DISCLAIMER: I Am Not an Airhead

For some reason I am incredibly blessed. I can't understand why there are so many people in the world who suffer terribly, but God chooses to meet my every single need, sending me help exactly when I need it. Yesterday our supervisor at Door of Hope Glendale (where I work) sent me over to Door of Hope Pasadena (our other location) when she found out that I needed some groceries. Door of Hope gets food donations from Trader Joe's (an AWESOME grocery store!) a couple times a week. When I got there, the staff welcomed me warmly. Then one of the ladies there got me all fixed up with a box of eggs, bread, frozen meats, and.... what I was perhaps most excited about... peanut butter! Peanut butter was probably the most important thing on my list since it's pretty cheap and does well for breakfast, lunch, or dinner :) Plus it's one of my favorite foods. She kept giving me more stuff, and I finally had to tell her to stop because I have limited space to store it all. Then she asked me if I had a pressure cooker, found a brand-new one among their donations, and gave it to me! I had to fight tears of thankfulness. I haven't even really used crock pots much in life myself, but my mom has and says that they make life much simpler when it comes to needing easy meals. She also gave me a beautiful bamboo cutting board. I left feeling pretty blessed and happy. I must admit that food is one of the things I love most about life, but this is the first time I've ever gotten emotional over kitchen supplies.

Now I have another one of my mishaps to share. DISCLAIMER: I am not an airhead, even though I may demonstrate airheaded tendencies. So, last night we got off work a little early, and I decided to take a different route home through the commercial strip in Pasadena just to change things up a bit. In the back of my mind I desperately wanted to stop somewhere and get something sweet. Then I remembered that there is a Jamba Juice on the way. (I was first introduced to Jamba Juice when I went to Hawaii in high school and fell in love. I've been hoping to find one in the continental U.S. ever since.) I didn't commit in my mind to going there, but I started looking for a place to park on the street. Now, me not being used to city driving/parking situations, it always stresses me out trying to figure out how to maneuver, so I ended up going down about ten blocks and parking there. However, it was a beautiful evening at 8:30 and seemed perfect for a walk. I enjoyed the scenery and getting a better feel for what was there. Finally I reached Jamba Juice and found just what I needed with some frozen yogurt and just enough dark chocolate chips to quench my chocolate craving. I took my yogurt from the clerk while she began to prepare a smoothie that I ordered to take home to my roommate and ring up my order. 

She told me how much it would cost. Then I reached for my wallet...

It wasn't there. I had left my wallet in the front seat of my car. Ten blocks away. It wasn't as if I could just run outside and get it. I apologized all over myself to the clerk who was surely sizing me up as a ridiculous brainless little girl. That's what I felt like, anyway. I reluctantly returned my sundae to her, which I had already taken a bite out of, making it even more difficult to give back - it was so good! I again apologized for the tenth time, and she said that she could put it in the freezer if I wanted to go back to my car and get my wallet. So I thanked and thanked her, asked if there was free parking nearby, and said I'd be right back, but never asked what time the place closed.

I speed walked all the way back, with the taste of dark chocolate and frozen yogurt pushing me onward. I found my car and drove to the crossing at Jamba Juice but had to drive several more blocks to find parking. After turning around, I found a spot on the same block. But just as I was crossing the street facing Jamba Juice, lo and behold it was closed! 

NNNNOOOOOO!!!!

I literally could not believe it. Was this a joke? It was more like the one half of my brain that forgot the wallet playing a joke on the other half that just wanted a little chocolate, for goodness' sake! Ugh. I'd just wasted an hour and a half of my life on stupid cravings and stupid parking, and I even got beeped at, AGAIN! I'm seriously going to start a tally of how many times I get beeped at while driving in California. After last night, I'm at 12. At least it was a nice walk. But now I don't think I can ever go in that Jamba Juice again. I've ruined it for myself now.