It seems as though 6:30 or so is the new normal wakeup time for me. This is no matter what time I go to bed. Somewhat frustrating. I managed to fall back asleep this morning and stayed asleep until 9:30. Glorious. I wonder if my inability to sleep is related to culture shock. Hrm. Could be.
So anyhow, after figuring out the buses and a shower, I took off for Walmart to get my lock and a bit more in the food dept. I walked down to Lomas which is about a half mile away to see what I could find out about the credit union down there. After talking with them and leaving without an account, I could join a food co-op and be eligible for an account there... but well not so much. Especially when I don't know where the place is nor if I can get there by bus. With my bus schedule in hand, I took off to find a bus stop and wait. I had a little while so I figured I'd walk up Lomas a bit to get some excercise. I stopped walking at a bus stop close to the time that the bus should have arrived and I waited. For 20 minutes. Well that's great. Perhaps it was just a fluke. I got off at Walmart, did what I needed to do and was back outside in time to watch the 12:37 bus go by at 12:50... so I waited for the 1:02 bus... it came at 1:27. No wonder people complain about the buses here. I have studied the maps and you can basically get anywhere in town on the bus, but apparently never on time. Or even within a reasonable amount of time. I decided to not wait for the last bus that i could have caught back south from Lomas and instead just walked. I never saw the bus I would have taken so that was probably a smart decision.
The other thing I learned from the bus system is that people at bus stops talk to you. Now I don't know if this is just a central illinois thing, but I don't really like to talk to people I don't know. I don't really care how excited you are to get out of walmart as it started to get busy, nor do I want to know why you just picked up your subscription of vicodin. I suppose I should be carrying a book around or something and look occupied unless I do want to talk to people. But then people will want to talk to me about the book or something.
So I got home and set to work on the deadbolt. Not as easy as it looked. I could definitely have benefitted from either another hand or putting it in on a door that is not already in use. It makes me feel a lot safer to have it, but I do find myself wanting bars on the windows. There are some on another apt which makes me wonder if those could be put up as well. That would probably be way more than it is worth to me to do so, but it is somewhat tempting.
I went to make one of those Totino's pizzas for dinner as they are 98 cents and easy... but this proved to be not so easy. The oven didn't get hot. I could smell gas. So obviously the pilot light was out. I finally managed to locate the pilot light and got it lit so that I could enjoy my pizza. Things I wish they had in NM... Jack's pizza. Also cheap but much tastier. That and my mexican chicken helpers. I told Christina that they must not sell those because people here probably don't need help making mexican food. She thought that was funny. I think it is gonna be rough because that one box can feed me for 3-4 days. That's like 40 cents a meal. I figured out that I can only spend about 2.30 per meal to stay under budget. That's not easy. I splurged today and bought some lean cuisines that are 2.50... but I have been only eating one meal and fruit because it either doesn't occur to me to eat or I lacked a way to make food.
Well now that I've rambled on about useless things, I suppose I should do something productive. I'm so exhausted though that I may just sit and read Harry Potter.
So anyhow, after figuring out the buses and a shower, I took off for Walmart to get my lock and a bit more in the food dept. I walked down to Lomas which is about a half mile away to see what I could find out about the credit union down there. After talking with them and leaving without an account, I could join a food co-op and be eligible for an account there... but well not so much. Especially when I don't know where the place is nor if I can get there by bus. With my bus schedule in hand, I took off to find a bus stop and wait. I had a little while so I figured I'd walk up Lomas a bit to get some excercise. I stopped walking at a bus stop close to the time that the bus should have arrived and I waited. For 20 minutes. Well that's great. Perhaps it was just a fluke. I got off at Walmart, did what I needed to do and was back outside in time to watch the 12:37 bus go by at 12:50... so I waited for the 1:02 bus... it came at 1:27. No wonder people complain about the buses here. I have studied the maps and you can basically get anywhere in town on the bus, but apparently never on time. Or even within a reasonable amount of time. I decided to not wait for the last bus that i could have caught back south from Lomas and instead just walked. I never saw the bus I would have taken so that was probably a smart decision.
The other thing I learned from the bus system is that people at bus stops talk to you. Now I don't know if this is just a central illinois thing, but I don't really like to talk to people I don't know. I don't really care how excited you are to get out of walmart as it started to get busy, nor do I want to know why you just picked up your subscription of vicodin. I suppose I should be carrying a book around or something and look occupied unless I do want to talk to people. But then people will want to talk to me about the book or something.
So I got home and set to work on the deadbolt. Not as easy as it looked. I could definitely have benefitted from either another hand or putting it in on a door that is not already in use. It makes me feel a lot safer to have it, but I do find myself wanting bars on the windows. There are some on another apt which makes me wonder if those could be put up as well. That would probably be way more than it is worth to me to do so, but it is somewhat tempting.
I went to make one of those Totino's pizzas for dinner as they are 98 cents and easy... but this proved to be not so easy. The oven didn't get hot. I could smell gas. So obviously the pilot light was out. I finally managed to locate the pilot light and got it lit so that I could enjoy my pizza. Things I wish they had in NM... Jack's pizza. Also cheap but much tastier. That and my mexican chicken helpers. I told Christina that they must not sell those because people here probably don't need help making mexican food. She thought that was funny. I think it is gonna be rough because that one box can feed me for 3-4 days. That's like 40 cents a meal. I figured out that I can only spend about 2.30 per meal to stay under budget. That's not easy. I splurged today and bought some lean cuisines that are 2.50... but I have been only eating one meal and fruit because it either doesn't occur to me to eat or I lacked a way to make food.
Well now that I've rambled on about useless things, I suppose I should do something productive. I'm so exhausted though that I may just sit and read Harry Potter.
This entry was posted
on Friday, August 05, 2005 at 7:44 PM.
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2 Comments:
Yay for Harry Potter. He can work miracles. I'm glad you are settling in ever so interestingly (is that a word?).
By
Anonymous, at
12:23 PM
I really do think that not liking to talk to people you don't know--or at least not being in the habit of talking to people you don';t know--is an regional thing. Ministering in Appalachia these last two and a half months I have noticed that strangers strike up converstaions quite often. Rather than annoying I find it a refreshing reminder of the ways we are all interconnected. For me, a conversation passed with a stranger is an opportunity for seeing Christ in another. I really like the sign that hangs in the living room at the farmhouse where I work that says, "there are no strangers, only friends who haven't met yet." Perhaps I'm overly enthusiastic and optimistic, but I think the world would be a better place if striking up a conversation at a bus stop was welcomed. Getting to know some of the people of Appalachia in Doddridge County West Virginia has really opened my eyes to how many people in the world are hungering for relationships. Maybe talking to a stranger is only feeding someone's need to always be given attention, or maybe talking to a strange is a chance to befriend Christ when He is lonely.
By
Anonymous, at
10:46 PM
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