I have a tendency to get a tad too focused on a random mission. I seek something special, and I will search the ends of the earth to find it. Anyone unlucky enough to be subjected to my singular-mindedness would surely rather give up and move on to other easily-found objects, but I am relentless, and I will drag you into the hunt with me.
Am I talking about seeking treasure? jewels? holy grails? No such thing…typically only something shockingly ordinary.
This happened last weekend as I got into my head an overwhelming desire to watch the 80s flick, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” The title came up during dinner, and I decided (without vote, I’m sure) that we stop at a nearby store so I could buy it and we could watch it. I still don’t know if my dinner companion embraced this idea wholeheartedly, but he went obediently along with it. As we stopped at not one, not two, but three stores (and I thought Wal-Mart carried everything!), we resorted to running to a Blockbuster and simply renting it or something else.
As we pulled up to Video Rental Store #1, I joked that they would stock it (unlike the stores) but it would be rented out. Of course, I jinxed us right there…it probably disappeared in a puff of smoke the moment the words came out of my mouth. I have been on one too many late-night trips to the video store during marathon 24 sessions in a desperate hunt for the next disc…I’m used to the disappointment of coming up emptyhanded. Naturally, my prediction was correct (turns out, sometimes I do hate it when I’m right!), so we had the clerk call another local store…out.
Convinced that we were now committed to the quest, we hit a different video rental chain to seek out the elusive, cheesy-yet-entertaining flick. Out. Informing them of our insane search, they willingly called another location. It was in that store’s computer, but (miraculously) stolen. The clerk offered to call the last location in the county we hadn’t searched. As this latest development was the most fantastical explanation for our shortage of fun-having-girls thus far, we said, “Why Not? May as well try one more….” Eureka! They had the apparently-recently-very-popular film and held it for us. We watched, we laughed, satisfied with completing the quest, yet laughing ourselves silly at the complete absurdity of it all.
Heaven help you if you are in a five-mile radius the next time I start a ridiculous quest….