All kinds of crazy...

Ok, so I had a couple of things in mind as I started putting this post together, and they both pertain to general craziness. Specifically the kinds of craziness that I am or am not able to embody... Let's start with the kind of crazy that I just can't do.

Picture it: You live in a midwestern metropolis, complete with reliable public transportation. Every morning you pay your fare, board the same bus, and start your work day with a less-than-delightful commute. Sure, there are people who have to commute like an hour and a half each way, in constant gridlock... so yeah, it could be worse, but those people generally are in the clean comforts of their car. A privately owned and operated mode of travel. The rest of us schlep ourselves onto the busses and trains, where we contend with the craziness of the general population.

As I've noted before, I have public transit horror stories that boggle the mind of even the most hardened and jaded transit passengers. I won't get into it, but it's UGLY.

So anyway, knowing my luck with the transit system, I generally encounter the at least one of the crazier folks belonging to this city's inhabitants on a daily basis. This is made all the more uncomfortable by the fact that I'm "Normal and approachable looking." Since I'm so approachable, this generally means that the crazies have no problems with sitting next to me... Little do they know that I very deliberately chose my seat as far from them as possible. (It should be noted that this method of avoidance can only be used for crazies who are already on board when you get on, and it's not 100% effective, because I have actually had pre-boarded crazies move and sit next to me after I sit down... Considering some of the nuts that I've ended up in a year-long lease agreement with, I have to wonder if I'm some kind of "Crazy Magnet")

So the particular brand of crazy that these people collectively dabble in always seems to find itself drawn to the seat next to me... Why is that? And then I've got to wonder if I there is something else that I could possibly do to prevent the crazies from wanting to sit next to me. Is there some way that I could take on an affected crazy tone that makes the other crazies say, "WHOA! That chick is totally fucking nuts! NO WAY AM I SITTING THERE!"?

Any suggestions? I mean I wouldn't mind throwing off the normal folks either, if only so that I can sit on the bus or the train with my purse occupying the seat next to me instead of some lunatic fresh from the macadamia ranch.

So then we go to the kind of crazy that I AM totally capable of. (Mom, go ahead and skip this part, we talked about this already.) I have rapidly become one of those "crazy coffee people." And by that, I don't mean that I'm a coffee snob, or that I am incapable of functioning without coffee. I mean that the recent purchase of a new coffee maker has made me a little nuts about my coffee. I mean really. The new coffee maker has a timer on it so that the coffee begins brewing about 5 minutes before my alarm clock goes off in the morning. (It might be the most brilliant invention EVER... Maybe second to the wheel.) This pre-wake-up brewing process means that I have to get things ready the night before. I've gotta put the coffee, water, and filter in before I go to bed. Of course I take this opportunity to get everything else for my morning coffee consumption. I get my mug and my spoon out, and I set out my thermos so that I can continue drinking my coffee at the office... It's kind of scary! (This scares me, because I am in no way a planner. Never have been. I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl. And here I am getting things organized the night before for my morning brew!) So I've become a crazy coffee person, almost over night!

Hmmm... you think there is some way I can turn my coffee fixation into a way to keep the other nuts away from me on the morning commute? Like bugging my eyes out, pretenting to have the coffee-induced shakes, and mumbling incessantly about the importance of using Colombian beans?

It's a thought!