All Nighter

I can't believe my life. And I can barely type. Today's a work day, and I just spent all last night (minus about a one-hour nap) lying awake on the front lawn under a pile of blankets with two friends, a TV by the front steps playing DVD after DVD. We took a quick break to walk barefoot around the neighborhood at about 2:00. Now, I'm awake. My friends, bless their little hearts, are able to sleep as much as they want today, so they're sacked out under the rising sun, and I'm inside trying to psyche myself up for work. Not that I'm bitter, it was a lot of fun. But man alive, I can't wait to get back home later and crash! This is going to be a day of genius thought from me.

Nonjudgmental

Today I was supporting a couple of guys who volunteer a few hours a week cleaning at a church on the west side. One of these guys is a social butterfly...seriously, everywhere we take him he's waving and saying "Hello!" and occasionally shaking hands with all the random strangers. (And sometimes we get the snobs who shoo him off like a mosquito...seriously, I've seen people do that several times and it makes me want to explode. Anyway, different point.) Today as we were leaving the car to enter the church, a rough-looking guy was walking by; long, greasy ponytail and baggy clothes and tattoos all up and down his arms, and eyes that said "Don't mess with me." Without skipping a beat, my friend waved and called out a friendly hello. In an instant, I saw the guy's demeanour morph into that of a shy, startled little boy. He replied with a tentative "hello" and carried on his way with a quick, nervous step. And it struck me how my friend had treated this guy with a casual acceptance that he probably rarely, if ever, receives. I wonder if that unconditional greeting affected him at all.

I went for a long walk yesterday, and halfway through it I realized I'd been talking to myself and laughing out loud at my own stupid jokes for a long time. In a busy neighborhood. It was an awesome realization.

I'm an Idiot

Hey, I almost died and took another person with me today! It was just one of those stupid momentary lapses in judgment when you're behind the wheel, and it led to a now-or-never moment that had me shaking and thanking God for his angels.
Just after Rosetown the highway becomes two-lane for about three miles (maybe a little more), and I was behind a caravan of cars who jumped at the chance to pass a slow-moving (aka, legal speed) truck and trailer that had held us back for quite some time. As I was in the passing lane behind all the other vehicles, unable to floor it for their apparent lack of hurry, I noticed that my lane was growing slimmer and slimmer, and the trailer was drawing closer and closer to my right side. Behind the trailer was another vehicle, so I was left with three options: 1. Slam on the brakes-- but I was near enough the end of my lane that I would end up flying straight into the ditch at 120 clicks. 2. Slam on the brakes and swerve right-- but I'd hit that other vehicle behind the trailer. 3. Rub right up against the bumper ahead of me and pray that I'd be able to squeeze between the truck and the end of the guardrail in about half a second. I chose option 3...complete with an uttered, "Jesus!"...and swerved into the right lane even as the truck was still in my peripheral vision. I don't know exactly how much room I'd had on all four sides of my car in that moment (definitely no more than a few feet), but as soon as I realized it'd worked out, I realized how stupid I'd been and was super happy for the mechanism in us that takes over when there's no time to deal with fear.
The moral of the story is this: don't obey the speed limit, some moron out there will risk anything to pass you!