Sat chores; Maneki Neko; Left/Right Brain

Saturday I did the chore stuff things one has to do on Saturday. In this case, it was a visit to the car wash / oil change place, followed by a trip to the giant WalMart.

The car wash place is always busy. When I stuck my head into the reception area, I noticed that every seat was taken. In about five minutes, a couple of people left, so I was able to sit.

The area is not at all what you'd expect. It is very much akin to a solarium: large plants, fountains, green-tinted windows and wicker chairs. Or the lobby of an equatorial hotel. I looked for a waiter, so I could order a Singapore Sling, but I never saw one.

The car looked ok when they finished. But there's not a lot of attention to detail. And that no doubt is why detailing is more expensive. It was a very chilly day, so I felt a certain sympathy for the workers: toiling away in the cold, wind and wet must be tiring.

WalMart as always was like an airport. It didn't take long to pluck cat food, cat litter, bread, cokes, cookies, etc. from the shelves. So I was finished in about 20 minutes.

The most difficult part of these excursions is lugging all the bags in when you get home. And the cats think its play time and either try to run out anytime I open the door, or start chewing on the bags. With some nimble stepping, I managed to get everything in and not step on anybody's tail.

Lunch was the usual Japanese place. When I got out of my car and pushed the lock button on the key pad, an alarm on a nearby car went off. I immediately remembered that this happened the last time I was there. So I'm convinced that the alarm is reacting to my key pad signal.

A couple of months ago, I noticed a cat figurine on the sushi bar. Then I saw a similar one near the front door. It was a seated, tubby cat with one paw raised. (It bears a resemblance to the Chinese god of luck who looks like a paunchy Buddha.) I searched on the web for some info about them and discovered they're called Maneki Neko or "Lucky Cats." It's considered a symbol of good fortune and the raised paw indicates a welcome.

After lunch, I wandered next door to the Asian grocery. What a magical place! Exotic foods in exotic packaging. Beautiful enameled boxes. Glazed mugs. Sets of tiny cups for saki. Japanese graphic books. Even a replica of a Samurai sword.

AND maneki nekos. Big and little. Yellow, lavender, blue, pink, gold, black. I chose a large orange and cream-colored one, then a small canary-yellow one. And then I saw a small wooden geisha doll. At this point, I knew I need to be on my way. The orange one and the doll will be used as birthday present. The yellow one has now taken up residence on my book shelves.

PAX!