I Have a Serious Addiction, And I Have Holes In My Shoes!

Here is a story that I have been urged by many to "publish". Well, why not publish it as one of my first on my own blog?
I Originally posted this on Facebook on January 10th, 2010. At the time, I was living in Portland, Oregon.
This sort of thing makes me smile, and captures very well my character, what I do, and how I do it.  I Hope You enjoy it as much as I do! ~=:-)

I have a serious addiction. And I have holes in my shoes. (bear with me, and you will see why they are in the same title line)


So, this morning, I noticed I already have holes in the soles of my “new” shoes. (I say “new” because I just bought these in October. So, as I went through my day, I was wondering how I managed to get holes in my shoes so quickly. After today, I now know the answer. It is because the streetcar was not going to come for another ten minutes. Simple enough, huh? I am guessing you do not see the connection. This is where my serious addiction comes into play.

At 2:30 this afternoon, I left my home to go to Safeway for creamer, and ice cream. I got back home at 6:30pm. You might think I have a serious trip just to go to Safeway, right? Nope! I have Safeway stores all around me. One is about two to three miles away in one direction. Another is about two miles in another direction. Yet another is about four miles in yet another direction. They all have direct bus lines that go right to them. Catching those busses is not a problem, either. All of the bus lines run frequently, and are within a block of my home.

The problem begins with my choice of which Safeway I will go to. I like the one in Downtown at 10th and Jefferson. Simple enough. Just take MAX downtown. Walk 5 or 6 blocks to Safeway. So I got on a MAX at the Hollywood stop, and went downtown. The MAX had to stop before it got where I wanted to go, because of another MAX disabled ahead of it. No problem. I like to walk. I started to walk toward Safeway, but then I saw a streetcar coming, so I hopped on it to go the last few blocks. But then I decided to ride it down to the south waterfront, and then come back around and get off at the Safeway. But then I remembered that once it get to the south waterfront, it waits there for 45 minutes, before making a return trip. So I got off at the River Place Marina stop. The next one I wanted would not be there for 10 minutes, (notice… that is the key to this whole thing). So I decided to walk down 1 block and look at the river, and take some pictures. Then I found myself exploring along the waterfront, taking pictures, enjoying the scenery, and wandering some more. Then I was at the Hawthorne Bridge, and taking more pictures. Then the clouds cleared up, and the sun was starting to set, creating even more great things to take pictures of.

The View from atop The Parking Garage: Hawthorne Bridge, Willamette River,
and Marquam Bridge under a magical sky

I walked up a few blocks, and went to the top of a parking garage to get a great view of the river, bridges, sunset, sky, city, and world below. I took many more photos, and enjoyed the late afternoon, and sunset, played with the different settings on the camera, used the tripod, and the timer, and ran the batteries down. No problem. I have plenty of spare batteries. Changed the batteries, and kept taking pictures.

After a while, I then wandered on back to the street-level, and started to walk toward the streetcar stop at 4th. Found more things that caught my attention, and took more pictures. When I got to the streetcar stop, I noticed that the next one would not come for another 10 minutes. So I decided to walk up and check out the Lovejoy fountain, and neighborhood. I wandered back down to the streetcar, and missed the one that I was gonna catch. So I wandered some more, and caught the next one. Then, I decided it was too short a ride, and I was enjoying it, so I decided to ride it around the loop, and come back around to Safeway. I ended up in the Pearl District, and decided to get off at the Safeway up there. I like that Safeway, so it is not a problem.

After getting my creamer and ice cream, I headed back out to the streetcar stop. As I walked-up, a #77 bus pulled-up. I could take this bus, and be back home in a few minutes. But it was very crowded. (all the routes that go past the Rose Quarter were crowded for a game tonight). So I skipped it. The next streetcar was due in 10 minutes. I could wait. Well, as I was on that streetcar, and headed back toward MAX, all the people that were doing the “No-Pants on MAX pub-crawl” got on board. They got off at the same stop I was getting off at. Then they walked to Pioneer Square, the same place I was going. This caused me to watch and laugh at their antics, and miss the #12, and another MAX. So, I finally caught the next MAX, and headed home. I got home at 6:30 tonight.

So, I have realized that I have a serious addiction. I think, of all the possible addictions a person could have, I have one (or two) that are actually good for me, and healthy, too! My addictions are I like to wander, walk, explore. And, I love to take pictures! And the reason I have holes in my shoes after only three months is because the streetcar is not going to come for another 10 minutes.


When I posted this on Facebook, I had intended to just share a funny story from my life, and the way my mind operates. It turns out, that not only did I share joy with others, they managed to give some joy to me! Hearing from old friends, and having them remind me of how much this free-spirit, happily-wandering, always looking for positive, and enjoying the moment, way of life I embrace brought them happiness. I was reminded at how hard I had to work to regain this way of life. There was a time prior to this (about a full year) that I was struggling to just keep going daily, let alone find ANY Joy.

I am now living in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the timing, and relevance of this post is very fitting... It would seem I once-again after four months have holes in My Shoes! (here we go again!)  I try every day to find the same sense of wonder, joy, and fun in daily life. I will definitely get some of my adventures on going to the grocery store in Vegas written soon!

I Hope You find as much joy in my adventures as I do! Thank you for taking the time to read, and Join My Journey through life! I Hope Have a Fun Day! JOn ~=:-)