It was the Heat, Officer

Yesterday, temperatures hovered in the high 90s all afternoon. It's been hot like that for about a week now. Every time I return to my house, I swear that I'm not leaving again until Fall. Yesterday's series of unfortunate events only strengthened my resolve to stay indoors, for my own safety and the safety of others.

I ventured downtown to get my hair cut and mail my nieces' birthday presents. Like any decent-sized college town, parking is a challenge downtown. You can choose between relatively few metered spaces or the parking deck. In the calm before the impending stampede of returning students, traffic was light yesterday and I happily parked my car in a space close to the salon.

I got out of my car and walked up the street, remembering that I needed to stop at an ATM because I can't put Cute Boy Hairdresser's tip on my debit card any more. At the ATM, I decided to take out $10. The machine kindly informed me that there is a $3 charge for withdrawals, so I paid $3 to get $10. Luckily, my bank will eventually reimbuse the $3. Bad Decision Count: 1. Total cost: $3.

Afraid that the post office would close before Cute Boy Hairdresser was done, I told him that there wasn't any pressure, but if he didn't finish in time, two 6 year-old girls would be very mad at him. He reminded me that I would have to live with the results of his rushing. "Good point," I said, "it will be good for the little girls to learn to deal with disappointment."

While I was trying not to melt into a puddle during the blow dry, the salon's postal worker arrived and we learned that I had a whole hour to get to the post office. Crisis averted. I'd have plenty of time to get back to my car, retrieve my package, and walk 3 blocks.

I left my tip and hit the streets. As I walked toward my car, I thought, "I hope I have enough time left on the meter, because I don't want to have to move the car." I got closer and saw a ticket on the windshield. It was then that I realized that I never put any money in the meter when I got out of the car. Just parked and walked off. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," I muttered. It's a $3 fine. Bad Decision Count: 2. Total cost: $6

I thought about putting money in the meter and walking to the post office. Then, I broke a sweat because, oh yeah, it's 150 degrees! "Damn the gas crisis," I thought as I decided to drive the 3 blocks to the post office. I knew exactly how I'd get to the post office. Just a couple of turns and I'd be there. Only it wasn't that simple because my brain wasn't functioning. I knew this to be the case as I made a right hand turn, with the post office directly to my left. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," I muttered as I circled the block. Bad Decision Count: 3. Total cost: approximately $2 (or 4 drops) in gas.

Finally I got my package in the mail, stopped by to cast my ballot in the run-off election, and decided not to leave my house again until the temperature dips below 90 degrees. At least my guy won the run-off.