I'm going to the physiotherapist this afternoon, so I'll have to leave work early and take a bus other than my usual express bus, that takes me to the mall - a 15 minute walk from where I live.

This morning I drove my car to the parking that's about halfway between the mall and an express bus stop, so that I could take my regular bus and not have to walk for 15 minutes this afternoon when I get back.

I usually am standing towards the back of the bus, but because I got in at a different stop, I was standing feet away from the driver.

It's only when I got into cégep that I started taking the bus regularly - mostly because, well, for the first time in my life I was studying in a city that had an actual transit system. I learned quickly not to watch what the driver was doing - I can't drive a bus, obviously, and I kept getting the impression that we were about to get into an accident. The wide turns, especially, made me go absolutely crazy.

Eventually, it passed - and this morning, while standing right next to the bus driver, I thought it was nice to actually see where we were going.

Right up until the driver, who was having a very uninteresting conversation with the closest sitting passenger, decided he really needed to show that passenger a memo regarding some road work that will be starting next week.

He pulled the folded memo from his bag (that hung next to his seat) and unfolded it with both hands, in a curve, without looking up before he passed it on.

I nearly f a i n t e d.

I'm probably going to have to see that physiotherapist each week for a little while - if wearing a blindfold is the only way to make it through every Tuesday morning without experiencing that sort of adrenaline rush, then so be it...