How To Turn My Day Around In One Easy Step

Remember in Ferris Bueller when Ferris was racing through backyards to get home before Jeannie got there and busted him? And as he was running through a back yard with two girls laying out he came back to say hi to them?

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Growing up, we had an awesome dog. She was outrageously well-trained. You could say to her, "What do you want?" and if she wanted to go for a walk, she'd lead you to the coat closet where her leash was hung. If she wanted to go out, she'd lead you to the back door. If she wanted more water, she'd pull her water dish out a couple of inches with her paw.

Our dog never jumped on anybody. Ever. Except for one guy. This guy my dad's been friends with since high school - she'd jump on him, and only him. I don't know what it was about him. I mean sure, he's a very nice guy (great cook), but the pooch must have sensed something about him that wasn't on human radar. Maybe she knew it was because he loved her so much that he went out and got the same breed of dog.
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There's a Blind Guy who lives in my building. He's really nice. I met him in the elevator; his dog jumped on me. She's a big dog - a golden labrador. Blind Guy and I run into each other at least twice a week, so his dog has gotten to know me. A couple of weeks ago - during the crazy rain - the guy seemed to be having a hard time. I came upon him and he had one arm in a sling, and wasn't holding his dog's harness.

Of course once she saw me the dog ran over, leaving him standing by himself. Good thing I was only about ten feet away. Walking towards the guy I said hello to him, and he smiled as we talked about the awful weather. The dog followed me, and eventually was back at Blind Guy's side where she belonged. He told me she never runs away like that, and also never jumps on anyone else. I assured him I didn't mind the jumping and asked if he was okay. He said he was, despite the arm-in-sling, so I just hung around until he got the dog leashed up, in case she'd follow me if I walked away. Maybe she can sense in me whatever my dog was able to sense in my dad's friend.

Lately I've been waking at 4 a.m. That's dangerous for me, because what happens is that I fall back asleep at some point between 7 and 7:30 a.m., right before my alarm goes off, and then I sleep through it. I hate being late for work, and hate rushing around to get ready. It sets the whole tone for the day, and I hate it. Yet the other morning, that's what I found myself doing when I'd overslept.

Cranky as all hell as I ran down to the street, I tried to guess if it'd be faster to wait for the next bus or walk to work. Walking won, and I zipped across the street in four seconds, dodging slow-moving people, silently cursing them out for being so fucking slow. Can't they see how much of a rush I'm in? Would it kill them to move a little faster?

Blind man's dog was at the corner, and her tail thumped in happiness when she saw me. For the first time since I'd woken up I smiled as I rushed past, not stopping to say hi to Blind Guy in my hurry to get to work.

Screw it. Like Ferris, I turned around and went back. Also like Ferris, I made it on time. And with a smile. Life moves pretty fast sometimes. If you don't look around once in a while, you could miss it.