Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Adventures in Driving
While watching Le Doug's house and The Boys, I've fallen into an easy routine of sleeping late, hogging the bed, evening runs through Old Greenwich and drinking alone while writing late at night. In short, I could definitely get used to this. Sooner or later, though, I realized I would have to take care of some practical household matters, and thus my adventures yesterday began.
La Madre and I saw The Devil Wears Prada, and it was good fun. When I came home in the afternoon, Maestro and Mozart were nowhere to be found. I figured they were down in the basement. They weren't, but I did realized the cat boxes needed to be cleaned. I also decided I needed to change my clothes if I was going to deal with both a basement and cat excrement.
I opened the closet door to get out some play clothes and I found the two cats in the closet, staring up at me in bewilderment. They had been in there for no less than three hours, and hadn't even made a peep. Naturally I was concerned for their well being, but they were fine. They just walked over to their food dishes and munched away. Of similar importance was the state of Doug's dress shirts and good suits. Cat pee can be difficult to get out of an Ermenegildo Zegna getup.
I cleaned the cat boxes and saw we needed more litter. We also needed more rubber gloves, some cereal and I was in the mood for sushi. It wasn't raining, so I hopped in the car and headed up to the Food Emporium. First, I took a few backroads and ended up wandering around Riverside, another enclave of Greenwich. Along the way I saw some great houses, including the one that was used in the film The Family Stone. I wasn't even looking for it, but the minute I saw it I was like, "Hey! I know that house!"
I got up to the Food Emporium and managed to actually save some money in one of the most pricey grocery stores I've ever been in. It's all about buying storebrands, kids. I got my sushi and some fancy creme for my coffee, and I was off.
At least until the parking lot. That's where things got hairy. Le Doug gave me a copy of his car keys, but not the one that has the fancy key fob that automatically opens all the doors. Beamers have these electronic locks, except for on the drivers side. That part you can open with a key. I couldn't open any of the side doors or the trunk. I basically had to toss the groceries through the driver's side and watch them spill out all over the floor of the car. And you people wonder why I don't drive.
In the confusion I left my wallet in the kiddie seat of the grocery cart. Yes, my wallet. The thing with all my cards and cash and train tickets in it, not to mention a disk with my resume and a couple of very important documents. I realized this about a quarter mile away from the store. I immediately swished the car around and raced back towards the post road. Not bad for a gal who has barely driven in seven years. They're not kidding when they call Beamers the Ultimate Driving Machines. The strange part is that the faster I went, the more control of the car I felt like I had. Isn't that strange?
Back on the Post Road I could literally see the cart in the parking lot and I could see the wallet sitting in it. Naturally, right outside the store, I got caught at the longest stop light in the history of time. I thought I was going to lose my mind. Once in the lot I pulled up right next to the cart and retrieved the wallet before some clerk rounded up all the carts. I breathed easy but I my heart was still racing. I clicked on the Herbie Hancock CD that I made Le Doug put in the changer (Head Hunters) and I grooved all the way home.
Back at home and after I enjoyed my sushi, I went for a run through Old Greenwich, all the way down to the Rocky Point Boat Club. I'm not even achey today. Aces.
