Well, I spent yesterday with my niece, Aly and we had a pretty good time. She hung out with me at dialysis; then, as a reward for hanging out with me at dialysis, we went to Denny's for lunch.
Then it was off to the Wal-Mart Supercenter to do my once a month I-Need-Everything shopping.

Now I know that Wal-Mart has infested every corner of the country and possibly the world, and I realize that they are unfair to every one but the consumer. I understand their inherent evil and I continue to shop there because I get $689 a month and it's the only way I can afford the little luxuries like food, and , say, toilet paper.

The Supercenter is a mutant beast that combines a supermarket with a discount club/bargain department store. The place is huge. And since yesterday was a dialysis day, I was not at what might laughably be called my peak strength. And so, after putting two 30lb bags of kitty litter in the cart, I felt like I was going to pass out.

Since Aly was with me, and noticed my sudden lack of color, we decided to hit the Dunkin Donuts for a latte and a sit down. I was so wiped I had Aly order for me, which is notable only because I am notoriously Sally-like in my pickiness for food and beverage.

The guy behind the counter was not very well versed in English, because, even though Aly told him 6 times what we wanted, he still got it wrong. Funny to watch, however.

And then, for the first time, I did what I've been resisting for the last year.

I used the little electric go-cart.

Now, the reasons why I had been resisting using the cart are a) I didn't think I really needed it, b) I know I don't look disabled and am a wee bit self conscious about it, and c) I only ever see hugely fat people use those things.

But the mutant Wal-Mart was huge and I was beat and so I asked Aly if it would embarrass her if I used the cart. I did this because she is fifteen and anything related to her family generally makes her roll her eyes. But she said no, so off we went.

Dude, the cart was cool.

For one thing, it was pretty zippy. And it was much easier to get the hang of than I thought it would be. By the time we got to the third aisle, Aly turned to me and said " You love that thing, don't you?" And I had to giggle and admit I did.

Plus, people have no choice but to get the hell out of the way. This is a definite bonus, because, in mutant Wal-Mart, it seems like everyone is pushing two huge , overfilled carts very, very slowly so that they can stop every two and a half seconds to stare at the cut price tuna.

Of course, I was still a bit self conscious about not looking disabled, but Aly is going to make me a t-shirt that says KIDNEY FAILURE on it, so next time, I'll wear that while I'm shopping. Problem solved.

Sweet.