It sure looked like the day was shaping up to be one of those days wherein I hardly ever step foot outisde, and the only other live person I see is Carrie. That happens now and again when you work from home.
But after Carrie went to teach her class in the evening, I decided to actually go and do something. I decided to buy an anniversary present for my wife (it's our two-year anniversary on Sunday). So I drove up to Southcenter. On the way there I was in the left-hand lane and an ambulance pulled in behind me, quite a distance back. No lights or sirens on or anything; just driving along. At a couple of points in Federal Way the left lane of I-5 splits off to go around an overpass support and then re-joins the freeway. It was right in the middle of one of these disjointed segments of the road that the ambulance suddenly put on its siren and started charging towards my tailpipe. I had no way of getting over right then, because there were huge pillars to my right and some jersey barriers to my left.
As soon as I was past the pillars I jumped across that empty strip of road that you're not supposed to jump across, and the ambulance was able to pass me by without incident.
I actually didn't actually go to the actual Southcenter (or whatever the heck it's called now). I went to the Toys 'R' Us nearby. Why didn't I just go to the Toys 'R' Us in Tacoma? Because the one in Tacoma doesn't have these:
That's right! Your eyes do not deceive you; those are tiny (about 1") figures of the infamous I Love Egg characters! I first heard that these trinkets existed from Sandy & Mathias, when they showed me some. They actually come from one of those machines where you put in a couple of quarters and turn the handle, and a random one falls into the little hole for you to pick up. I checked the local Toys 'R' Us a while back and they didn't have an I Love Egg machine. And the one in Southcenter almost didn't either. Imagine my horror when I drive all the way up there and there is an "Out of Order" sign on the machine!
In a vain attempt to make myself feel better I wandered through the electronics section of the store. The attempt didn't turn out to be so vain after all because I found Dig Dug Digging Strike
for the DS on sale for $10.45. Any time I can get a brand-new video game I want for less than 15 bucks ain't a bad thing. I can afford to get a video game for less than 15 bucks. I felt a little bit better, but when I walked by the exit where the I Love Egg vending machine lived, I just couldn't leave it at an Out of Order sign. So I plunked in some quarters and turned the handle. And an egg came out. Lies! That machine was not Out of Order! Whoever put that sign there was the one who was out of order! I got six total eggs (that was all the quarters I had on me), although three of them turned out to be the same. With random vending machines ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances!
Now I know what you're thinking: "He bought I Love Egg toys as an anniversary present for his wife. Could anything be more romantic?" The answer is simple: No.
I didn't wait until Sunday to give them to her. I let her open them as soon as I picked her up from Class in the evening. She liked them. I'm a good guy.
