Adventures in Ames!

Today, I biked around Ames. I would like to impress you with the number of places I went to.

Here it goes!

I went to:
Fareway
Hobby Lobby
Library
Joann's Fabric
Downtown Deli
Swanks
North Grand Wal-Mart
Duff Wal-Mart
Target
BAM
Wheatsfield
Grandma's Attic
Kohl's

And I stood outside the doors of Pita Pit and the Sunshine Thrift Shop or whatever it's called above Downtown Deli.

A moment of silence for Pita Pit, which is apparently closing.

No, really, it's a tragedy. I listed that place as my favorite cheap restaurant in Ames. My small group leader, Nikki, took me there way back in the day and I've loved it ever since.

*silence*

Anyway, today I had a mission. I had a few things to pick up and I wanted scout out things for my Steampunk outfit. Which didn't go very well, actually. Living in Ames has made me realize how limited my options for non-trendy things are.

But, in no particular order, I went to Fareway for Soy Sauce, Hobby Lobby to look at watch pendants, any other steampunk pendants, and leather pouches, Library to return a book and ended up picking up two other books, Joann's Fabric to inspect frabrics for my steampunk skirt (which I didn't end up doing. Apparently I need expert advice on this), Downtown Deli for lunch, Swanks to see if they could fix my cheap costume jewelry watch necklace (they couldn't), North Grand Wal-Mart as the first stop to see if they could fix said watch, Duff Wal-Mart to make up for Target not having anything, Target because I was looking for striped tights or stockings and a wide belt (didn't find any), BAM because I wanted a book on learning Turkish (not popular enough), Wheatsfield because I wanted anti-cold advice, Grandma's attic to see if they had any cool antique-y maybe steampunkish stuff, and Kohl's to check on a shirt I'm stalking.

I normally don't approve of "selfies" with a cell phone camera clearly shown, but this isn't Facebook. And I can't decide if I want that shirt in maroon (pictured), army green, or white. For Steampunk. And I can't buy the shirt until it gets at least close to $20. It started off at $45 and is currently 40% discounted.

And I bought/obtained:
1984 by George Orwell
Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card
Empire of Ruins by Arthur Slade
Kikoman Soy Sauce
A tiny bottle of Salty Watermelon UV vodka
Traditional Medicinals Echinacea Plus tea
A 7-inch wheat canadian bacon and swiss deli sandwich

And what did I learn? Ames is bad for Steampunk tendencies and I really wish I was still college age. I biked across campus three times today.

I think I liked it because it was one of those rare times where I belonged and was defined. I was a journalism student, a gamer, a dorm resident, and I shared those things with many other people, along with the buildings and campus and schedules and life.

But I don't miss homework. That can still die in a fire.