Wednesday Wonder:

Experiment With Acting Consciously Different
Do something that you normally do a certain way in a different manner. Do it knowingly, consciously, think about it, and write a brief something about it.

The first thing I tried was brushing my teeth with my left hand. Are toothbrushes handed? I never could get the grip quite right. The whole procedure slowed down, and I did feel that I was giving more attention to individual teeth, but I also felt I was weaker with that hand.

The second thing I had planned was going to a different restaurant on my lunch break. Normally I either bring my lunch or go to one of six places north of 496. There are two cute little hole-in-the-walls south of 496, and I thought this would be a good time to try one of them out.

I got fooled. Apparently I'm more a creature of habit than I thought. I use my lunch hour to eat and then walk around a little bit, get the kinks out. I wasn't willing to give that up for a "new" experience. Maybe when things aren't so anxiety-provoking at work I can go try again.

So, tonight I went to the "new" mall in town. We have four malls: one on the east side, one on the west, a central one that is the second-oldest in Michigan, and a "new" one that opened at Christmastime. I had been there once, but as a participant in the Volunteer of America coat drive. So tonight I visited it.

It's one of the new "village square" type malls, which is nice for people like me who like open spaces. I had a good walk, checked out a couple of stores, and plan to go back.

It was also interesting coming home. Though I've always lived in this town, I came down a road I am sure I have never been on before, at least not as a driver. Interesting feeling being a stranger in your own town.