you know its Wednesday when...

... annie and patty trade each other text messages about how much they would like to go get a drink in the middle of the day together. Thats friendship.

This week is crawling by at an all-time-slow pace. Feeling slightly better about work, yes, thats true. But its still kind of like eating dirt. Highlights so far include: running and listening to an episode of ‘this american life,’ only to then realize it was about two sisters who ran away from home as children and became heroin addicts; trying to adjust to new glasses that apply a little too much pressure over my ears and kind of make me disoriented; finding out there is yet *another* engine problem with my car, so that i have to leave p.t. at the mechanics yet again. Oh my, im almost forgetting the best part.

Yesterday morning i headed over to the mechanics for the car to be checked out & get its oil changed, right? Simple. Got there at 7.20am, before they opened; called patty to congratulate her on the fulbright; eventually got to go into the waiting room and drink coffee and read an old new-yorker magazine (still catching up). The waiting room begins to fill up, time goes by– its actually an enjoyable morning, minus the fact that ive been up since 6.20 and am sitting in a waiting room drinking out of styrofoam. Still, could be worse, right?

Then this man sits across from me. Hes got blonde hair, longish, and is wearing shorts, a plain tee shirt, and sneakers. He also happens to have a dog with him– almost like a collie, but maybe a terrier. Anyway, his dog starts to pee. On the carpet. In the waiting room. So i happen to see it out of the corner of my eye and say, "your dog- is peeing." thats it- thats all- because he is oblivious. So, a normal person, you might expect them to be embarassed? To apologise to the room? To get a napkin and put it on the carpet?

This man though, he looks at me, and yells, "SO WHAT? WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO ABOUT IT? MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS." a little taken aback, i say, "well, you might want to take it outside. Maybe it needs to go to the bathroom?". which is again met by "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT. DONT TELL ME WHAT TO DO." this is the point that every trained new yorker averts eye-contact, sensing that she is in the midst of a crazy person, one of those people that poop on the subway floor, or expose themselves in the middle of a crowd- theres a head on their shoulders, yes, but its not quite right. I go back to my new yorker. The rest of the waiting room is suddenly fused with all of this negative energy- you can feel the anxiety reaching this palable level- like we’re all confused as to why (1) he has a dog inside (2) the dog peed and he didnt apologise or try to clean it up (3) he flipped his shit on a stranger when she pointed it out.

At this point, the man sitting kitty-corner to me– only about 2 seats away from psycho and the dog pee – a much burlier, hispanic man, looks at the blonde man and says, "i think you should take your dog outside." this escalates into a manly aggressive yelling match: "dont tell me what to do" "take your dog outside" "fuck you dont talk to me" "dont say fuck you to me" "dont tell me what to do", on and on and on. Eventually the blonde man gets up and goes outside with his dog.

Shortly thereafter, i get up to use the bathroom and check on the status of my car. On my way back from the customer service desk, the blonde man approaches me- we make eye contact– because again, like a new yorker, im not going to be intimidated by this psycho. He again reiterates his position on the incident: "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. FUCKING MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS." to which i reply, "all i did was tell you that your dog was peeing. cool on the aggression. This isnt your house." then he lets me know that "I WOULD THINK YOUR BIGGEST PROBLEM THIS MORNING IS HOW YOU LOOK." implying somehow i am not the cutest thing ever in my gray jeans, little patent pumps, barneys handbag. The nerve people. Either way, he eventually leaves the area again. Needless to say the rest of the morning couldnt get weirder. I had to pass him several more times when i was going out to pick up extra things from my car for the week (had to leave it there for it to be fixed), and he kept sneering at me. Perhaps also predictably? His partner was a very mild, timid gay man- slouchy, uncomfortable, weak-looking. I can only imagine the hell that is his life.

Dont worry though friends. I managed to escape carmax with only residual negative energy bits, which, although they hung around for a while, were eventually dissipated by dinner, a run, and then some living-room-style-impromptu dance-party to the killers. Cuddled up with dexter before bed, and finally felt like i could breathe. What fucking weirdos, everywhere. Let this be a lesson to us all. and, a reminder. In florida people can drive with handguns in their glove compartments, without needing a special concealed-weapon permit. So always be careful. Know when to stand up, but also know when to avert your eyes.

After work today? Another night of relaxation; perhaps this time, just a walk on the beach with a little jar full of wine. Because i can. (i wish you could too!)

xoxo