Boss to me, "You have to take a day off."

So that is basically what happened last week. My boss and I had some extra PTO (paid time off) and we were trying to schedule it so that if one of us was out, the other would be in. Personally, I had no problem with going to work the three days this week. That might sound odd to you but I really don't have much of a life outside of work. But my boss reminded me that if I did not use my extra PTO, I would lose it. So in my book, that means lost money (and I hate to lose money). Now it's not like I am obsessed with wealth or that I am a very material-oriented person. I am just quite thrifty. But my penny-pinching is for another post. So my boss claimed Tuesday and Wednesday and I took Monday off.This morning started off good enough. Slept in, set my Out-Of-Office autoreply on my company e-mail, had a bowl of cereal, and relaxed in front of the TV for a bit. Then a thought occurred; I still had one more Christmas gift to get for my sister. So I hopped in the shower, got changed, and left for the mall. I knew what I had to get her and you might think that some online shopping would be easier. Usually, I would agree with you. But I had in my possession a $25 credit-gift card. Now in my experience in online shopping, utilizing multiple methods of payment is next to impossible. So in venturing out to the ol' brick-and-mortars I thought I would save myself the mental anguish. I was wrong. I should have taken a clue from the crazy traffic surrounding the mall that this task would not be easy. I should have turned back at the mall's welcome sign, which now read like Dante's "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." But as the phrase goes, hindsight is 20/20.So I fought my way through the traffic and parked in the Best Buy parking lot. I figured this store would be perfect to buy my sister's gift becuase I also had a $25 Best Buy gift card. So these two cards together would be enough to purchase the gift and I would not have have to spend a cent out-of-pocket. I proceeded towards the store's entrance only to see a very odd happening. Other would-be patrons approached the door, stood for three seconds, then left. I was perplexed by this, so I hastened my pace to see what was transpiring. As I got in reading range of the door, I saw an 8.5 x 11 in. sheet of paper with the marker scribed words, "Power is Out. We are closed for now." Realizing that my beautiful gift card plan would not work, I turned and headed back for my car. When I got inside, I decided to check out other electronic stores in the mall. At the very least, I could use the credit-gift card today. So I turned on my car, only to be greeted by the low gas indicator light. It seemed that my time in traffic spent more fuel than I expected. I turned off the car and chose to walk to the other stores.It was only about a half mile; not too far at all. However, the 35 MPH gusts and below freezing temperature made the walk feel like I just lost my Iditarod dogs and sled. I did make it to the first electronic store and they just sold out off the item I was looking to purchase. I got fed the same story for the second, third, fourth, and fifth stores there. I was not a happy camper. I even tried the Borders store and, not surprising, they did not have it either. So I made my way back to the Best Buy to see if they got power back. Their doors were still locked but I saw the lights on inside and staff members just hanging around. Bastards. But I knew that if I started banging on the door, a police cruiser would be by shortly to give me a ride. So I retreated to my car. As I sat in that cold box, thinking if I could get to a gas station or I would have to call AAA, I saw a Target store in the distance. It was the last store I could try in the area. I figured I had nothing to lose.So I bundled up, once again, and headed for that big red bullseye. After I walked for a mile, opposing vehicular traffic (sidewalks were plowed in), I entered that warm store hoping that this store was not like the rest. I headed straight for the electronics section and there, in front of my very eyes, was two shelves full of this so coveted item. Relieved, I picked up a unit and proceeded to checkout. I paid for my item and as I was walking away, I realized that I did not use the credit-gift card in my pocket......... Feeling the sting of idiocy, I trekked back to my car and left that unholy place of commerce. I filled my gas tank at a local filling station and returned home.When I got home, I took stock of what the hell just happened. I left the house at 11:30 AM and got back at 3:30 PM. Four God-forsaken hours just for one item. When I talked to my sister tonight, I explained to her my ordeal. I should hope she likes her gift. If she does not, I might have to, ahem, do something...... So how was your Monday?