Day Two - Occupational and Health Hazards

Ah, the irresistible power of motion.  Makes it so a person can get into a car driven by a total stranger ... and promptly fall asleep. 

As a result of this fabulous phenomenon, today I discovered my first occupational hazard - the hilarity of the sleep apnea afflicted passenger buzzing like a chainsaw in the backseat.  It was all I could do to contain my laughter when, at one point, my snoring passenger suddenly jerked herself awake with a snort.

And then fell back asleep.

So, thinking more about the archetypes I mentioned yesterday, it hit me today that these people are really just lonely and all they want is to talk to someone.

And then I realized that all *I* want is to talk to someone.  I looked in the backseat today and saw my future flash before my eyes.

Which, of course, scared the crap out of me.

So I put my fingers in my ears, chant "La la la la la", and move on to Occupational Hazard Number Two:  Having To Rely On Public Restrooms.  


When you work full time in an office environment, you take the employee bathroom for granted.  And I'm here to say ... don't.  Appreciate that employee bathroom.  Whisper sweet nothings to that employee bathroom.  Take that employee bathroom out for a big steak dinner.  Because let me tell you, you never know what you're gonna get when you walk through the door of a gas station bathroom.  


Today for example, I walked around the side of the building, opened the door ... and stepped straight into the 50's.  Everything in that bathroom was, without a shadow of a doubt, just as it was when the station was built 60 years ago.  Everything.  Even the bar of soap.


The brown bar of soap.  


Today I washed my 40 year old hands with a 60 year old bar of dirty soap.  


It was like a zen koan.  


A disgusting zen koan.