Adventure is Out There

Besides my weekly bus ride to Bethel Grove Bible Church, I rarely leave the Cornell campus, and when I do, I go to Collegetown, which is about three feet from the engineering quad.  As a freshman at Cornell, I happen to have a free bus pass, which, however, I almost never use.  As a matter of principle, I generally refuse to ride the bus to class when I can walk through piles of slush and on ice-encrusted sidewalks instead.  (To be fair to Cornell, they actually do a pretty good job of keeping the sidewalks clear, but do they really expect college students to care about “no winter maintenance” signs?)

The first time I set foot on a TCAT (the local bus system) bus, I went to Applefest on the Commons with some friends.  The second and third times, I was also with groups and used the bus to get from one side of campus to the other.  Last Thursday, I set out with a mission in mind: to get to the Target at the Ithaca Mall.

My journey began by waiting for the bus, which was late as always.  It took an absurdly long time to get off campus and the surrounding area because of all the stops, but I eventually got to the Ithaca Mall.  I walked over to the Target and entered civilization again.  (Cereal costs three dollars and not everyone’s around twenty?  No way.)

My main purpose for going to Target was to pick up a box of granola bars, because those may be the one thing I will not buy on campus.  I got a box of twenty-four bars (twelve packs) for $4.50.  At RPCC one pack is about a dollar, so I paid close to a third of the price.  While I was off campus, I also took the opportunity to pick up a cutting board so I can hopefully stop slicing skin off my fingers.  It was a little more expensive than I would have liked, but it has a nonslip bottom, so hopefully that means my fruit won’t go flying across the kitchen.  (Totally never happens at home.)

I have to admit that was my first time shopping entirely by myself, and it wasn't too bad.  I only walked aimlessly around the store three or four times, I got the main item that I went shopping for in the first place, and I made it back to Cornell in one piece.  Mission: accomplished.