The Blurry Season

This is just the craziest time of year, isn't it? Days and weeks are passing by so quickly it's all just one big fuzzy blur. I went into the office on Monday after having not slept at all Sunday night. I mean my head did not so much as touch the pillow (which I don't advise, by the way, especially when you've got to get up and make a presentation). I got to see some co-workers I hadn't seen in awhile and meet others from out of town that I only knew through email. It was a good session but I was exhausted by the end and very shaky during my presentation. Stacy and I left the office relatively early and went to Sobeys to pick up a few groceries then had a late supper at Mary's Restaurant before hitting the Dollar Store in the Miramichi Mall. So, I still didn't get home until around 10 o'clock.

A kind of funny thing happened with the Mary's Restaurant choice for supper. We've NEVER eaten there before. We've never even really talked much about going there. We were driving up through Douglastown and Nordin chatting about where we would pick up something quick in Newcastle when we passed the motel with Mary's Restaurant. At the same time we both said, "We could always eat in there." So we turned around at the Pawn Shop and went back. They close at 8 and it was already going on 7:30 so we were their last customers. We picked a seat in the far corner by the window, ordered our food, talked, relaxed, everything was going great, when all of a sudden we smelled smoke.

That motel is pretty old. I think my parents stayed there overnight when they got married . . . it's THAT old ;-) (I sometimes wonder whether I was conceived in one of those rooms . . . perish the thought!) Anyway, the place is old and drafty and not that well heated, so they had a bunch of those portable little electric heaters plugged in . . . plus Christmas lights flashing in the window and Lord knows what else. Those little space heaters can be dangerous by times and the one by our table suddenly caught on fire. Sparks were flying out of the electrical wall socket. The stench was terrible. The waitress ran over and Stacy unplugged the heater. The waitress said they could smell something burning off and on all day but couldn't figure out what it was. So, it was a good thing that we went or maybe Mary's Restaurant and the rest of that old motel would have burned to the ground in the night. Maybe guests would have been killed. Maybe . . .

It's like God reached out and pulled us off the road to make sure they knew about that heater . . . or it's just a coincidence . . .

Off to Moncton tomorrow to see Magie Dominic and tons of writer friends. Going shopping too. A flying trip though, back on Saturday.

Mood: Content
Drinking: tea
Listening To: I was going to lie . . . but yeah, I'm listening to U2's Vertigo again, over and over continually . . . it's a marathon
Hair: beyond redemption, someone please remind me to make an appointment to get it trimmed before the New Year