Day 19

Yesterday was my day off from work and I had a few things on my to-do list...Some things for work, some things for the project, and some fun day-off stuff too. After a nice leisurely walk with Sam, I came in to make breakfast. I had some pancake mix, and a little egg-beater's left...but no milk. I was skeptical about how important the milk really was in the recipe, so I decided to try it with water instead. I used the last of my butter (about a tablespoon), about 1 eggs worth of the egg-beater's, and a little water. I decided to throw some cinnamon and sugar into the batter. The result was better than expected. My apartment was filled with the sweet smell of cinnamon and sugar, and the lack of milk made for fluffier than normal pancakes. I took the pancakes along with a cup of hot coffee and ate out on the balcony.

The day before, I had responded to a woman on-line who was in need of moving boxes. At work, we usually recycle the boxes we receive in shipment. We let them build up first, over a week or two, and then take them out all at once. I asked my boss if it would be OK if I took them this time. She said it would be fine for me to take some. Since the boxes were free to me, I didn't ask for much from the woman, just some milk and bread. She accepted but told me she didn't live close to the mall at all. I had to pick up the Scarborough Fair tickets from the radio station that day, and that turned out to be much closer to her area of town, so with the help of our lead stock guy, I loaded the broken down boxes into the back of my car. The woman and I had decided to meet in the parking lot of the CBS building at 4:30 to make the trade. Because of the mirror barter the day before, my gas tank was back up to 3/4 full. More than enough to get me into the city and back.

I pulled into the parking lot and parked next to car with someone sitting in it. It looked like they were typing on their phone. I sent a text to the woman saying I was here. I looked up from my phone and peaked over to see the person in the car next to me also look up and peak over at me. We both got out of the car and laughed at ourselves. I helped her load the boxes into her car, and she handed me a gallon of milk and a loaf of wheat bread. She asked me about my project and we chatted for a few minutes. She told me she needed the boxes because her husband had gotten a job in Virginia as a genetic engineer. "wow" I said, impressed by anyone with the ability to engineer things. I didn't know what else to say so I wished them good luck with everything and went into the building to retrieve my tickets.

The radio station offices are housed on the 10th floor, and when I got there I was greeted by a very friendly and energetic woman who handed me my tickets. She also threw in and more tickets for a concert going on later that night. The artist who was singing at the concert was in the lobby and introduced himself. He was a Hispanic singer and I admitted I wasn't familiar with his music, but I would try to make it to the concert anyway. He had come all the way from New York so I welcomed him to the city and thanked the woman again for the tickets before leaving. When I got in my car I counted the Scarborough Fair tickets. I was hoping for 4, not the "pair" the guy on the phone had stated. There were 4!

Plans for the tickets: One for my friend (as a birthday present) one for his girlfriend (in exchange for breakfast before the fair, and my share of gas money), and two to barter with outside the fair (in exchange for the infamous scotch egg and maybe even a beer or two).