Things I think I’m thinking

We all have random things that we think about over the course of a day. I decided to capture some of the random things that I thought about today, this second of June in the year CE 2008.

1. Cereal. I forget how much I like cereal sometimes. The times I forget tend to be (a) when I have 1/8 of a box (or of two boxes) left and I lack the fortitude to polish off the box and the sense to just throw the remainder away, and (b) when I have two sugared cereals (as I did with Cap'n Crunch and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which have both gone untouched the last two weeks). A trip to the store and $4.50 worth of currency has bought me two new kinds of cereal and has reminded me how I love it so.
2. Safeway employees. SOP at Safeway is to read the receipt and say, "Thank you, Mr. Smith," or "Would you like help out, Ms. Jones?". That sounds OK, I guess, on paper. It gives customers the illusion that the company and its employees really care about them, rather than the most efficient way to get their monies. Maybe I'd be a bit less cynical if my last name was Jones or Smith... but it's not. Instead, I have nine letters of Frechie-ness that causes me to squirm a little bit every time I get my receipt. The newer the employee, the harder they try to get it right, and the longer I have to stand there, unsure whether to cut them off or wait it out. Managers know, when they see my last name, to avoid saying it and to just leave it off. Much better.
3. My hair. I was thinking about my hair today. Three things, actually. First of all, I love how easy it is to "manage"... I wash it, kinda dry it with a towel, push it more or less to one side, and then I'm good to go. Secondly, I am never sure which way I want to push it... parting it on the left tends to minimize the flip on the weak side but makes the overall look more helmet-like. I like to say it depends on my mood, but I really am not that reflective and I rarely know my mood (until I think about it, at which time I would peg my mood as "thoughtful" or "introspective"). Thirdly, I received a compliment on my hair today from somone I hadn't seen in a while and I think I insulted her by saying "That's nice of you to say." I just gotta learn to say "Thank you" when I get a compliment and risk having the person snicker at my gullibility afterwards.
4. Leftover clothes. I wonder what the rule is with clothes that are left somewhere. If, hypothetically, someone left clothes at an apartment and then fell out of contact with the resident of that apartment, what does that resident do with the clothes? Throw them away? Give them to Goodwill? And how long out he (or she) wait? A week seems too short. A year seems excessive. How would that resident ever admit that he (or she) got rid of the clothes, though, if he (or she) ran into her (or him) months down the road? It's quite a quandary.
5. Orbitz. I get stressed out using online travel sites. I enjoy the savings, but I always fear that I am missing out on a great coupon that I could find if I just did one more Google search or something. Further, the price listed on a selection screen seems to inexplicable change when you click on a selection... I was looking to buy a package to a certain Pacific island state today and the listed price was $1228... until I clicked on it, when it became $1464 ("due to availability). When I returned later to check, it was listed at $1228... until I clicked on it, when it became $1384. It was maddening.
6. Fantasy baseball team. I have played baseball and basketball and football and I've won my fair share of championships. I have never ever come in last place. Right now I am in last place in my fantasy baseball league, and I can't believe it. I've had injuries, and I've had bad luck, but I cannot believe I'm in last place. While winning the league is about out of the question, I honestly think I can avoid the cellar. We'll see.
7. Lottery commercial. I just saw a commercial that I thought was really good. There was an acoustic guitar musical background and guys hang-gliding... taking off from a hill in a pasture and floating around in the air. The interesting thing was that the guys would strap a flightless bird onto their belt when they flew... so a chicken could feel what it was like to fly, for example. There was one particularly cute part where a penguin was spreading its wings, as if it were revisiting some primal avine moment. Towards the end of the commercial, they showed an ostrich (or maybe an emu) being led to the hang-gliding area. It was funny and it was sort of touching. The tag line was something like "Everyone deserves to fly." Nice. The commercial was for the Washington Lottery. Ugh. A regressive tax on people who are bad at math. Oh, well. I am not dumb enough to buy lottery tickets and I still think the commercial was pretty good.