Well, this has been a long time coming, but it's not exactly a day I want to remember...although, it is important. I walked back to my desk from an interoffice errand to find a crazy gent standing near my desk ranting about "Medical Maladies," or some such nonsense. I could tell immediately that he was not in his right mind because of the clothing he was wearing. His hat was rife with written words on paper taped with clear tape. On his sweatshirt were words written in permanent black ink and over the ink was clear tape, again. He made the comment that "Yesterday was a good day. Two people got murdered." I made the comment back: "I wouldn't say that's a good day." Apparently, I had a look on my face (I found out later that this was why Theresa got the guy out so quickly) that made Theresa want to get the guy out of there as soon as possible. She kept the guy talking until he was on the elevator on his way back down to the lobby. Seriously, she is my hero -no joke.
I felt somewhat numb but also completely unsettled. The guy didn't even look right, and security sent him -I repeat, sent him -to the 3rd floor where they send people they don't know what to do with. Holly and Theresa both had called security and it took Boomhauer (I call this security guard that to protect his identity and to describe how I can't even understand most of what he says) a good 10 minutes after the guy left the building to make it to our floor to check things out! I took an early lunch to try and clear my head and sort out what it was that was upsetting me so bad. After lunch, Theresa and talked some more and I decided to write an email about what happened and have my boss, Tracy, look at it to see if it was appropriate to send to the head of security. To say she felt bad about what happened is an understatement. I felt like comforting her, poor thing. To be honest, she was one of my biggest supports through the entire ordeal of reporting it and reading about it on company email sent to everyone in the office, to my utter embarrassment (and hers). No one else had heard what the guy said to me and I pointed out in my email ti the head of security that this guy was dressed in a manner that would have made me ask a few more questions before waving him on.
Surprisingly, I didn't feel exposed or nervous about being in the front -just more wary of people walking through the library that I didn't recognize. Everyone on my floor on the Multimedia Communications side was supportive and expressed concern for me. This touched (and embarrassed) me as it also warmed my heart to know that people cared about the long-term temp employee sitting in the "line-of-fire".
For the rest of the day, I decided to ride to the end of the line -to Pittsburg Bay Point, since I had gone to the end of the line to the south -Daly City. While I did that, I sat and listened to my iPod and tried desperately to feel "together" -but it wasn't happening. I felt so vulnerable -of course, a feeling I hate, hate, hate -when it relates to my physical well-being and lack of choice. However, the sun was golden and shining and I knew I was being watched over. In addition to the beautiful sun, a handsome young man pulled out his earbuds and leaned into the aisle to talk to me. I pulled my earphones off to hear what he had to say. He had to repeat it because I'm kinda deaf...oh, well...but he said: "You have really nice eyes." I gave him my most brilliant smile possible at that moment and said, "Thank you -that's so sweet of you to say!" Then, being the shy and awkward person that I can be, I put my earphones back on and went back to staring off into the sunset. I think he wanted to talk to me more, but he got off at the next station. I can be so dumb, sometimes. But I console myself with the knowledge that I wasn't exactly in the best frame of mind to "make friends," at that point.
I stopped in at Walnut Creek and I hopped onto the free bus that takes people around WC. I tried to get the bus driver to give me directions to a book store, but there was a bit of a language barrier -and probably a lack of patience, on his part. But I was taken care of. I nice gentleman that I sat next to took me under his wing and tried explaining where the bookstores were in town. He was on his way to have coffee with his wife at Nordstrom. Being distracted as I was because of the incident at work, I really wasn't able to grasp where he was talking about, when giving directions. He actually got off early from his stop to walk me to the street to turn down for Borders...or Barnes & Noble...can't keep them straight...I was so grateful to him and he gave me easy, straight-shot directions back to the Walnut Creek BART station. He was an angel, like the many people I encountered that day.
I went and gathered all the books that would cheer me up...the usual, Far Side, Japanese Street Fashion, name books -and settled myself on the floor in a corner by the window. Then, I heard the hokiest rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" being played on the synthesizer and being sung (I use the word loosely) rather off-key and off-tempo. This is the photo I took of myself right after hearing this. Sound staged? Well, I had my phone out and was playing with the camera and decided to record my reaction -for posterity...and my blog. Seriously, I was so disturbed.
The next photo is of me responding to the awful noise going on beyond the stacks of books.
It turns out that there was a poetry reading and photography book signing by this author that wanted to spread awareness of the plight of the homeless. (I'm a little ashamed of lightly mocking the introductory music...but only a little). I pulled up a chair and listened as the author outlined some of her experiences and knowledge regarding the homeless. She also had a former homeless woman come up and share some of her experiences. Seriously, if what she said was completely true (and I have little doubt that it is), she is lucky to have survived it. Actually, luck has nothing to do with it, but she is one tough lady. She had several little ones and had just lost her newborn baby when her husband left her and her children. With nowhere to go, and broke from securing a proper burial for her baby, she lived on the streets of San Francisco and a couple of her kids ended up in foster care. She worked as a bouncer in clubs where you have to be able to take a full-blown punch to the chest. While staying in a shelter, she was raped by someone else staying there. After all this, I was wondering why I was listening to her because it was so heart-breaking and my chest was aching as I imagined what her life was like. Then, I was surprised that I was feeling more peaceful. Focusing on someone else's experiences reminded me how blessed I am and how little I acknowledge God's hand in my safety and the placing of people and experiences in my path that help me remember.
Walking back to the BART station, I saw some cool things in Walnut Creek. This photo (below) is of a giant wooden wheel sculpture. I love the texture in the wood.
Here's a cool sign I saw outside a nice lounge and bar...I have no idea what it means.
Here was my Beethoven sighting...here in Walnut Creek at a local piano store (gasp)!
I got home kinda late, but I felt more like a human being. I explained what happened to D & V and they were such great supports to me. I'm so grateful for a home with a family that loves me and cares that I feel safe. The end of a rough day sliding into a new day.
This next photo was taken off of Embarcadero at this "industrial" park. 
In the foreground: Dan with the red beard, Dave with the ballcap, and Jenn with the sunglasses.
(He's the man in the way back with only his eyes showing). :)
It looks like he's trying to come up for air...lol.
And last, but not least, here's a shot of my nephew as he was 
After our outing to Chinatown, Aunt Jenn had Simon in her charge while waiting 
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