a little experiment...

As I stepped out of class yesterday and stared into the seemingly vast stretch of time ahead of me, I knew that I needed to do something to liven up the next three hours. I called a few friends to see if anyone wanted to hang out, but apparently everyone else's schedule is much more packed than mine (or they were all avoiding me). So I decided to treat myself to a good time by doing a little experiment. Instead of getting off the Cata bus at my usual spot, I got off a bit early, outside of QD [a little convenience store located all over Michigan, for those of you who don't already know]. I pulled $5 from my checking account, and set off to see what I could do with $5 in 3 hours, without a car. I had only my cell phone and a semi-empty messenger bag over my shoulder (which came in very handy).
Instead of going with my first option (5 cheap paperbacks), I ended up with this:

Material:
*5 antique books, including a hymnal dating back to the 1800's
*an old Dymo labeling system
*a mug from an unknown company
*a Barbie book from the 70's
*an old Transformers movie from 1984
*a little boxing guy action figure with 3 arms and only 1 leg
*a Speedway slushy
*a cup of orange-spice coffee

Non-Material:
*3 very interesting conversations
*4 new stores that I haven't been in previously
*1 guy hitting on me as i walked down the street
*a long walk
*played an arcade game
*an extremely fun afternoon

I would recommend this adventure to anyone who lives in a moderately safe area of town. It's also good to have a cell phone, in case you get lost. ("'Stoner Rd.'? Where am I?")

(By the way, GoodWill is off-limits.)