Everybody Loves Ramen

My Maruchan Instant Lunch is in the final three-minute soak and soften stage, so I'll bat out a brief piece before going back to wiring the electrical service for the new CW racks. It seems odd that the most important step in preparing an instant lunch is to wait.

Had a fellow show up at the station's front door yesterday: 60-ish, grizzled, trying to get the door open and maneuver his walker through at the same time. I went out to hold the door for him, but instead of coming in he thrust a VHS cassette at me, telling me about his problems with the VA hospital. Apparently he's a Vietnam veteran, but the hospital is denying him benefits (he says) because he is dead. The tape (he says) is proof that he is not dead. I promised to give it to the news assignment editor, and he went away happy. Why a VHS tape would constitute better evidence than his own physical presence is a question that remains unanswered.

Okay, the instant lunch has soaked for the prescribed amount of time, but the vegetables on top are still in their hardened state... to the bottom they go for another couple of minutes.

Went to Home Depot this morning for some electrical supplies and some hardware. Found everything I needed, although the bolts and washers don't come in boxes... it was necessary to count out 100 of each into a plastic bag. Went to the self-checkout and scanned everything else, leaving the two bags for last. I've done this before, so I had written the SKU numbers on the bags. Hit the button to look up the bolts, entered the stock number and waited for it to ask me how many... but it didn't, instead adding one bolt to my receipt and telling me to put it in the bagging area. I didn't want to have to do that another 99 times, so I asked the young lady at the central console to key in the rest of the bolts. She looked up the order and said no, they are already entered. But look, I said, that's just one bolt and I have 100 in the bag. I wound up having to persuade her to charge me for everything, and then had to show her how to enter it. Very strange scene, and had she asked if I wanted fries with that, I would not have been a bit surprised.

At least I didn't have to deal with the diminutive but feisty woman in Electrical who plainly doesn't want to be there and actually growls, mostly to herself. It's not unusual that when she's working, customers shy away from her and come instead to me looking for assistance, even though my shirt isn't orange and has a nice big NewsChannel 9 / WSYR logo on the front.

The instant lunch has now been consumed, and I have outlets to wire and racks to bolt in place.

By the way: I'm alive, too. I can send a tape if you need proof.