Two things

Two events made me happy today:

1) I narrowly escaped being hit by a car.
It was a gorgeously crisp clear morning and I was strolling to work as usual, enjoying the sounds of my beloved iPod. Near my place, a black BMW would soon turn left at an intersection, which is fine, except that I was crossing the road at the time.

I had just arrived at the pedestrian crossing marked along the intersection when I saw the car come down the one way street from the opposite direction I was heading. It obeyed the Stop sign at the intersection, before moving forward to stop in the middle of the intersection. Having seen the car stop, I assumed the driver had seen me and had stopped to allow me to cross, as the law dictates. Bzzzt, wrong. I was in the middle of the road when the car accelerated abruptly, turning left, hurtling towards me.

Instant horror. One second passed and I was frozen in panic. No time to respond except to put my hand out instinctively. Futilely. One and a half seconds pass. The black speeding blur observed in my periphery resolves into a solid black bumper bar less than an inch away from my leg. Two seconds. The shiny BMW badge is close enough to touch. My mind is still frozen but I take a step away from the vehicle, an automated recoil to danger. I exhale deeply and look at the driver who is apologizing profusely from their window. The sounds from my iPod almost drown out their apology. Three more seconds pass before my mind acknowledges that I haven't been run down, I wave to the driver to say that I'm OK and continue across the road and down the street. Looking back at the intersection, I see that the car hasn't moved. Apparently I'm not the only one who was a little shaken this fine morning.

Less than 15 seconds from my escape the adrenaline is coursing systemically, I notice my hands are shaking. I'm not mad at the driver, I'm grateful they managed to stop in time. I'm a little numb but happy. My stroll to work resumes and my iPod plays uninterrupted, it's "I Love You 'Cause I Have To" by Dogs Die in Hot Cars.

2) Ace might be coming to visit me in early October.
First Ex-flatmate springs the news that he's coming and now Ace. I'm unbelievably excited at the prospect of seeing them soon.