i've never felt like such a blonde in my entire life
status check - embarrassed, but so amused
background ambiance - steve poltz, "i killed walter matheau"


after waking up and hearing the pitter-patter of rain against my windows, i scrapped plans to go running and, instead, finally finished the book i've been reading ("running in heels" by anna maxted, for those who want to be in the know). after reading the last page of natalie's chronicles and basking in the fuzzy glow of fine chick-lit (we all need it sometimes), i looked around my living room and, suddenly, froze in confusion and apprehension.


a fragment of a phone conversation with my mother sometime in the last week was racing through my mind. "don't forget daylight savings kicks in - we're skipping forward, so you lose an hour's sleep!"


i suddenly couldn't recall when she had warned me of d.s.t. - was it this week or last? had daylight savings occurred and i didn't even realize it? had i been doing everything this week an hour later than i was supposed to? had time skipped an hour and i was still behind?


checked the clock on my cell phone - seemed fine. checked my alarm clock - it matched. checked the computer clock - still on the same page. but i was convinced that she had mentioned it as a warning at the beginning of last weekend. oh god, it's wednesday now - three days of non-dst living when i was supposed to.


now, rationally, i would know that it wouldn't have kicked in yet. i've been on time (or so i thought) for every meeting and appointment i've had this week. yet, for whatever reason, i wasn't convinced. maybe my clocks automatically skipped ahead. understandable with the computer and cell, but damn, if my alarm clock did it automatically, i'm going back to the store in dc and raving about it to anyone who's around. this is marvelous! i had made it through the switch without even realizing it! hurrah!


so, finally, i found a website with "the official u.s. time" in whatever time zone you want. and then found a site explaining when d.s.t. goes into effect - and confirmed that it is, in fact, this coming weekend that the switch will occur.


and promptly felt like an idiot. and laughed myself silly - as this is one of the new lessons i've learned in the process of living by myself.


if you can't laugh at yourself, you can't laugh at anyone else.


as i said, it being wednesday and all, i celebrated the fact that i'm almost halfway through the week - two days until i'm with friends, laughing, drinking and enjoying music while (probably) laughing at myself and those around me - particularly during friday evening's concert.


but for the first time in ages, when my lathargic mind thought of wednesdsay, tori's song floated through my head. "out past the fountain, a left by the station, i start my day in the usual way." i would sing the song to myself every wednesday when i was in dc, as i rode the metro to union station. i'd walk up the escalator steps, turn left and walk past the columbus statue as i made my way to the hill and my office. one more bit of "scarlet's walk" that struck ridiculously close to home.


i'm not sure why i thought of it today, standing on my small back porch, greeting the day with a semi-sleepy smile and loving the fact that the snow is all but gone and the snippet of lake i can see down the hill is finally melting.


completely different place, completely different time. but same day, same song, same smile.