Late, Late . . . for a very important . . .

I should at least get points for knowing I was going to be late and letting my appointment know ahead of time, right?

The upside was that she hadn't left for the restaurant yet and since I was coming to her, she could continue at her desk for another 20 minutes or so.

At least, we thought it was going to be only 20 minutes.

That was before I actually got on I10 and discovered that for no apparent reason at straight up noon lots of people had the EXACT same plan I had and seemingly were in no hurry to make it to their destinations. That was before I mistakenly took the tollway and had to go well beyond my intended exit, turn around and then wander through the new "mall village" (as opposed to the old standby "under one roof" monstrocities) to find the restaurant.

Add to the scenario that I started the trip with the gas light on and you get the picture of just how prepared I was to speak of spiritual things over a Cafe Express salad! Amazingly, we had a great conversation and even planned a conference or two.

Back in the car and headed toward the office, I refused to pay $2.06 for a gallon of gas that I knew was ten cents less in a place far, far away from "mall village". That was before I discovered that the mistake I'd made regarding the tollway wasn't such a bad mistake after all given that construction had all mall traffic down to two lanes. And did I mention that sweat was now pouring from my brow even though the air conditioning was blasting away? When I finally got through the first stop light and saw a station in the distance, I had to laugh that that infuriating stop and go construction snafu had served to save me all of three cents per gallon and lose me at least a pound in water weight gain.

Oh, and the nearest station was also under construction with every pump full except the one I thought was positioned opposite to my tank . . . which was incorrect . . . as I discovered in my heat-induced haze. Repositioning myself meant another wait in another line and more sweating.

Some days you should just take a Midol and go back to bed.

But if you did, you'd miss the incredible instant message conversation you could have with a friend in London, the connecting of more people with just the right resource, the chance to see just how well your new camping shirt works with the whole "repelling sweat" situation, and an email from a dear Hispanic woman who wants me to learn Spanish so badly she sent me a note in her beloved and beautiful tongue on Latino humor and not only made me smile but made me thankful to be alive and learning.

Some days you should just say "thank you for my life" and mean it!