Going to the Grocery Store Isn't As Simple as it Used to Be!

So remember in my blog post yesterday when I said it would be a long time until I took the bus again? Yeah, I lied. And it didn't work out so well.

I decided this afternoon to take the train a little north to a Borders I spotted yesterday. I figured all the Borders are closing, there are sure to be great deals, and I've recently become obsessed with the Harry Potter books and I need the next 2. Well the Borders is closing and everything was 70-90% off! The bad news is that they had turned off the A/C and the escalators, and everything was thrown around. If you were looking for something specific you were pretty much out of luck. After 15 minutes of digging, fighting the crowds, and sweating (it was seriously hot in there!), I gave up and left. I remembered there was a Barnes and Noble about 4 blocks south, so I set out to get my Harry Potter fix.

When I walked outside I realized that it had started raining. It wasn't a downpour, just that annoying steady drizzle. Guess who didn't bring an umbrella? Yep! So I had a nice walk in the rain and managed to pick up the books I needed. When I left the bookstore, I decided to take the train down to the stop that's around the corner from my grocery store. I had left my reusable, much easier to carry bags at home, but I thought, "No problem, I'll just take the bus home."

Six bags of groceries later, I was ready to go. It's only a 4-5 block walk to my apartment, but I knew that with my luck a bag would break and I would be picking up groceries off the sidewalk. Instead of crossing the busy Wabash Avenue, I decided to take the bus to the Museum Campus (the end of the line) and ride it back around to my stop. When the bus finally got there I dragged my wet self and my 6 bags on. Once we got to the Adler Planitarium (the last stop), the bus driver pulled over, stood up, and said, "Last stop! Everybody off!" Seriously. I just looked at him. I finally said, "Can't I ride this back in to town?" He just looked at me like I was crazy and said okay. "But you'll have to wait. It's my break." He got off the bus, lit a cigarette, and walked away. I could practically feel my frozen meals melting next to me.

15 minutes later, we started off. I remembered my mistake from last time and did not get off at the 11th Street stop. I was feeling quite confident! Then, the next stop flashed...9th Street. Like I said, my apartment is on 8th Street. What were the chances that they would stop twice in the space of one block? So I pulled the cord and got off. That one block walk with all those bags was one of the longest ever. I barely made it into the apartment--a full 45 minutes after I left the grocery store! It sure is easier to shop when you have a car! Lesson learned--always take your reusable bags and NEVER take the bus!