I had a bunch of errands to do this morning and I can’t complain, they all went surprisingly smooth. I always approach a giant list of errands with dread. There are few things I want badly enough to run all over town to get. It’s generally only out of necessity (e.g. holiday) or in honor of someone else (e.g. gifts). Today was a little of both.

I went to Target in Jantzen Beach and it’s no surprise that store has become lamer since the thrill of its grand opening not too long ago. All the stores at Jantzen Beach are lame. The place is practically a graveyard. Or what’s a word for a dreadful place where people only go because there’s no other choice or they’re desperate? The traffic plan was invented by a sadist. It’s fairly awful on a weekday morning before Noon — I can’t comprehend what it might be like at xmas. The stores are huge and far apart. Walking is discouraged. There’s the sense that it’s a place no one can admit has been defeated.

I think the entire thing could be razed and started over from square one with traffic in mind, light rail included and a mix of residential and retail with fun outdoor eating, parks and places to walk. There’s a gold mine under all that asphalt and brick.

But back to Target. I couldn’t find anything I needed. If anyone needs a sportsbra in size 38D, white — Jantzen Beach is your spot. Otherwise: hard cheese. I wanted some watch-type batteries and wrote down the number and everything. A kid saw me examine the display and hurried over to help me. He didn’t see the number I was looking for (like I needed help with that) and encouraged me to try Circuit City. He had a terrible stutter and in my anxiety to not make him feel self-conscious, I thanked him profusely even though he was completely useless.

I’m home now (obviously). We’ve had an odd damp day and a huge crack of thunder went off over the house and for a split-second I thought the roof was cracking.