i pick up D and we head to pick up some shelves from the video store that went out of business. we go to the main desk to tell them who we are and why we're there. they escort us to the shelves and tell us to knock ourselves out. no one ever comes back. we decide that we could have walked out of the store with so much stuff had we been the dishonest type. i get the one shelf apart from the row of shelves and soon discover that it doesn't break down any further. i begin to wonder how i'm going to get even one shelf in my car considering we went there for two. i have a blazer, but something is telling me the shelf is too big. i begin to measure it with the screwdriver that i have while D wanders off to purchase one she just saw at the front desk. so there i am standing alone in the dark in a closed department with a screwdriver in my hand. she comes back with the tape measure and we figure it all out. we decide to stop at the front desk and let them know that we're going to go out and measure my car and then come back in for the shelf that we quasi dismantled already. they don't really seem to care one way or another. the shelf measures 60 inches tall. i pull out the tape measure and discover that the height of the back end of my car is 75, no problem it will totally fit. D asks me if i'm sure. i tell her that's what the tape measurer says. i then realize that i'm now looking at centimeters and not inches. measuring it the correct way i soon discover that the shelf is in fact twice the size of the opening. she laughs at me for a good solid minute before we decide to get in the car and leave. i tell her that no one inside seemed to really care that we were even there, so why bother going back in to explain our situation.

we run into some traffic and D informs me that lance bass is in the car in front of us. i look at the car and try to figure out where she drew that conclusion. i then notice the license plate that says, "bass 08" and laugh at her. i take my phone out to try and get a picture of it to send to my cousin. i inch closer while D fears that i'll end up hitting the car as i attempt to take the picture. we make it out of traffic and i turn left. i begin to look around and realize i went the wrong way. i say this out loud and D tells me she knew that but assumed i knew what i was doing. we get to some train tracks just when a train approaches so we decide to turn around and head back to the right road. as i turn left and head down the way i was supposed to go we arrive at another set of tracks, and meet up with the train again. finally escaping the train, we're on our way.

i realize that i only remembered to get one birthday card when in fact i needed to. i tell her that i can't show up to dinner and only give one card, so we decide to stop somewhere along the way. our quick stop for some shelves is now in its second hour. we spot a discount drug mart and she points for me to stop. i tell her that this is a wise choice since discount drug mart saves you the run around, you'll find everything you need. (their little slogan) i buy my card, and she buys one just because, and we head back out to the car. i ask her if she has a pen and she says no. i don't have one so i decide to go back in now to buy a stupid pen. luckily she finds one in the bottom of her purse and hands it to me. i start signing the card when i realize the pen writes in lime green ink. i ask her if she could have found a gayer pen in her purse, she laughs and hands me a black one. i thank her for giving it to me two minutes too late. she tells me that green is D2's favorite color, so she'll like it. i just roll my eyes and drive off. after i turn right and make my way onto the main road she tells me to go left. i tell her that she's not the most helpful person telling me what to do after i've just done the opposite thing. she talks me into two "short cuts" along the way. one taking just as long as the way i was going, and the other taking us out of our way and around the block. again, i thank her for being so helpful.

once inside the restaurant she orders the strongest most disgusting drink i've ever seen. D3 and i can smell the alcohol in it from across the table. she tries to get me to try it but i tell her it smells way to flammable for me. after three sips she begins to get a little tipsy. i announce that it's going to be a long car ride home, especially if D gets all grabby. lisa shows up. we eat way too much food. i'm disturbed by the amount of seafood that surronds me. everyone laughs when my chicken shows up, leave it to me to order chicken at a seafood place. our waitress puts everyone's orders on one bill, gets confused and has us explain who had what three times, then wanders off to fix the bill. i should have known that we were in trouble when i asked her how large the large portion of my meal was and she answered with, "larger than the small."