once again, an early morning bout with caffeine-induced insomnia (a couple of cokes after a week or two without caffeine) brings you another mind on fire post. may present to you: (drum-roll, please)

embarrassing moments, part one:

a few months ago, i used to walk two to three miles in the morning to catch my bus. one day in particular, i was running late (as usual) and pushed myself, walking hard and running for short spurts in an effort to make it to the stop on time. as i approached the intersection, i saw that the bus was at my stop and getting ready to leave. without hesitation, i jumped out into the busy street and dodging traffic, made the sprint across six lanes (with a brief stop on the median to wave at the driver) and made it to my bus in time. as i triumphantly stepped up into the bus, i realized that everyone was staring at the idiot who just threw himself into the morning rush in order to save himself the 30 minute wait until the next bus. a couple of latina matrons whispered to each other, glaring sideways in my direction. no matter, i thought. i am safely now on my bus and can relax.

as i made my way past the stares and sat down in a seat in the middle of the bus, a condom in its deep red wrapper fell out of my dickies bag and onto the floor. we all looked at it for a long moment, as if to confirm that yes, that was a private contraceptive device on a very public bus floor. then i casually scooped it up and placed it back into my bag.

i think i spent the rest of that ride with my nose in a book::