I would first like to say that this blog is *completely* voluntary. I have in no way been encouraged, pushed, or harassed to blog.
With that disclaimer aside, I have a confession to make. But first, some background. Whenever I walk up or down stairs, I count the steps. Why? Well, it’s a habit I started when I used to walk up two flights of stairs every night to get to my room. The second flight was always pitch black, and there were no risers on the stairs, only treads. Knowing when I reached the top without having to feel around was important. As a result, I count steps in my head without even thinking about it. It’s second nature. If I’m on a flight of stairs I have never walked before, I will make a mental note (still without thinking about it) of how many stairs there are. All the flights at church have eight steps except the flight by the locker room – seventeen there. Gander Mountain store somewhere in Michigan? Twenty-nine. Yeah, it’s a curse.
I love escalators. I first rode one on my tenth birthday at Barnes&Noble. My mom and I went to pick out books for my birthday present (and of course, stop at the Olive Garden for lunch), and I got to ride up and down the escalator. I still get a shiver whenever I walk on that first “step” and start riding up or down. It’s like going on an adventure, especially if the escalator is in a bookstore. Then final part is just as fun… watching the stairs flatten out and disappear and waiting for the right moment to lift my toes up so they can meet the sloped metal and gently ride off the escalator – and then that awkward “oh yeah I have to walk again” first step.
*contented sigh*
Oh yeah, confession. Well, being an online student in finals week (why am I blogging again?), I took my laptop to Barnes&Noble to use their free Wi-Fi for a change of scenery from my couch. As I was leaving, I ran downstairs to see if the newest book in one of my favorite series was out in paperback yet. Check; definitely stopping in next week to sit in one of the big chairs to read :-). As I rode the escalator back up, there were people behind me who seemed in a hurry, so I started *gasp* walking up the escalator. As I neared the top and was watching the steps disappear, it occurred to me that I was on stair number 17…
Frustration set in first. How am I supposed to know how many stairs there are when they flatten out and disappear?
Wait.
Oh yeah. It’s an escalator. Well I feel sheepish. Realizing there were still people behind me, I refrained from laughing out loud at myself and left Barnes&Noble with a stupid grin on my face.
It reminds me of this clip, which I first watched in Mrs. G’s management class…
