camwyn | (no subject)

This morning my favourite (or close to it) comic strip, Over the Hedge, featured the two main characters talking about the anniversary that's coming up tomorrow. And about spending time wisely and cherishing each day and so on. This is particularly unusual for this strip because the characters in question are a raccoon responsible for something like 2% of the annual Twinkie consumption of the entire continental United States and a turtle who, at least until recently, worshipped Martha Stewart. They were musing about what they'd done on September 10th last year and it was something on the order of 'got my shell waxed', I forget the exact details.

I had to smile just a little bit. Last year, on September 10th, I know exactly what I was doing and what the day was like. See, at this time of year last year, my boss hadn't given me my performance evaluation yet. I was unspeakably nervous, as I usually get before such things, and my stomach was tying up in knots. I was also dealing with the onset of the school year at Kean, involving a professor I knew nothing about; the 11th was going to be my first day in Systems Analysis. I'd been waiting and waiting andwaitingandwaiting for that eval and it was more than I wanted to deal with... on the 10th of September, 2001, I got to work on a gray and drizzly day and said to myself, "know what? Your boss isn't in for half of today. For the other half, he has scheduled meetings to deal with. You can't get your eval today, it has to be tomorrow. You don't have class tonight, you have it tomorrow. Just do your work, sit back, and relax."

So I did. And, peculiarly, the world cooperated. I had almost no pestering requests for computer help. I was able to catch up with work that had gone begging. I got to relax. The sky outside seemed to be cooperating, even; it was gray, too wet to skate and too cool to be uncomfortable.

On 10 September, 2001, I had the closest I think I've ever gotten as an adult to a day of perfect peace. On the next day I realised why - in my life these things never happen by accident, it was compensation in advance by the Universe for the rest that was to come.

That having been said, I got my Cute,