Archive for August 2nd, 2007
Nothing Says “Back Upstate” Quite Like a 2am Wal-Mart Trip
Randomly, The Lovely And Talented (And Newly Promoted) Ms. L asked me if I wanted to hitch a ride with one of her co-workers up to Albany this week. Randomly, a day later, Matt The Machine sent me an e-mail informing of me of a possible trip to the now open Saratoga Flat Track on Friday followed by an almost certain Beirut Gathering on Saturday. That pretty much sealed the deal and we packed up the newly healed Ninja Kitty and came up. Since we all worked today, we didn’t get on the road until about 9pm after hopping the train over to Astoria and since I have about three weeks vacation left, I took a last minute Thursday and Friday off.
So, I call Mama and Papa Yard to warn them I was coming up to get my car keys (I leave my car at their place because I have no use for it in NYC… nor do I have any desire to pay $3,000/year in car insurance when I can pay $800 instead) only to find out that, whoops, my dad’s on vacation this week… which means my mom and dad are on their yearly jaunt to Lake Placid/Lake George/Hampton Beach (NH, not NY)/Anyfrigginwhere with Water. No problem, says I, you put the super stealth key back in the super stealth spot, right?
No?
Fabulous. So, as I brilliantly have both sets of my car keys and the keys to my parents’ house currently locked in said house… I have no car, no air mattress, no bedding, no litter box, no litter, and no key to my townhouse. Fortunately, at the moment, Ms. L’s sister is holed up at the Brauhaus until she returns to college. Score one for me. So I take the Ms. L’s former car (we call it Simon) in lieu of the Lumberwagon to, you guessed it, the only place you can get cat litter, an air mattress, a sheet set, snacks, a litter box, and a towel at 2:30am. Wal-Mart.
I haven’t made a late night Wal-Mart jaunt in quite some time and I forgot how nifty of an experience it can be… especially during summer vacation. Alas, tonight wasn’t quite as fascinating since most of the store was closed for repairs. However, I was able to pick up everything I needed for the low price of $74.62. While I sadly did turn down the 5-in-1 Convertible Air Mattress/Chair of DOOM I did pick up the Cadillac of Air Mattresses for $44.99. It’s also a bajillion times more comfortable than this piece of garbage air mattress I got from the Astor Place K-Mart two weeks ago that’s already losing air.
So, to chalk up, I got a bigger, more comfortable air mattress for less than the piece of garbage full size one we already had. For another $25, I got sheets, a pillow, cat litter, a cat pan, and a towel. And… bonus, I left a six-pack of beer in my refrigerator as a gift to myself next time I was here. I love me.
Manhattan’s over-rated.