I Need to Plan Better

I am so so so so tired! I think I subconsciously tried to kill myself today. That is the only explanation I can come up with for my actions. I think it’s time to reevaluate how I run errands.The vacuum cleaner the landlords provide with the apartment finally gave out. It’s not surprising, the thing is seriously old. I mean OLD! I get the feeling this thing is from the 70s. It might be the bright orange color or the fact that some of the parts have been taped together or the general bulk and weight of the thing. It really is in sad shape.The front wheel that guides it was broken off before we even got it, the panel to one of the filters is taped on, the cord on it is amazingly short and it weighs a ton. I had been using it about three times a week to keep the pet hair down but I always seemed to get more hair off the rug just by scooting my rubber soled house shoes around the rug.Plus, the handle was so short I had to either sit to vacuum or lean over to use it. Not to mention the front suction bar didn’t have wheels on it so it was a feat of sheer strength to push and pull the thing back and forth over the rug. It just wasn’t very good.Then this week the thing finally shot craps. While I was vacuuming, it popped, then the breaker popped, and when I went to unplug it, the vacuum smelled like a burnt match. Not good. Neither P.R. nor I wanted to tell the landlords about the vacuum right now (we still have to tell them I had a hand tremor and dropped a glass on our new stove top. The glass survived, our new stove top didn’t) since we still need to tell them we need to have them order us a new stovetop.So, today I went out to buy us a new vacuum. P.R. and I figured when we get ready to move out then we will tell the landlords their vacuum shot craps way back when and until then we will just use ours. This just saves them having to get a new one for the apartment right now and I get to have one I actually want to use.I took a week and checked out different brands available near us. The local home improvement store had a Dirt Devil that seemed pretty good but I wanted to do some comparison shopping. I went online and checked out a few and P.R. suggested I check out a local electronics store that sells appliances too and see what they had.My plan was to get up early and go get it today since P.R. usually works from home on Fridays. Since Shaggy was so sick just a week ago, I have tried to avoid leaving him home alone whenever possible. But P.R. had to go into the office today and made me change up my plans a little.P.R. was going to leave about 7 am but things happened, as they so often do, and ended up having to stay home until about noon. I decided to wait and go shopping in the afternoon so I could spend the morning with P.R. seeing as how we get so little time together right now.By the time R.R. left, the day had gotten pretty hot. It’s over 90 degrees and remember, we do not have air-conditioning. About 1 pm I finally got my new grocery cart, a few bungee straps, said goodbye to Shaggy, and headed out into the town.I went to the electronics store first. It’s in an upscale mall and they have a great food court with many vegetarian food options. I was only looking at the vacuums for about a minute when a salesman came up and asked if I needed help. I told the guy what I wanted in a vacuum and my price range and he helped me pick out a nice machine. It has all the features I wanted and was about $30 under the budget limit I had set on, and it was the last one they had right now.The salesman asked if I was going to be able to carry it and I told him I would be fine, that was what I brought my grocery cart for. I pulled the blue bag off the cart frame, flipped out the base extender, put the box on the cart and secured it with a few bungee straps. Then I put the blue bag back on the cart on top of the box and secured it to the handle. He was pretty impressed with my setup.Now that I have my new vacuum I pay for it, go to the food court and get a veggie quesadilla, then head back towards home. So far I’m doing great. I’ve been inside most of the time, the public transportation hasn't been packed so it’s not stifling hot. I get off one stop before my usual station because it’s closer to the grocery story I want to go to.Walking to the store from the station, I start to really feel the heat. By the time I get in the grocery store I’m thankful they have air-conditioning and I have a bottle of water. I do my shopping and load everything into grocery cart and start off for home.At this point, I’m very proud of myself for how I planned out this shopping trip and think very highly of myself for my ingenuity. This would be the first time my hubris was a foreshadowing of a downfall. The walk home is what really does me in. The extra weight from the groceries really made a huge difference in the amount of energy I have to use to pull the cart.As I start walking toward the street, my sandal starts catching on the pavement. It seems the sole on my right shoe is starting to come lose and I have to make sure to lift that foot up a little higher than usual to keep the toe from catching on the pavement and flipping part of the sole back. By the time I get out of the parking lot of the grocery store and walk to the light to cross the street, I’m already sweating like I’m in a sauna.I stop and take a drink of water. My once cold water is already starting to get warm. As I stand in the sun drinking my water, I look at the shade of a bus stop beside me and I think, I should have stepped into the shade to do this, too late now.I cross the street and have to wait to cross one more to get home. I try to stand in the little bit of shade provided by the traffic light beside me. I think, if only I had started back to yoga last month there would be less of me right now and more of me would be in the shade. Ah, well.I get across the street and am very thankful to see there are several patches of shade all along the street I now have to walk down to get home. I am feeling the heat pounding down on the top of my head as my clothes begin to cling to me more and more as sweat begins to create numerous trails down every part of my body.The trek home becomes several short excursions going from one spot of shade to another. Each shady checkpoint becomes a water and repositioning station. I am starting to feel the fatigue in my arms and back as the weight of my load works with the heat to take it’s toll on me. I find myself repeating the mantra, almost home, with every water break.I am disappointed in some of the places I think will provide shady refuge. While on the pavement it looks wonderful, due to my height the shade only covers me from the chest down. My face is beginning to feel like it’s burning and I wish I had thought to put on sunscreen before I left.I finally inch my way around the corner and have just another block to walk. I start thinking how lucky I am. My cart has worked perfectly, I am almost home, I am just so brilliant how I planned out this day if you overlook the fact I was starting to get a raging headache and felt like I could vomit any moment now. Once again I failed to expect my hubris to foreshadow the inevitable.I get ready to make the last turn onto my street and my ankle strap on my left sandal breaks (WTH?!). I walk over to a bit of shade before I take the time to check out my shoe. The strap is still secure around my ankle but one side has now come loose from the sole of my shoe. Dear Lord, why?!At least the shoe still stays on my foot even if it is now flopping around with each step. So, try to picture this last block home. I have to lift my right foot up a little higher than normal to keep the loose sole from catching the ground and flipping back. I have to swing my left foot out a bit with each step to get the shoe to go back under my foot due to the loose ankle strap, while pulling a card loaded with a vacuum and a bag full of groceries. I could work for Monty Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks.This last block took me longer than it has ever taken me to walk that distance. The heat is making me sick and I feel like I’m getting close to what could be dangerous heat exposure but I’m almost home. I get in the building and take the vacuum off the cart and carry it up the stairs then come back down to get the groceries. I just leave everything outside the apartment door and then head to the basement to put the laundry in the dryer.When I finally get in the apartment, Shaggy is going crazy jumping all over me. I bring the things in and go sit on the couch and pet Shaggy for a few minutes. I feel like I could pass out. I figure the best thing to do is get my temperature down. I go into the bedroom and stip down to just underwear. I turn on a fan and just relax for a moment. It seems like I can’t stop sweating so I decide to go take a cold shower.I step in the shower and I’m finally able to get my temperature down. It took about a good hour before I really felt like I was back to normal again. Looking back I think I have pushed it just a little too far today. I believe I was in full-on heat exhaustion.Even after the shower, I soaked my shirt in cold water and put it back on then sat in front of the fan again. The good news is, I didn’t stroke out and I have wonderful new vacuum cleaner. I already tried it out.The handle extends so I can actually use it standing up. The cord is twice as long as the old one. It’s bagless and has a washable HEPA filter. The suction foot on the thing has wheels so I don’t feel like I’m wrestling with it to use it.When I used the old one it would take a few months to fill up the little bag in it. I used the new one just once and I have to empty the container three times as I went through the apartment just once, two of those loads just came off the rug in the livingroom!I have never seen this rug look so nice. So, was it all worth it? I’m going to say, yes. Why, you may ask. Because I didn’t die and the vacuum works fantastic. Would I do it this way again knowing what I know now? Aw, hell no!