Have you ever had one of those mornings where about an hour and a half into it you have to stop and ask yourself “What in the heck is going on?” "Are you sure you woke up on the correct planet this morning?"

My morning started simple enough. I woke up about ten minutes before the Alarm clock was set to go off. Got ready for work in number breaking time. Choosing my normal attire of black clothing, black nylons and my heels. This morning however I settled on a shorter skirt then usual but it looked cute so I figured what the heck. Threw on my 3 1/2 inch heels. Put my hair in it's usual ponytail. Looked my self over and thought “Hey this is going to be a great morning!” So with that I grabbed a bagel stuck it in my bag with my book and headed out the door.

You see this is not my normal trip to work but my ride had to be in at the butt crack of dawn so I decided to as we Californians call it “Rough it” to work by taking the bus. I grabbed my little schedule and checked it twice to make sure I would be on the correct one then off I went on my little adventure. You wouldn’t think it possible to have a real adventure in southern California but I can guarantee you that it is and I will never think the impossible is not likely to happen again. So anyway back to my trip in.

I head out the door like any normal person would do. Throw on my headphones and start walking to the pace of N… Well we won’t say the artist for fear of being stoned to death. Anyway I am walking to the pace of this artist happily walking myself to the bus stop. Thanks to the music I arrive there about 10 minutes early, pop open my smoothie and drink a little bit of it down. Just then the bus arrives, I check the bus number, it matches. I ask the driver if it goes where I want and of course it doesn’t but that is OK because it will take me closer and I can hop on another bus and be at the office about five minutes early then normal. “Great” I thought and hopped on. Just then I realized I didn’t have enough cash on me for the second bus! Panic begin to rise in me. “I need to find an ATM” I thought to myself. Please oh please let there be one at my stop. Then I slap myself on the forehead with the realization of even if there is one how will I break a Twenty dollar bill to get a one dollar for the bus! Oh well I would just have to wait and see. So finally I arrive at my first destination and low and behold is a gas station with an ATM. I can kill two birds with one stone. Just walk in grab something to drink break the twenty and be on my way. So I did just that and headed to the second bus stop. Wanting to be double sure this is the right one I asked one of the people sitting there if it went to the stop I needed. She just smiled at me, nodded her head yes I thanked her and politely waited for it to arrive. So bus two arrives and I pay yet another dollar hop on and off I go again.

I sit back listening to my music, looking out the window when all of a sudden... This is where it gets fun… All of a sudden the bus begins to turn. “No! Wait” I think. I need to go straight. This bus is going the wrong way! Good god I have to get off or I will be late for work. I pull the string, sigh heavily and hop off. Just as I am about to cross the street to the next bus stop my bus goes by! “NO!” How can this be? This day started so well. Now I am faced with a choice to wait the 45 minutes or try and walk to work. I am only about a mile and a half maybe to miles at most. “I can make it no problem” I think not to mention I am afraid of hoping onto another bus and ending up in god knows where. You know... They should really tell you that there are three buses with the same number and only one goes where you need to go and that will be the one you don't get on!

OK I have to stop a second and say, this is one of those moments that can truly make or break a person. Weigh your options heavily before deciding on any single course. Option one, Sit and wait. I will be a few minutes late but nothing really bad. Not enough to get into trouble over. Option 2, Just walk the way. You have to realize I am deathly afraid of walking on major streets alone, I don’t know why I am but I have been for years now. I can do it if I have to as long as I have music or some distraction, but I don’t enjoy it one bit. And this was MAJOR street, actually more like a highway with 6 lanes and lots of traffic.

So the story continues…

So here I am in my nylons, knee length skirt, flannel, carrying my headphones and work bag all seems well so I decide I don’t want to be late I am just going to walk. I have about 30 minutes before I need to be there. This should be a piece of cake. So I set off laughing to myself about what a morning it has been already. About one fourth of a mile down the road the sidewalk disappears and my only option is to walk on the side of the road. OK, now I am starting to get a little annoyed. My feet are beginning to bug me, my skirt is being a pest, and it is starting to get hot but I shrug it off and keep walking. About a mile a mile down the road I come across a little field. This is another time when you should weigh your choices very carefully! So I look down the field and I can see my office building, I can cut off about 15 minutes walking through here or I can take the long way around it. I had never been in there but I knew there was a gate that was always open on the other side that would lead me right to where I wanted to be. So now the problem is figuring how to get down the ten – twelve foot hill in my attire without making a complete ninny of myself. I think a moment and decide going down slowly is the only option I have otherwise I could end up not only looking like a goof but in a world of pain also. So I make my way down walking sideways and digging my heels into the dirt. No problem so far but I can’t get back up the slope so I have no choice but to go forward. I pick up my bag, and flannel and off I go again. Beautiful skies above me, pretty shrubbery and plants around me. I think of the past twenty minutes and think “this isn’t so bad, a bit of a bother but still the day is good”.

I walk about five minutes, I am half way there when all of a sudden the path I am walking on disappears. My only option is trying to get back up the slope and on to the road again or to keep going, but I will have to walk through the plants. Not a big deal, Since I hate the road, I choose the plants and go on my merry way. One step… two steps… three steps… OK this isn’t right! The plants are now at knee length and snagging my nylons. I can’t turn back though because I am close to where I need to be. I just sigh and keep walking, what’s another pair of nylons to me? I needed to replace these ones anyway.

So now mind you for the visual here I am, took two wrong buses, missed my third, the thirty minutes have passed. My nylons are in shreds, my feet are killing me my clothes is dusty and I am now fifteen minutes late to the office, and stuck in this field with no way out but either going back or making my way to the gate. Yet… I am still listening to my music, a little annoyed but laughing at myself over how this morning has turned out. Finally I get to the chain gate…. I look at the gate… I stand there a moment… I blink… In the whole three years we have been in this building not once have I seen the gate locked but yes… you guessed it. This morning of all mornings it is locked. OK so what now? Walk back thirty minutes or go over the bluddy thing! Now for a fifteen-year old this would be an easy thing to decide but Twenty-six is far too old to be scaling fences in skirts and heels! Yet sadly enough I had no choice. I was now twenty-five minutes late for work and was not about to turn around and I was not about to stop now. So I threw my bag over, threw my jacket over and some how. I am not sure how but with a little struggling I made it over also.

I am now moments from my office. Just how I am I going to explain this mornings lateness with my strange appearance? Oh well they know me so this situation won’t surprise them one bit. As I am walking to the building and in walks an office of the law. This is about the time I stop and go “What in the heck is going on with this morning?” Just as I am thinking that I get pulled to the side by the building security and given the Spanish inquisition. From the way I looked I really couldn’t blame the guy but if he ever did his job and was around the building he would have known who I was. Anyway back to the officer. It turned out some weird guy was running around the halls knocking on the doors, hooting and hollering and moving on to the next so they had to come remove him from the building. Can you really blame him though with a morning like this one?

So now here I am finally in my office, looking like death in skirt. I should probably be pissed off but I can’t stop laughing thinking of the book wacky Wednesday. I suppose other then everything being backwards it would fit my day perfectly.

Can't wait to see what happens next!