Re: LIVE up to the minute road trip TODAY 11/5/09
Final update:
"Never, never, never, never give up." -Winston Churchill
Lunch was amazing - while waiting for my food I did a prosperity meditation - a guided meditation MP3 that I had downloaded to my iPod. Unfortunately, during lunch my phone died - thus ending my ability to do live up to the minute updates. However, I didn't allow that to stop me.
Feeling refreshed I hoped back on to the bus to hit a few banks down the road. First bank also didn't allow change to be given to non-account holders. Second bank had no halves whatsoever.
At this point I was honestly starting to get worn out. It was about 1pm and I had started the day at 9am - though I had been up all night working so I was not in the greatest shape to be running around all over town. I moved forward anyways. I caught the next bus to an area where I knew there were a cluster of banks in walking distance to each other. Those banks had produced before and after the long string of skunks I was hoping for some silver. The first bank I got to said they didn't have any at all - "Some lady came in yesterday and took them all!" Blast!! I would usually move in to "Aww, there's so much competition and everyone else took them all..." mode, but I quickly switched to my prosperity mindset and told myself "No, there's more than enough for everyone. Right now the universe is putting in motion the resources and people to bring silver to the bank just in time for me to get there."
I got to the next bank - one that I'm quite sure was someones dump bank as many times before I've picked up hand-wrapped rolls that were total skunks. I asked the teller if they had any halves and she went away. When she came back she was carrying 3 rolls and some loose. She ended up having more in halves than I had in cash, so I took all I could. About $37. All skunk.
At this point all my cash was tied up in halves and I still had 3 banks left to hit - one that had produced a walker for me a few weeks ago. I decided to do it the hard way. I broke up the coins in to $5 stacks and began walking in to businesses asking if they would exchange for bills. No. No. No. No. Sure. No. No. Sure. No. Sure. etc. I finally changed all of them back in to cash. I began to walk to the next bank. My feet began to burn. I could feel the blisters rubbing against my shoes and my legs ached and throbbed but I moved forward. I got to the next bank and went to the merchant and asked for halves. Without checking she said "No, we don't have any. I know because people bring them in in bags and we ship them all out." I thanked her and stealthily moved in to the consumer line. When I got to the front I asked the teller if she had any halves to which she replied "Yeah we have a bunch!" Go figure. She pulled out about $40 in loose halves - of course I'm only carrying $37 and took all I could. This bank is an older branch of national chain and was the one that produced a walker for me in the past so I had my hopes high - Skunk. All skunk. And yet again I was faced with my cash dilemma. At this point I was beat. I was exhausted. I wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. There were two banks that I had not hit a few blocks down - right next to the bus stop that would take me home. It was getting late - how late I did not know because my phone was dead, but I got the feeling that closing time was quickly drawing near. As I contemplated all the effort it would take to dump that amount of coins again just to hit those last 2 banks I began walking to the bus stop. 14 banks in the day, 13 skunks in a row. I stepped up to the corner across the street from the bus stop just in time for the bus to pull up. As I crossed the street to get on it I felt a nagging tug on my heart. What would it take to just try? There will always be later buses. But the banks will close and today will forever be gone. I began to think about the story of the guy who had struck gold and when the vein ran out he packed up and left. Then, the other guy came in and dug just a few feet farther and discovered a massive deposit that made him millions. I thought about my own personal mantra - "Just when you're about to give up, take the next step! Success is always the next step after "I give up."!"
I had worked so hard all day, and could easily take my two 40%'s and be happy with the day.
"Two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less traveled by..."
I sat down on the bench and watched the bus drive off.
As I sat there I pulled out the leftovers from lunch and began devouring it - not realizing how hungry I had been. I polished it off in an instant and like Popeye with his spinach I got a jolt of energy. I knew I had to work fast - what I didn't know was how much time I had. There was a strip mall 3 city blocks down that had a lot of chain restaurants that I could exchange the coins at so I briskly began walking in that direction. I was beyond the burn at this point - in that state of consciousness where everything is just numb. The mission had been decided upon and I was executing. I put all my faith in the universe - "I'll do my part and that's all I can do. I'll exchange this money and I'll go to the banks. It's up to you to make sure the silver is there!"
Like dominoes falling in order each restaurant accepted my offer - not a one turned me down and there were just enough restaurants to cover the whole amount. With cash in hand I set off back to the banks.
I walked up to the first one and reached for the door - not knowing whether it would be locked or not I gave it a tug - and it opened. I walked in and stood in line. When my turn came I asked the teller if they had any loose halves. She said she didn't but began to ask the others. One girl gave her a little nod and went to her desk. She pulled out 4 coins bound together with a rubber band. She slowly brought them over to us and placed them in the hand of my teller. My teller pulled off the rubber band and slid them in the tray. When she did - I saw two of the most beautiful ladies I have ever seen looking right back at me. Right then I noticed the song playing over the speakers - "Do you believe in magic?"
"...And that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost
) I love L.A.!
That is some serious persistence. Glad to see you get those nice early Walkers. Searching via the bus gets another 
