I used to really, really admire the steve lam. He seemed to have his own style, and not care what anyone else thought. I wanted to hang out with him, get to understand him better, maybe be a little more like him. I even bought him lunch once (he chose a club sandwich from the cafeteria), although one time we almost shared a bag of roasted peanuts while standing next to a vending machine.

I’m a little disappointed. Sure, he probably still doesn’t care what other people think, and he has really cool hair that I want SO BADLY, but now it seems like he’s caught up in the whole “indie new york rocker” image.

Image.

That’s what’s wrong with this picture.

I finally told her. She didn’t seem too pleased.

Holy shit, I was walking towards work this morning with the cool autumn air on my skin and the dulled sun creeping up, casting tall shadows on the grass. Something from Follow The Leader came on (I think it was Freak On A Leash) and I was back in high school again, a shy, nervous teenager, waiting for the yellow bus to Catholic school.

On the way to work I walk adjacent to a lane of traffic, and cars on the highway can exit onto that street using a lengthy offramp. I have to cross the offramp every day, and there’s a yield sign there for cars coming from the highway, but they never slow down or yield to pedestrians (unless it’s someone old driving). Since it’s a busy area, the cars can just keep coming, and I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time just waiting for the line of vehicles to end.

Right now I just get out my frustrations by pretending that I don’t notice any cars coming, and taking one step onto the ramp. Most drivers don’t care if someone is walking across; as long as they know that one sees them, they assume that one will jump out of the way. Drivers who believe that someone doesn’t see them will almost always yield.

This morning, for example, I pretended to be completely oblivious to two cars speeding down the offramp. I made one confident step across the path and then quickly looked up, while continuing to cross. The first car sped past me, but the second car slowed down suddenly enough to make the tires squeak. The car actually pulled to the side of the road and came to a complete stop. I could tell that the driver, a bookish man with light hair and glasses, was both angry and shaken, and had to stop driving to compose himself. I swear he was about to get out of his car to tell me off, had he not brought himself under control, and realized that it’s not a fucking MERGE sign, it’s a FUCKING YIELD TO PEDESTRIANS SIGN.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t always assume that I have the right of way (although I do believe that pedestrians are supposed to under the Highway Traffic Act R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 144 (28), unless the car can’t stop in time) and just walk across the crosswalk regardless of oncoming vehicles. It’s in everyones best interest to be safe, but I do my part by keeping an eye on vehicles, and not jaywalking or crossing unpredictably. This guy, as well as many others, have plenty of time to see pedestrians approaching the crosswalk but decide to never slow down.

I was on my way to catching the bus to work this morning, when I passed by a fancy restaurant filled with patrons at the corner of Elgin and Slater. The patrons were all people past middle age, enjoying conversations over breakfast, daintily eating their bacon, and taking cautious sips of their sunshine joe.

The first thought in my head was, “How could anyone be so happy at such an ungodly hour?”. Then I held my thoughts (along with my peevish mood) in check, and wondered to myself. Perhaps they spent the night embracing the warmth of another’s body, huddled together against the chill of the open night air. Perhaps they were thinking of their lovers, and could feel nothing but strength, think nothing but happiness. And I liked that explanation.

It’s all enough to make one smile at any time of day.