I woke up at 5:30 am this morning to jog. I actually did it. After putting off jogging for months, I shook off the shackles that tied me to my desk, books, and laptop, and donned appropriate jogging gear. And after that hour, I arrived back home and sat in my room quite proud of myself. I haven't done this in ages, and I'm glad I finally took the time away from reading, marking, writing (and repeat, and repeat) to actually work on physical exercise that could prevent future coronaries. Yet my morning job was replete with odd encounters. I don't know why this always happens to me. I always encounter the strangest (albeit entertaining) people. Granted, I was out at a pretty strange hour. And granted, I did jog through a notoriously interesting (read: shady) neighbourhood. But I didn't anticipate the giggle-worthy encounters that I came upon this morning.
FIRST, I jogged down Princess Street. Nothing too interesting caught my eye. That is, until a woman wearing nothing but jeans and a bright pink bikini top strolled past me, pushing a stroller. With a dog in it.
At 5:30 am.
And it wasn't even a small, tiny puppy that the stroller carried. The dog was huge. Large enough to qualify as a whole different species, really. Smiling and nodding, Pink Bikini Top walked passed me, mouthing "Good morning" before she continued down Princess Street (Kingston townies are so friendly, right?). And as I jogged away, the following questions ran through my mind: Wasn't she cold? Who wears a bikini top at the end of October? Does the dog not own a leash? What, pray tell, made her put her dog in a baby stroller? Puzzling questions, these.
SECOND, I jogged over to Metro to pick up some extra stir fry sauce. I love Metro. And the fact that it's open 24 hours. As I was leaving, I paused by the entrance to pull on my jacket and gloves. Because unlike Pink Bikini Top, I was actually very cold. Yet a man standing by the entrance caught my eye. He was pacing back and forth in front of Metro's entrance, rehearsing some lines of some sort. Because I'm nosy, I slowed down my jacket-zipping and paused to watch. A woman in a red jacket approached him, coffee mug in hand, a nervous smile plastered on her face.
Woman: Hi... Rick?
Man: Yes, hello! Hi! Wow, it's great to meet you.
Woman: Yes, it's great to meet you too. Should we go inside Metro for a chat?
Man: I have to admit, I'm a little nervous. I've never been on a blind date before.
Um. What? They were on a blind date? At 5:30 am? At Metro? Where did they meet, Lavalife? Curiously, I watched them stroll through the pastry aisle, chatting about their jobs, picking curiously at the cupcakes on sale for $3.99 (They're Halloween themed. With orange frosting. Buy them). I have no idea what possessed them to have a date at 5:30 am. As I walked out, the following questions ran through my mind: Why were they having their first date at Metro? What's there to do at Metro? How did they even meet? Who arranged it? More importantly, why is your first date held at a grocery store? Puzzling questions, these.
THIRD, I jogged down Brock Street, a million thoughts running through my mind. I had to be at the office early this morning, so I decided to run a little faster home so that I could get ready and leave for campus at an earlier time. And yet as I began jogging through Vic Park, a curious sight caught my eye. A group of about 10 people were sprawled on their backs, on top of a huge pile of leaves, giggling as they rolled around on the leaves.
At 5:30 am.
They continued to constantly roll around until they were absolutely covered in leaves. As I jogged by, I caught some of their comments to each other: "Isn't autumn great? It's my favourite season," "This is totally calming me down before the midterm," and "Wouldn't it be great if these leaves were money?"
Oh, Kingston. Nothing can compare to your quirks and oddly endearing (albeit a tad crazy) population. Nonetheless, weird or not, I'm so glad I jogged. That one hour jogging at the crack of dawn gave me more entertainment than I've had in weeks. Mornings like these make me realize how much I'm growing to love Kingston. Back to work!
"If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error."
- John Kenneth Galbraith, Money: Whence It Came, Where It Went
I'm glad to see you're exercising, it's great for the mind and body. I also like to do it in the early morning, it's fun when you see crazy things.
ReplyDeleteI can't do it much anymore because it's getting cold! Too bad. I guess that means I need to hit the gym instead, haha.
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