THE DAILY DIVERSION

IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN...

No, not the crappy 80's song by Europe, even though I did have that stupid song in my head when I was typing the title. Yes, we have exactly one month until the BIG DAY. On May 27th, 2006 I will enter into holy matrimony and give up a life of scattered ass. Whew! About time! I only waited damn near 31 years to do it! I knew people in high school that got married right after they turned 18. They've already had 10 year anniversaries, if they made it that long.

Another milestone has been met too. The circle has been made complete. I have successfully completed my four consecutive days of being to work on time or early. I was actually a few minutes early today, so that's just a cherry on the sundae. We'll see if I can still hold the crown come Monday, so hedge your bets now!

Do you ever have those dreams that you just wish you didn't have? I mean, I can live with dreaming about battling the undead, facing my fears, and even playing basketball, but last night's dream just made me sad. I think I even woke up crying (yes, remember, I'm a big puss). The sad thing is, the dream wasn't about me, my family, my friends, or even anyone I know. It was just like a TV show on Lifetime, and those are always depressing.

My Dream: There's been a car wreck. I didn't see it, nor do I really know what happened. I'm already at the hospital, and it's almost like I'm a ghost watching the story unfold. Two women were injured in the accident, a mother and a daughter. The mother is in very critical condition, while the daughter is doing okay.

The daughter's best friend shows up shortly after they get there to comfort them both. As the daughter and her friend are talking, the doctor walks in. He tells them that the mother will not live without the daughter's "skin cells" (why this I have no clue). So, the daughter has to decide to give her life for that of her mother. If it were the other way around, then there's really no decision to be made. Just about any parent would give their life for their child.

The daughter decides she'll do it. With the friend right by her side they hook her up to this machine that drains most of her bodily fluids (mostly blood, so this is why I'm confused about "skin cells", since they never went after that in the dream, only her blood). As she's drained dry, she begins a slow, agonizing death. She goes to her mother's bedside (her mother is in a coma) and talks to her, then returns to her friend. Her friend holds her in her arms as she dies.

Then the garbage men start beating the shit out of our dumpsters out back and wake me up.

Man, how depressing to wake up at 4 am and have this in your head. I sat up and wrote several things down, which are mostly incoherent. I did find out that I can write in shorthand whilst I'm half-asleep though, so that's semi-impressive.

What it means? Well, I don't think it means a whole lot about me, by any stretch of the imagination. I watched two TV shows last night that dealt with people dying and hospitals, and all of that, so I think it was just those things sinking into my subconscious. I know that's taking the cheap way out, but that's actually what I believe.

So, onto other things...

It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day for an afternoon drive. I'm planning on leaving work between 1:15 and 1:30. I packed up most of my car last night, with only my duffel bag and laptop bag left to grab. I'm going to run home and change clothes for the drive so hopefully I can be on the road in no time, and up in Owensboro by 6:30. Here's hoping anyway!

Okay, yesterday I did something that could be considered pretty stupid, by most people's standards. I drove through one of the roughest neighborhoods in the south. The natives call it Orange Mound. If you follow hip-hop, specifically southern style hip-hop, then you may have heard of Eightball and MJG. They are known as Orange Mound's Finest.

I knew I would be bordering on venturing into the mound, but instead I went right through the heart. Now, driving through the mound isn't like rolling down 4th street in BG or 5th street in O'boro. It's a whole different experience. Actually, it wasn't as bad as I had been warned.

I have been told by my co-workers, who are locals, that I'm better off not to go over in that area, mostly because I'm white. Supposedly race relations haven't gone so well in this part of Memphis, yet I digress.

Anyway, I made it safely in and out of Orange Mound without any incident. The only thing I can really say about it is this. They sure don't have enough place to get your hair done!

At one point there were two on one side of the street next to each other, and one on the opposite side of the street. I guess if you can't get into one you just go to the next one? I'll have to remember this when I'm in a rush to get my wig tightened up!

Alright, that is my installment for the day. It's going to seem like forever before my next post, because I won't have availability, nor the wanton to post, over the weekend. If I have something to talk about, then I may post on Sunday night. Most likely you can expect another thrilling (yeah right) segment on Monday!

Have a great weekend! Even if yours doesn't start today!