It was a bright and sunny Prairie morning. Although it was Monday, the vibrant rays beating down put an extra spring in my step as I left my apartment on the way to work. I followed my normal route, on time, upbeat, with some fresh ideas for the week. I stopped in at the local cafe for a hot cup o' joe to go, and continued on. It felt like it was gonna be a good week.
I have my walk to work perfectly timed out. So much so that I often see the same vehicles and people at certain points almost every day along the way. Years of living in downtown Toronto has given me a certain bi-pedal prowess; a pace often unmatched fuelled by stark vigour. Yeah, I've been known to walk a bit fast at times. I was making good time. Even so, I still jaywalk. One of my character weaknesses, which was even documented once on a Saturday in March 2005 in the Globe and Mail. Monday was no different. I looked both ways, picked up the pace, and got ready to break the law.
But street walking karma soon bit me in the ass.
At the very last minute, something caught my eye. Distracted, my eyes were transfixed - so I didn't notice a huge crack in the sidewalk (Winnipeg's streets aren't in the greatest condition - that's another blog post altogether). The grand sidewalk chasm caught my toe. I stumbled forward; about to hit hard. I almost stayed up, but I had picked up momentum to take off across the street prior to tripping, so I was doomed.
With my coffee in my hand, I was barely able to shield myself from the concrete. I landed right on my left elbow and knee, and honestly slid about a metre. The coffee flew out of my hand, and spilled all over my face and neck. I swore I had torn my shirt and pants to shreds, but they were fine. I was covered in dust and coffee. So I stood up, brushed off, and continued on to work.
That's how my summer ended.