Can I Get a Mulligan?

For those of you who know me, you know that I am not what you might call a "morning person".  And as of the last few years, I'm not really a "night person" any more either.  I like my sleep - and apparently, after the events of this day, I NEED my sleep.  I need a do-over.

I had to be up early this morning for a work trip to Sioux Falls, SD.  That's an 8.5 hour drive, round trip.  So, 4:45am this morning, WEEOOO WEEOOO, AAAOOOOGAAA!  Ok, so my alarm is not really that alarming, but I didn't handle it well.  I started with the morning-math: "Even though I estimated the trip at 4.25 hours, I bet it was an overestimation, and one snooze won't make a difference."  Then came the bargaining...."I could take a shower, but skip washing my hair - that might save 10 minutes." Finally - acceptance.  I dragged my ass to the shower - shampooed my hair and everything.

Out of the shower I pick up my phone to check the time.  I realize I had a missed text message sent to me in the middle of the night.  And not just any text.  It was an Ex-Text...(cue scary music: dum dum dum!)  A text message from a guy I dated for approximately 4 minutes last winter.  A guy I broke it off with because he was legitimately cuckoo for cocoa puffs (What?  That's his actual diagnosis.)  A guy I have not seen in about 5 months, nor have I initiated contact with him.  So, the Ex-Text from this morning was really 3 texts long, and basically told me that he wouldn't allow me to stand in his way of realizing his own potential.  Um, what?  I haven't even talked to you in months - I'm not even sure how I could be MORE out of the way.  If anyone has any tips on how to stop interfering with someone I don't communicate with, I'm all ears!  Anyway...delete...and on my way out the door.

This day definitely calls for high levels of caffeine.  Little did I know that an early-morning visit to the local coffee shop would result in the Great Caribou Coffee Inquisition of 2012.  As soon as I walked in the door at 5:36am, I was pelted with happy questions, demanding responses.  "How is your morning? Would you like a pumpkin spice latte? What would you like?  Do you come to this store often?  Why not?  Do you like Burnsville?  Why are you going to Sioux Falls, cuz my parents live there?  Would you like a muffinbreakfastsandwichpoundofcoffee?  Are you sure?  What do you do for a living? Did you want to try to trivia question? What is your social security number?"  Ok, I made that last one up.  I did actually escape with my identity, my dignity, and the claim to my first born child (But, based on my love-life over the past 5 years or so, the joke would have been on them!).

Fast forward through a boring drive and some regular work activities...

Sitting in my car in the parking lot, on the phone, when suddenly, a jolt.  The older gentleman behind me driving one of those white half-van-half-bus numbers back right into me.  AND DENIES IT.  He said there's no way he backed into me - he didn't feel anything.  He wouldn't give me his insurance informaiton because he didn't see any damage!  So, the Sioux Falls Police Department is called and two officers show up.  Officer Winkel looked over my car and "determined" that there was no damage.  I politely said, "With all due respect, Officer Winkel, I'm sure you are an upstanding police officer, but I don't believe you are an auto mechanic."  He ended up filing an incident report, but still wouldn't make the guy give me his insurance info.

So, the cherry on top - I also got a speeding ticket on the way home.  Granted, by then I was a zombie, so it was deserved.  Who gets involved with the cops twice in one day???

This reminds me of when I lived in Uptown and my car got towed twice in one week.

So, I'm planning on snuggling in tonight, watching the debates, going to bed early, and starting over with a brand new sun-shiny day - tomorrow.  Unless....someone wants to give me a mulligan on today....?