Sub-conscience with a conscience

You know how sometimes life has to practically scream the obvious at ya because you're just too busy with, well, life... to actually notice what's going on around you?

Bear with me please....

Two weeks ago I was coming out of a client meeting accross town in the financial district commonly known as La Défense in the outer limits of Paris when I suddenly got the irrepressible urge to go shopping (hey, cut me some slack, it was freaking Friday, the very last tiring day of a very tiring week)... Besides, I almost never get to shop during the week since usually everything is closed by the time I leave the office so I decided to indulge in a little retail therapy taking advantage that technically I was already out of the office anyway and to basically celebrate that the weekend was finally upon us.

The next day, my mood grandly restored by the spanking new pair of jeans I was wearing, Hubby and I were getting ready to get some yummy fallafels for lunch while strolling around in the Marais in the middle of the first sunny afternoon we'd had in months, when I suddenly realized my credit card was missing from my wallet. It took me a quick minute (and a guilty look down at the denim hugging my lower body) to realize where my card was. I sighed, resignated. A quick google search and a phone call later my fears were confirmed: yes, I'd left my credit card at the clothing shop the day before. And yes, they had it there and yes I could come and pick it up at my earliest convenince. Although it wasn't exactly convenient to go right then and there, I grumbled that I was on my way before hanging up and dragged Hubby towards the nearest metro station. Needless to say, he wasn't exactly thrilled to be spending his weekend taking the same freaking metro route he takes every single morning of the week all the way out to La Défense (which is a ghostown in the weekend I should add) and spend a perfectly sunny saturday afternoon under the neon lights of the Quatre Temps mall which, again, he walks through every single day. But he did it anyway. And I got my card back.


Though not for very long.


Three days later, middle of another hectic week... As is my custom, I rush out of the office and barely make it to the Monoprix near my office that is still open at 9pm in order to hastly grab the first thing my hand touches and that will serve the purpose of "dinner" before taking the long subway ride back home. The rest of the week passes in a frenzied blurr in which all that seems to go through my head is work, work, work.

The miracle that is Saturday finally arrives and finds Hubby and I enjoying the day, strolling leisurely in Paris, me getting my revenge from the week by wearing flat shoes and comfortable attire, when once again I reach out to pay for lunch... only to find that my card is missing.... again.

The Déjà-vu moment over I realize where my card is and surpress the urge to scream and bang my head on the checkout counter! Hubby can not believe I can be such a moron twice in the space of 5 days when I've never so much as missplaced my keys in the 7 years he's known me. But there we find ourselves, riding once again the familiar loooooooong subway route to the premises of my office (this time) in order to go pick up my forgotten card in the boring, familiar, ordinary Monoprix grocery store that I shop at every other night.

I know this post should be more about the wonderous thing that is having had missplaced your credit card (twice!) in France only to find that people are honest and will save it safely and give it back to you (yes, my card was indeed waiting for me at the Monoprix) instead of using it to buy air tickets to Singapore or charging long distance phone calls to China.

And still, when I got home tonight around 10pm only to realize that I'd forgotten my cell phone back at my desk at work and hadn't even realize this 'till I crossed the threshold of our place...well, I can't help thinking that this post should be about something else all together.

It should be about the lesson I don't seem to be learning.

Fned.