Add this to the “Karel’s An Idiot” files. I realized about two hours ago that my mobile phone wasn’t at home where it belonged. I thought, therefore, that I’d left it at the office. Wendi had left for the temple a while previously, so I ran out to Holgate, hopped a bus and did the hike to the station to retrieve my phone.

Of course, the phone wasn’t there, either. Whoopsie. “It must’ve fallen out of my bag in Wendi’s van,” I realized. So I trudged back to the bus stop and came home, to find my phone on my desk where Wendi thoughtfully placed it when she realized it was in her van.

I could’ve just waited for her to come home and saved myself bus fare and that long couple of walks. Not to mention the joy of feeling like an utter moron.

And now, to digress. Or change the subject. Whatever.

I’ve been walking places my whole life. That may not seem like a profound statement until you realize that I’ve almost never driven an automobile, and I’ve lived way outside of some very small towns. One of the things I noticed during my teen years is a phenomenon I’m at a loss to explain, one that creeps me out just a bit.

The same thing happens every time. I’m out during the evening or late night, basically any time the streetlamps are on. I’ll walk past dozens of lamps, but as I approach one particular lamp it’ll go dim. Not all the way dark, just very flickeringly dim, as if the thing just isn’t getting quite enough power to flash to full brilliance.

If I stand and wait a while it may come back on, or it may not. If I walk the same path repeatedly, it will always be the same lamp. It’s always the nearest lamp I’m approaching, not one I’ve passed or one a block away.

Mind you, I’ve been observing the same behaviour for over fifteen years. This includes living in Kent, Bellevue, Concrete, and various parts of Portland; it also includes places I’ve only visited once in my life.

So, is this weird or is it just me?

The reason I mention all of this, other than chronicling for posterity the sheer freaking bizarreness that is my life, is that it happened twice tonight: once as I was approaching LaborReady on my way to the bus stop, and once while I was at the bus stop. Yeah. Twice within five minutes is unusual even for this unusual phenomenon.

Why yes, I do appear to be a freak from another planet. Thanks for asking.

It was a long and educational day yesterday. Let me share with you a few things I learned:

• 17th and Park is a myth.
  
• If the well-organized woman who is looking over your apartments for rent does not make the time to ask detailed questions, it’s a clear sign that you’re not getting her business.
  
• Lyse and Mari are not identical personalities. They’re just very, very similar.
  
• Sometimes it’s okay to let your guard down in front of a good friend. Not everybody is squeamish about real emotions.
  
• Karel has absolutely no business at all being in the same room as a VHS deck running a copy of The Ring. None whatsoever. And facing away from the screen for 95% of the film doesn’t help. Not one bit.
  
• Lyse and Lilith are not identical personalities. They’re just… similar.
  
• Doug is a very good sport.
  
• There’s absolutely nothing better than the company of good friends.