like her to answer my call.

That didn’t work out, so I bought my brother a sweatshirt. My plan is to try and send it to him tomorrow, but last time I tried to send anything away, I had some trouble. Maybe I’ll ask around the office to see if anyone can direct me to a postal service. Real people might be more helpful than the GPS. Who would have thought?

Then I went to Target. I love Target. I got some cereal and yogurt, plus tabs for my new binder. I got envelopes so I can start sending people letters, and I only purchased one item I didn’t need this time. Well, it was five items, but the pens were packaged together. I really like them though.

From Target it was back to the apartment. Laundry time.

I wrote my brother a letter to send with the sweatshirt, which will surely shock him and likely weird him out, and then settled in for a Law and Order: SVU marathon on my new favourite channel. I’m not exactly sure what channel it is, but I love it.

Laundry and Law and Order are not a bad combination.

Hopefully next Sunday can be just as exciting as this one.