A Slow-mo Moment

I was taking my dogs for their morning walk today when I had one of those slow motion moments. You know the kind. Something happens and everything slows down, your voice, your movements, your reaction time. It was something like that.

When i take the dogs out I like to have music, but I cannot stand to wear ear-buds. So I just turn my phone  up, loud enough to hear but not disturb those around me, and toss it in my sweatshirt hood. It usually works great. I did that today, and 45 minutes into the walk all was fine, until I had to be a responsible pet owner. Lucky, my wonderful Boxer, decided he had to poo. So, I waited and with doggie bag in hand proceeded to clean up. That's when it happened. Can you guess what happened next? I'll give you a hint: gravity. Oh, Gravity, thou art a heartless jerk. As I bent down, my phone rocketed out of my hood, over my head and down my arm to the smelly pile on the ground. Everything slowed.
"NO," I screamed. I jerked my body up, trying to catch the device. It was no use. My hands fumbled towards the phone and all I could do was watch. It must have been the longest 5 seconds of my life. I couldn't move, at least I don't remember moving. I closed my eyes.  And then "doink". I looked down and my phone missed what would've been a disaster by about half and inch.

I sighed heavily, put my phone in a safe pocket and went about my business. We finished our walk and the rest of the album. It was "Some Nights" by Fun. Whew!

A call for submissions is a call for panic

About 20 minutes ago I received an email to submit several pieces of writing. Yes!! I was so excited I hopped off the couch and opened my laptop. It could not load any slower. I'm serious, it felt like a year. As soon as I get the web page open and begin to fill out my submission form, I'm filled with hope, with pride, with an amazing sense of accomplishment. I'm ready to attach files. I open the drives and . . . . nothing. My work is not where I remember leaving it. I frantically search through everything on my computer. Nothing. My sense of pride is gone and i feel some choice words filling in my throat. Where are they? WHERE ARE THEY? I scream, the dogs look up. I apologize. I run to my room. Where is it? Where is it? Where is it? I can't find my usb drives anywhere. NOOOOOOOO! Wait, I left them in a dish by the door. Of course, why wouldn't I leave two very important usb drives by my front door, especially when I put my keys there everyday, for almost two years now, and lose them. I grab them and place them in my laptop one at a time. Nothing. Nothing. I try again, maybe the universe is fooling with me. Nothing! I'm beyond angry. I have a third usb stick. It's shaped like a surf board. That must be where I put all the important work that I didn't want to lose. Ah, relief in knowing where to find "my precious" work....

But where did I put the drive?

If there is a lesson to be learned here, it's that the second things fall are about to fall together, you need to work painfully hard to keep them from falling apart. And it would help to be very organized. 

I have 5 days to find this surf board contraption.