Scintillating Saturday

Two items of note jump off the brain here. Is that an expression? Things jump off the page or jump off the screen, why can't they also jump off the brain? Two items, one, I am in a Weekend Warrior challenge with an old friend on FitBit and plan to crush her into oblivion. Two, I finally got those clothes out of my house. I started my day with great breakfast, immediately following that, I did a sweet workout. Turns out the workout was too close to the breakfast. Probably wasn't as much of a factor as the fact that this was my first real workout in weeks. I ran stairs and had little stations in between. They included stickhandling, push-ups and sit-ups. Ideally I would have done six sets of it but I only managed four, which gassed me. So once that was all cleaned up I killed some time relaxing (read: playing Freecell) before taking off for London. I got to the selected computer store just after it opened and did a quick scan of the interior. Picking a direction I began the browsing customer saunter that is popular among shoppers. I didn't get far when a uniformed guy asked if he could help me, I whipped out the printout of what I needed and we were off. He claimed the motherboard and the graphics card were out of stock. I suspect he didn't look hard enough because the internet said the motherboard was in stock. This troubled me mildly. I will be investigating further via phone. That portion of the trip took much less time than anticipated so I decided I would try and get to the Big and Tall Menswear store I had noticed several times previously. After some attempts I found it and took a walk around the place. It was huge and needlessly spacious. I'm not sure why that is necessary. I actually purchased a couple of items off the clearance rack. Then I decided to investigate another store called Factory Direct. When I walked in and it reeked like darts I knew this wouldn't offer much for me. It was all cheap garbage. Nothing worthwhile, yet there were people buzzing around asking questions and getting in the faces of the staff. Not what I am used to at all. To cleanse my palette I sauntered over to the Winner's next door and perused the home section. I don't waste my time in the clothing section anymore. I found some measuring cups that suited my needs and pulled the trigger on that purchase. This would be all I could manage for shopping without a purpose and I headed for home. I cleaned my new measuring devices and prepared my new clothes for cleaning. I made a lunch and then was going to settle in for the day when something came over me and I packed up those clothes I was delaying donating since January and decided to make it happen. I called Goodwill to make sure they were accepting stuff and went straight there. I went into the store first, looking for someone to help me with my donation. This is not how it is done I quickly learned. I was forced to do a lap of the store and witnessed what can only be described as a feeding frenzy. Every narrow cramped aisle was filled with people, all shoving and wiggling past each other. Kids crawled under the racks of cigarette smelling clothing while parents hunted for the necessities. Several people were buying old worn out vacuums. I navigated my way behind a youngish couple that looked like there were there just to see the sites. I followed them around the outside path and eventually, after some impatient waiting, I was able to get back out again. It was the first time in a couple of years that I got a good look at the next social class down from me. If I describe the people in any more detail I'm afraid I'm going to come off as arrogant and rude but it takes the "people of Wal-mart" concept a step further. It was definitely not what I was used to at all and was levels different than even the Factory Direct experience from previous in the day. I will make the potentially offensive statement that if you want to see the lowest class level of your city or town you should go to a thrift store on a Saturday afternoon. It doesn't mean they're bad people, although some sure looked it, just that they don't have adequate incomes and in some cases, maybe IQs. Whatever I felt from seeing those people didn't matter once I got out. I determinedly circled the truck around to the back doors and a young man came out to help me unload my five baskets of clothing. It filled two big containers. I was happy to donate that much, from just one man. He gave me a little flyer and I was on my way home again. I got a lot of good stuff handled today. I only wish I could have gotten all the computer parts. I'm going to call them and make sure they know I want them. Harassment is okay if it's just once, right? Well, that has been the happenings of the Tugboat through the daytime hours.