time for the Sunday Night Post.
Today was wild. I was told last night to stop in this afternoon to pick up my paycheck at work. “what time?” said I. I really just wanted to get in and get the check and leave. “2:30” said my boss. Cool beans- gives me enough time to do chores in the morning, walk (an hour) there, pick up my check, stop at a few little stores before heading home, and be home in time to have some playing-outside-before-it’s-dark time.
So the morning goes as planned. I just got some new clothes and I wanted to wear them, so I dressed up halfway pretty to walk. It was actually not cold for once, so I had bare arms for the first (and possibly last. my arms are UGLY) time this year. I did some chores, a bit of homework, and set off for work. It looked like it might rain, so I brought an umbrella.
I got there and the other girl I work with said “are you looking for [my boss]? She ain’t here.” I was a bit peeved, but she suggested that if my boss said 2:30, she was probably just running late. I ended up waiting til 4:30, thinking that the second I left, my boss would show up and be pissed at me for not being there.
She finally showed up. It was still light enough, I figured, to run around and window shop… there’s a vintage stuff store across the street where I almost always find something I MUST have. Today was no exception- I bought myself a long string of (fake) pink pearls and my sister a short string of white ones and there’s a dress I LOVE in the window. Then I went to the little antiques shop where I was offered a job, just to chat a bit and browse. My mom loves the store and I still had some money so I thought I’d see if there was anything I could get her. There wasn’t.
On the way out, there was talk on the radio of the weather looking ugly. It looked fine from here I was, so I figured it was ugly somewhere else and hoped it would wait at least an hour to hit my area.
I left and started home. I got about a mile (out of roughly four miles) and the sky started looking nasty-dark. I reached into my purse to check for my umbrella, but it wasn’t there. “Dangit, I must have left it at the restaurant.” I thought. I considered calling, but then realized I didn’t know the number. I figured I’d just walk fast and stop somewhere and see if they could give me a plastic bag to cover my canvas purse (which is filled with things like my small sketchbook, some photographs, and my iPod. things that should stay dry.) if it rained.
After about another quarter mile, I heard OMG A TORNADO SIREN. I looked around for a place to take shelter, but as luck would have it I was in a not-very-commercial area. More run-down residential and office-type stuff. I turned my muic up WAY loud to drown out the siren and kept walking.
I saw a few other people walking and biking as well and hey didn’t seem too concerned, so I just turned my music up louder and walked faster. The wind got fiercer and fiercer until finally, I found myself standing on a street corner waitig for the light to turn and WHAM! it was like I was inside a tornado. STUFF was flying at me. The wind was cold and the rain started coming down in an it’s-definitely-raining sort of way and there were bits of trash and dirt, i guess, but really sharp dirt flying at me and hitting me in the face and arms… it got in my eyes and mouth and hair and whipped against my arms and legs. I ended up with a scratch on my cheek somehow, but I don’t remember exactly how. Someone asked me if I wanted a ride home and I refused- I’m sure they just wanted to help, but taking rides from strange men is never a good thing to do.
FINALLY the light turned green and I ran like a crazy little girl in a skirt carrying a million-pound purse who gets caught in nasty weather and sees shelter across the street.
And what was this shelter?
a porn store. That’s right- with crotchless panties and penis mints and flavored body something-or-other. There’s a big ole sign on the door that says, in several different ways, “if you’re under 18 or don’t have an ID with you, don’t bother coming in.” I’m under 18, but I ignored the sign and didn’t get carded anyway. I mean, I was running from a tornado, for crying out loud! It would take a really heartless person to tell me I had to go back outside.
So I called my dad. “dad? it’s Dorothy.” “Dorothy! where are you?!” “I’m… um… inside. I’m just calling to tell you I’m inside and I’m not dead.” “where are you though?” “I’m not dead. I’m inside. i’m okay.” “but where are you?” “I’m… um… inthepornstore.” “what?” “the porn store. the one with all the corsets in the window.” “oh! hahaha!”
I waited a bit til it was just raining, got a plastic bag and walked home. Got there soaking wet and freezing at about 6:30. Dried off, changed, checked my e-mail, and then I get a call- “hey, this is [the other girl whose work schedule is opposite mine, so i’ve only met her in passing] at work… is there any way you can cover for me these last few hours? I’ll work for you one night this week… please?” I had no plans, so I said, “I’ll be there in probably about half an hour.” and dragged out my bike. It was still raining, but not as hard, and I rode to work.
This is, of course, exactly how I planned to spend my day off.
