First Day of Fall

Today marks a change in the official time of year, but given how our summer has been here in Michigan, there's not much of a difference. If anything, today has been warmer than most of the days in recent memory.

Personally I'm ready for the cooling off period that is afforded by this time of year.

School started again, and I'm busy and overwhelmed as usual. I'm reaching that point where I really need to be done...I crave the finish line! And yet it's still pretty far off in the distance, with a lot of hurdles between where I am and that magical endpoint. I know it will be here before I know it...time always has a way of flying right on by, but I'm just tired. And I'm too old to be where I am. That's the real crux of the issue right there.

As I look out my window, it's only 8:10 p.m., and it's pitch black out there. That's the one part of this time of year that I don't particularly enjoy: the darkness that envelopes us and eats people's joy.

I'm rambling tonight because I don't have that much to say, but I still feel the need to write. I passed up my regular book club meeting tonight because I had a hectic and overwhelming day at school, and I barely slept last night. That, and I didn't manage to finish the book we were reading. Again. And here I sit at my computer blogging, instead of either studying, or getting some much needed rest. Dysfunctional and nonsensical, I know...

That's messy me for you!

Panera Bread Power Outage

My sister and I went to Panera Bread for lunch this past Friday, which was a rather rainy day. Just as we were placing our order, the power went out. We waited in line for several minutes as the power flickered off and on multiple times. Each time the cycle occurred, the huge stack of pagers on the counter would flash and beep, jumping around as if in frantic excitement.

Finally I asked the manager how long she would wait before declaring the power gone and closing the doors. She asked if I had cash, and I said, "No, I actually have a gift card." She shook her head and explained that they couldn't process any plastic without power. She then turned to the clerk who had been taking our order and told him to write down orders for everyone currently in line. Looking back at me she said, "If the power happens to come back on while you're still here, please come back up and pay for your food. Otherwise, enjoy your lunch."

So we happily ate our lunch in the slightly eerie glow of the emergency backup lights. I guess we had some fortuitous timing...we left Panera Bread with full tummies and my gift card still full too, cool!