I think my dog might be sick. He's thrown up a few times over the last two days (that I know about), which isn't that far out of the ordinary, but he's also crapped in the house twice, with the last time being loose. Thankfully, both times were in a wood floored laundry room, but I think he might be sick. Ugh.

CyberSex Transcripts

I found this on a message board and copied it back into my archive because it's really pretty long, but so worth the read. Basically, some dude is starting IM cybersex with unsuspecting women, and then goofing on them pretty bad. Here's a sample (plenty more at the link above):

bloodninja: Baby, I been havin a tough night so treat me nice aight?
BritneySpears14: Aight.
bloodninja: Slip out of those pants baby, yeah.
BritneySpears14: I slip out of my pants, just for you, bloodninja.
bloodninja: Oh yeah, aight. Aight, I put on my robe and wizard hat.
BritneySpears14: Oh, I like to play dress up.
bloodninja: Me too baby.
BritneySpears14: I kiss you softly on your chest.
bloodninja: I cast Lvl 3 Eroticism. You turn into a real beautiful woman.
BritneySpears14: Hey...
bloodninja: I meditate to regain my mana, before casting Lvl 8 Penis of the Infinite.
BritneySpears14: Funny I still don't see it.
bloodninja: I spend my mana reserves to cast Mighty of the Beyondness.
BritneySpears14: You are the worst cyber partner ever. This is ridiculous.
bloodninja: Don't ---- with me biznitch, I'm the mightiest sorcerer of the lands.
bloodninja: I steal yo soul and cast Lightning Lvl 1,000,000 Your body explodes into a fine bloody mist, because you are only a Lvl 2 Druid.
BritneySpears14: Don't ever message me again you piece of ----.
bloodninja: Robots are trying to drill my brain but my lightning shield inflicts DOA attack, leaving the robots as flaming piles of metal.
bloodninja: King Arthur congratulates me for destroying Dr. Robotnik's evil army of Robot Socialist Republics. The cold war ends. Reagan steals my accomplishments and makes like it was cause of him.
bloodninja: You still there baby? I think it's getting hard now.
bloodninja: Baby?

Poker Blogs: Celebrity Hold 'Em is coming!

"Game 1 - Premieres Tuesday, December 2, 2003
Ben Affleck, Don Cheadle, David Schwimmer, Emily Proctor, Willie Garson

Game 2 - Premieres Tuesday, December 9, 2003
Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer, Timothy Busfield

Game 3 - Premieres Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Hank Azaria, Michael Ian Black, Peter Facinelli, Nicole Sullivan, Mo Gaffney

Game 4 - Premieres Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Paul Rudd, Ron Livingston, Sarah Silverman, Shannon Elizabeth, Coolio

Game 5 - Premieres Tuesday, January 6, 2004
Mimi Rogers, David Cross, Tom Green, Carrie Fisher, Scott Stapp"

This is cool. Alright, handicapping the flights, just based on my own preconceptions about these people:

FLIGHT 1 - You know Affleck's a gambler. He's been known to drop major dollars in Vegas, plus Matt Damon is really into poker, as he did that movie "Rounders." I would say he's my early favorite here. That Willie Garson dude (one of those "That Guy!" actors, you'll know him when you see him) might be a dark horse here. I can't see poker being Schwimmer's game.

FLIGHT 2 - This would be the "grizzled veteran" flight. Schiff and Spencer just look like guys who have played poker for decades. Busfield is a Spartan grad, so he's got that going for him, and if any woman is going to do well in this tournament, I'll bet it'd be Allison Janney. I'll take Schiff.

FLIGHT 3 - Peter Facinelli? That's Mr. Jennie Garth to you 90210 fans. I think that Nicole Sullivan is from Mad TV and King of Queens, and if that's the right chick, she's a cutie. I'll go with a sleeper pick here of Facinelli, although I'm interested to see if Michael Ian Black can make a run, he's a funny dude.

FLIGHT 4 - Man, I love Sarah Silverman. She might have it in her to do pretty well here. Ron Livingston (Office Space) seems like the type of guy that plays in some sort of regular game every week. Coolio and Shannon Elizabeth are dead money. Give me Livingston.

FLIGHT 5 - My favorite comedian (David Cross) and one of my favorite racks (Mimi Rogers) square off here against Princess Leia, the ex-Mr. Drew Barrymore, and a guy who thinks he's Jesus. I wish they had put Cross in with the Affleck/Cheadle game, or at least with Michael Ian Black. Either way, I'll take Cross here. I hope Stapp is first out, that guy's such a tool. And, as a bonus, I hope Mimi Rogers plays topless.

Guys, put your picks in the comments widget, and if we want to put $10 on this to see who guesses best, let me know.

Dude!

Real nice surprise today. I brought in the mail and didn't notice the thin envelope from my employer which was to contain the paycheck I was expecting for my three days of work prior to the end of October. I opened it up, and it was for those three days, PLUS the last two weeks! I'm $1100 richer than I thought I was going to be! Whoo Freaking Hoo Hoo!

That Seattle (-10) versus Detroit line this weekend is looking appealing all of a sudden...

It's 9AM, and I'm emailing myself already, which is how I'm posting to my blog in lieu of using the Internet. It didn't take long for this new job to break me of the habit of using the Internet for personal reasons. I didn't even have access to the net until just yesterday, as my last piece of IT access finally broke free of the internal bureaucracy and landed in my lap. But two things have been made very clear to me. First, it's obvious that the company at which I'm located monitors Internet usage, including websites visited, by its employees. Second, as a vendor located onsite and utilizing our client's resources, I've basically been told that unless it's explicitly for business purposes, I shouldn't even think about logging online. That second rule is kind of like the "don't dirty the guest towels" rule when you're staying at someone's house. You know they're there, technically they're there for you to use, but no one ever expects you to sully them during your stay. Same difference here. I won't log on, and it's not because I can't. It's because I won't. It's not like I need our client to be suspicious of what I'm really doing here on a daily basis.

By the way, if all offices were built and monitored like casinos in Vegas, the ceiling cameras would have caught me spending hours of each day here so far playing Battleship, Monopoly, Yahtzee, or Texas Hold 'Em on my Palm Pilot. Things will get more lively here, of that I'm convinced. Right now, it is a bit of a test of endurance, which, it appears, I'm winning. By the way, the computer cheats like a bastard on Monopoly. If CPU1 wants to buy Pennsylvania Avenue from CPU2 (street value, $300), and by doing so will create a monopoly on the green properties, CPU2 is glad to roll over and let CPU1 buy it for $335. If I want to buy Ventnor Avenue from CPU2(street value, $240), which will give me a monopoly on the yellow properties, I'm looking at about $800 to make it happen. It once took me $861, plus Pennsylvania, plus Ventnor (creating a green monopoly for my opponent) to get Park Place, giving me the PP/Boardwalk monopoly. Freaking ludicrous. There's all sorts of collusion happening here. It's crazy. Thankfully, my shareware license ran out on this one, as I was getting real frustrated with the game anyway.

You don't really want to play Monopoly with me in person under my house rules. It never ends well. I'm never hesitant to make a deal, and under my roof there is nothing you can't negotiate into a deal if the other person is willing to accommodate. Plus, I'm a spiteful, petty little bastard. The last time I played with my ex-wife and her brothers (and one's girlfriend), I was dwindling. My brother-in-law and his brother's girlfriend were both building pretty nice little empires. However, both had some pieces the others needed, and I was holding North Carolina Avenue, the key to completing the green monopoly for J (the b-i-l). He had been offering me ridiculous trades for it for almost an hour, but I was holding firm and still treading water around the board. With only a couple of minor monopolies getting built, it seemed like N.C. Avenue could be a key for J to break the game wide open. So what do I do? I know that the GF needed a property or two that J had to make a couple monopolies of her own. So I sold her NC Avenue on the cheap with the caveat that I get a free pass on that property for the remainder of the game, and that would carry over regardless as to who owned the property. J was PISSED. "That's not in the rules!" Well, easy there happy, it's not NOT in the rules either. Plus, he knew that my selling it to her for far less than he would have paid for it was just petty retribution on my part, hoping to take him down for dancing with glee the first time I landed on Oriental Avenue with a lousy hotel on it. Basically, after about forty minutes of back and forth screaming, he stormed out of the house and drove home drunk. Nice. Like I said, you really don't want to play Monopoly with me.

If I had an IMood Icon, it would read "depressed"

I Wish...

...I was in a band. We'd be called Wumpus, after the TI Computer game "Hunt The Wumpus." We'd be a Steely Dan cover band and play local bars. I'd play bass and sing the Donald Fagen parts.

...I was a left handed middle reliever with an 88 MPH fastball and a workmanlike curveball. This, to me, is the easiest position in all of sports. You can pitch until you're 40, you'll make pretty decent money, and you'll never have big time pressure on you like a starter or a closer would. As a left handed middle reliever, you get out there, pitch 1/3 to 2 and 1/3 innings, and you're done for the day. Easy life.

...I could shake this boredom and general malaise I'm sinking into again. Maybe it's the change in weather, I don't know. Whatever. I'm just really in a funk, and it's not the George Clinton type.

...I would have interned with the good people at Zingerman's in Ann Arbor. I think I would have made a hell of a Specialty Foods/Wine Buyer for stores and delis.

...I had my pull up jump shot back. That was a pretty nice weapon for me when I was on my game.

...I was a lot closer geographically to some of my friends. Actually, I wish I was a lot closer to most of my friends on every level at this point. I really went into a shell these last two years, and haven't made efforts to really bring my friends back into my life. I really regret that, and as the months go by, I hardly know where to begin to make that better.

(sigh...) That's all for tonight. I'm going to read in my room for awhile I think.

I've been away myself, not by choice. I have had a 48 hour net sabbatical, as between the power outage and a network outage at home/my dad's, I have had zero net access until tonight.

I've been fiending like a maniac...

So the power's been out here. It was out quite a bit of yesterday (Wednesday), and it's been out since about 11PM Wednesday night straight. Thankfully, it did come back on long enough for me to watch most of last night's exciting episode of "The OC" before falling asleep. Tacos will do that to a kid.

Anyway, I look pretty good for a guy who got ready in the dark this morning. My socks match (my pants, unfortunately, not my shirt), I did identify a clean shirt on the hangar, and chose a pair of grey khakis that were mercifully unrumpled. Where I really hit the wall though was trying to do my hair by mini-flashlight. I acquitted myself nicely methinks, but it's definitely not the best my head has looked. Actually, if you compound the undried hairsprayed shell hair I am today sporting with the 36 hour stubble on my cheeks and chin, I look like a bad villain out of Miami Vice. Well, from the neck up I imagine. I'm not wearing neon and I am wearing socks.

We had some ridiculous weather here over the last couple of days. Yesterday, from 7AM to about 1PM it looked exactly the same outside. Foggy as hell. It must have crept off the lake and decided to make itself comfortable here off the beach. Then, it blew over. And boy, did it blow. Basically, ever since yesterday about 3PM we have had a steady 40 MPH wind. There was hail last night, and snow has been blowing around some today as well. I don't mind cold so much, it's just the bone chilling wind that's hard to put up with. Thank god it's not wet too, or else I'd be really miserable.

I finally appear to be 100% hooked up here at work. I have a "global ID," a "network ID," a "Notes ID," a "global directory profile," and an "MSP system ID." These, of course, are fully complimented with passwords. Oddly, the only password that requires alpha AND numeric characters is the "global directory profile," which is basically my Intranet phone book entry. Probably the one place that wouldn't be the downfall of the company if a hacker decided to play insidious games. I'm really not good at choosing alpha/numeric passwords, so I really hope I don't forget it. Oh, I also have a password for my phone mail as well. They were difficult with that one too, as I couldn't choose less than five numbers, and repetitive or consecutive characters were not allowed. So my usual phonemail password was out, and I had to get creative, or at least as creative as my memory addled mind could conceivably remember.

So my boss was a little chagrined yesterday when I got my email set up. I actually was granted an internal email account with my name as my address. As a vendor, that's a nice thing to have. My boss, months ago upon spearheading this program also onsite, was given something that looks like "xy-ab-companyadmin@xxxxxx.com" (chew on that spam spiders). So I've got my name, he's got barely intelligible code. And I've only been here two weeks.

I bought a really awesome coffee mug from Starbucks this morning. It looks like a tall garbage can, having the vertical ribbing and a silver color. It's pretty cool. I had made up my mind before walking in to buy myself a travel mug, as I have been ripping off my mom (current mug stolen: from a gas station in South Dakota) for months now. Couldn't hurt to have one or two of my own. Do you have any idea how much a PLASTIC mug costs? I'm irritated, because I paid $15 this morning for a cup of coffee inside a pretty cool looking mug. On the positive side, Starbuck's "Gold Coast" coffee is how a cup of coffee should taste. I think I have a new favorite.

I've been asked what I would like for Christmas. As it's only mid-November, and I still have six to eight weeks of Lions' losses left to endure before the holidays are upon us, I haven't really begun to think about my wish list in tangible terms, so for now, my list in the abstract will be as follows:

WHAT I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS
rough draft list version 1.0
11/13/03

1. World peace (please read carefully, I do not wish for "whirled peas.")
2. To make it through a whole holiday season without hearing "Feliz
Navidad" or any version of "Jingle Bell Rock" on the radio
3. Death to the Infidels
4. For all the children of the world to join hands in a moment of peace and happiness, singing a song in beautiful harmony
5. Another Lions jersey
6. Hope where there is none
7. Joy where there could be more
8. Health
9. Happiness
10. A whole buncha blow jobs

(list subject to change)

Harper's Magazine: FORTUNE'S SMILE.(World Series of Poker)

Great, but long, article on one writer's experience at the WSOP. Enjoy!

Here's a game I like to call...

$2500 Cash Or?

The way you play is you have a choice. Do you take $2500 in cash, or what's being offered as an alternative.

So do you take $2500 cash, or...

1) ...the complete and true story as to the circumstances of JFK's assassination? Caveat is that you will be unable to ever tell anyone what you know.

That's easy. Definitely take the information. This is the holy grail of conspiracy theories, and to be able to know the truth, regardless of your ability to tell anyone else, is worth way more than $2500.

2) ...a comprehensive list of who's gay in Hollywood? Again, you can't share your findings.

Wow, this one's tougher. That being said, this list is probably bigger than you would guess, especially if you remember your high school's drama club (freaks, weirdos, and most of the gay kids in school). While it would be fun and interesting to know, I think I'd take the cash.

3) ...would you give an ex a non-serious venereal disease? Not by having sex, by magic they all of a sudden have non-curable genital warts.

Another dilemma. While festering sores for life would be pretty funny to bestow on an ex, I think I'd probably take the money.

4) ...an invitation to a State Dinner from the White House? Not including travel, accomodations, no guarantee you meet the President.

No way, no how. I take the money. Even if the trip were paid, I take the cash.

5) ...a weekend at Camp David with one hour of the President's time over dinner?

I think I'd probably still take the money. I don't think I'd really have that much to say to the President. At least, I don't have that much to say that I think would be listened to seriously.

6) ...a full and unrestricted tour of Area 51 in Nevada? Same rules as the rest of the conspiracy theory info, you can't ever share what you know.

I definitely take the tour. Chances are, they're doing some of the things we think they're doing there, but they're probably doing a lot of things that we have no clue about as well. I'd love to know.

7) ...One weekend, Friday and Saturday nights, full high-roller package at Bellagio? They'll fly you in, clothe you in expensive suits, feed you great food, and let you gamble with house money. Caveat here though is you walk away with exactly what you came in the front door with, nothing more, nothing less. Prostitutes and strippers NOT included.

Three days, two nights of being treated like a superstar VIP, or $2500 cash? This one's a real big choice. Essentially, with only the food and hotel luxuries to fall back on (sadly, no whores), I'm taking the cash. I'd rather be a low roller and have money than a high roller with none.

8) ...two season tickets wherever you want them for one year for your favorite football team (Lions)?

Not until they're good. Take the dollars.

9) ...the ability to have ONE "knock 'em dead" karaoke song in your repertoire, your choice?

Another tough one. I'm really a terrible singer. People have so much fun singing karaoke, that I think I might be tempted to actually take the song. Then again, you can impress a girl once with one song, what happens when you muddle your way through another song later that night poorly? I'm taking the cash.

10) ...one amazing and wild weekend of sex, from beginning to end the most unbelievable and rewarding sex you've ever had, with any person you know personally, have never slept with, and have always wanted to? Major caveat is that after the weekend, they will have no memory of having done anything with you, and you will never be able to tell anyone what you did.

Ouch. Unbelievable and rewarding wall to wall sex? Best you've ever had with a person you may have pined over for years? That's really tempting. It would really suck not being able to do anything about it after the fact, and not being able to tell anyone is a serious impediment to this choice as well. If I'm forced to choose right now, I'm still probably taking the money. I don't know right now who might be my choice to sleep with, and that's what's holding me back. Were I to think of someone in particular, my mind could easily change. If it was anyone I ever knew, captured at a point of my specification in our history, that would be even better.

Five quick choices for that list, off the top of my head (in no order I think):

1) JP, the waitress/stripper/roommate of mine circa 1996
2) M, another waitress, this one from the student run restaurant
3) TM, who I thought was amazingly hot when I was in high school in the early 90s (but I'd have to be 17 and she'd have to be 15, that's when she hit her peak unfortunately)
4) AO, the hostess girl I've mentioned umpteen times (sorry Bob)
5) JG, from high school, just because I should have but didn't.

Vegas odds sour on Detroit teams - 11/9/03: "Lions watch
Five things to consider about the Lions between now and draft day in April:

1. They have to get a look at rookie Artose Pinner, who is recovering from effects of a broken left leg. He has to play three or four games and get 40-50 carries.
If Pinner can be projected as a lead tailback, it solves a huge problem and opens other options in the draft -- particularly since it's considered a strong year for runners.

2. Wide receiver Bill Schroeder has been a disappointment but there's no way the Lions can cut him.
If another team claimed Schroeder, the Lions would absorb an immediate hit of $1.25 million on the salary cap for this year.
President Matt Millen chastised Schroeder for his play after the game in Chicago two weeks ago, but that's not a factor. Wounds heal quickly in pro sports.

3. Moving game-day broadcasts from WXYT 1270 to WKRK 97.1 has benefited both parties.
The Lions' broadcast rights are up after the 2004 season. It looks as if they've already found a home -- depending on the price.

4. The Lions drafted an offensive player in the first round for five straight years. In 1999 they had two picks, linebacker Chris Claiborne and offensive tackle Aaron Gibson.
For the last two years, the Lions considered taking cornerbacks with the first pick -- Quentin Jammer last year, Terence Newman this year. That dictates going with defense in 2004.

5. However -- the West Coast offense cannot operate efficiently without a receiving tight end. The Lions figure to draft in the top 10 in 2004.
Down in Miami, Kellen Winslow II is following in the footsteps of his father, a Hall of Fame tight end for the San Diego Chargers who once caught 11 passes in a playoff victory over Miami.
All signs point to KW II entering the 2004 draft as a third-year junior. He had 57 catches last year, including 11 for 122 yards in the Hurricanes' overtime loss to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. This year, he had 44 catches going into the weekend.

In eight games, Lions' tight ends have combined for 22 catches.

Kellen Winslow II would be a great pick for the Lions."

Response:

1) Absolutely, but even if Pinner shows he can handle some work, chances are good there will be more RB help coming via the draft. If Pinner is the real deal, maybe we can wait until round four or later.

2) Nope, can't cut Billy. But you can in the offseason.

3) I don't care, I don't live in Detroit.

4) Their draft strategy in round one should be defense? I don't think so. WR or RB. There's no two ways about it.

5) KWII in round one? Well, I think I'd love to see the kid in Lions' colors, but not at a top ten pick price.

random thoughts and thoroughbred selections

Wow, is that a self-referential link that can do nothing but spin you back to the page you thought you were leaving? You bet your sweet bippy.

I just had a few things I wanted to say this Sunday night.

- I'm bored today. For those of you checking your counter logs (Anna, I'm looking in your general direction...), you're bound to see visits from me every 74-85 minutes. Sorry, it was cold, there was a bad 4PM football game, and I had a hard time making it out of my pajamas on this particular Sunday.

- I really like the new skin I've got for this site. I am by no means comfortable with HTML. I fought like mad with this skin for over an hour Saturday morning to make this thing look just the way I wanted. Then, I think I finished wrestling it to the floor this afternoon. There was one thing I couldn't do properly, and I'm baffled but resigned at this point. I can't get my archive for the site to appear as individual weekly links in my sidebar. I have a whole page dedicated to the archive, where magically I can get the individual weekly links to appear. I'm really quite baffled.

- There are no commercials currently airing that I mute more quickly than the Chili's restaurant commercials that feature "regular" people singing their odes to ribs and chicken. I hate those fucking people. I also hate when I can't get to the remote in time, and I have to endure five or more seconds of this irritation. That just happened just now, by the way.

- There should be more women-in-prison movies. I'm just saying. Nothing beats an evil lesbian warden bent on corruption. Probably my favorite brand of movie villian.

- If I were to be forced to choose between oyster crackers and saltine crackers, I'm taking the oyster crackers every time.

- True fact (or at least a fuzzy memory): In the two years before the birth of MTV, the biggest selling and most popular musical act out there was Air Supply. No kidding. Once MTV hit, people saw how goofy looking those two guys were, and they immediately fell of the face of the earth. Again, proving my theory that a musical act either needs to be attractive, have a schtick, or have some combination of the two to be successful in this multimedia market. I wonder, how many great and talented musicians will go unheard because they aren't able to create a savvy media image?

Alright, I'm going to watch TV.

McSweeney's Internet Tendency: Yngwie Malmsteen or Spinal Tap?

If you have to ask, Yngwie Malmsteen is like a foreign Joe Satriani. Or, in other words, a self-anointed guitar god who can't sell records in America.

National Story - canada.com network

Wow. Read this when you get a chance. This is what 9/11 has wrought on our society. Assuming this is legit, and assuming this guy is telling the whole truth, this is a scary, scary world to be a law abiding Muslim in right now.

(by the way, type his name "Maher Arar" into a search engine, and it looks like there's legitimate news about him to be found.)

Just writing - this is fiction:

"Caramel latte." Although that certainly isn't what stuck in my mind. It was the exchange, the look, the smile.

It was the first time I saw her. At least, I think it was the first time, because there was something... familiar... about her. She looked at me once, initially, out of the lower corners of her eyes, and turned the side of her mouth up in a smile. A smile intended for me alone, unambiguous in purpose.

"Caramel latte." She barely made eye contact with the barista before shooting her glance to her feet, busy shuffling with nervous energy. Anticipation? She took four crisp bills from her wallet and handed them across to the barista, only momentarily leaving her feet unguarded, but continuing to dance.

Change in hand and two steps to her side, she gave me room at the counter. I too was burning holes in the carpet, keeping my eyes down and considering the sum total of my future now that I had that passing glance to consider.

"Colombian, tall," I murmured, handing three ones over the counter. With my eyes still fixed to my shoelaces, I slowly turned to the side, prepared only barely to say hello.

But I caught her halfway to the door, spinning yet more sugar into an already sweet treat. She turned her head to me and caught my eyes full on with half lidded intensity.

In that moment, in that look, I saw everything.

I saw sparkling conversation and discovery, a bottle of wine comparing notes on our dislike of pie, need for comfortable pajamas, and a heated but engaging debate over the merits of vinyl in the CD universe.

I saw the two of us walking on the beach, sand between our toes, hand in hand with no destination and no worries at all.

I saw her giggling with glee on Christmas morning as she and I shared a pot of coffee and opened dumb dollar store stocking stuffer treats from each other on our first holiday together.

I saw her eyes, her smile, her heart, and just briefly I could see the potential of life, love, and beauty I hoped we could explore. Together.

She shot her eyes in an instant back to the floor and turned to the counter, busying herself with stirrers, lids, sleeves... anything to help her keep her courage.

Suddenly, with what I've just been given to consider, I felt weak. I braced myself briefly against the front counter, breathed deeply, grabbed my coffee, and tried to force the blood back down through my legs so that they might carry me only another eight steps.

Only eight steps.

Then what?

Again, I took a breath, shaking mightly, frightened deeply, and emboldened myself unnaturally to take those eight steps.

I had to reach around her turned back for a lid, and so, nervously, touched her shoulder, asking her to face me at point blank range.

"Um, excuse me."

She turned to me.

"Uh, hi," I said.

I immediately saw the fear and nervousness catch up to her. Like a wave, it crashed through her eyes. I could tell that a part of her wanted to speak, to say something, anything. Something substantial, something irrelevant, anything.

"I, uh... hi," was what I heard, under no more than half a breath. She wanted to speak. But that's not the part that carried her through that moment. Something inside grabbed her, spun her on her heel, and carried her right out the door. I couldn't give chase. I had spent every last ounce of energy and confidence I had to get this far, I knew had I pursued, I would probably have crumpled to the ground from fatigue halfway up the block.

I never saw her again.

I only knew her for a moment, contained only in two instants. But a part of me really misses her.