It’s all about perspective.

I know, I’m late to the party. After 39 years (damn, that even writes old), I’m finally realizing that things don’t have to be how they seem. You can control your own day. Oh sure, things can’t be controlled when your a company full of ass-hats like BP, and when you’re just a magnet for abuse, like David Hasslehoff. But in normal people’s lives, most days you can put things in perspective that keeps the boat floating right.

Take yesterday, for example. I lamented my issues with the car, but it was made up for by the dazzlingly dark green relish on my Chicago dog. Simple. Take problem without resolution, find something that’s valued more and perspective changes.

Today I needed even more. Why? The car is worse than I thought. Whatever it was that was in the middle of I-285, which typically is a bumper or a wheelbarrow or a garbage can, which we’ve seen all three out there in the past two weeks, well, whatever it was, it was nasty.

Upon further inspection late last night, the stuff oozing out may or may not be radiator coolant. Doesn’t seem like anything’s gone when I opened the top, but it sure looks familiar. And when I was done looking at whatever ended up on the floor, which luckily isn’t much, I noticed that the front end had taken a beating. We’re talking an old school ass-kicking.

The front end is one piece and it’s hanging low on the driver’s side, where the object obviously struck. It couldn’t be just a sheet of metal. It had to have had something attached (I’m thinking a 4,000-pound safe, but that may be over-analyzing things) because the lower portion of the grill is smashed in, the lower light is pushed back two feet into the wheel hub and the three wires in that spot are all cut. And that’s just what I can see.

I’m no mechanic, but it looks like hell.

Now, I could be all kinds of pissed about it, but I’m keeping things in perspective. We’ll get it fixed and we’ll have to spend some money, but whatever. We’ll make do.

I’m much more willing to keep calm like this and be amenable to the circumstances and subsequent costs because I know, deep down, that I’m not a GD fool like these tools. And that makes me feel good.

Yup. If you’ve seen Entourage and the “festival” that Johnny Drama goes to to sign autographs and make money, then you’ve seen this event, aptly called Dragon*Con.

This is creepy, people. I mean, there are some real oddities here. And I’m not talking the “artists” who are coming to be seen and perform. I’m talking the fans that are showing up.

I took sugar-mama to work this morning so that tonight I can just pick her up and we will leave for North Carolina from her office. We figured it would be quicker to get on the highway from there. The only problem? We may be stuck there laughing.

At 7:53 a.m. there was a line outside the hotel lobby, around the building for three blocks with people waiting to get in. Just fans. Some wearing capes. Others with headgear of sorts. Oh, and chicks with wings. Hear me people, I’m telling you there are chicks, in public, wearing full out bat wings. On purpose.

Sugar mama text me to say she went to lunch early so IT guy could do something to her computer, and she saw, “team of dudes in armor and chain mail including helmets.” Really? Really!!!

Oh, actually it gets better. Not only is it Dragon*Con weekend, but it’s opening college football weekend. And Game Day is here with ESPN for the LSU-North Carolina game in the Dome. Sugar mama added, “LSU family in front of me seemed freaked. Stopped in sidewalk.” Not sure I would have expected that they’d be that smart, but good for them.

Anyway, I’m just thankful that I didn’t even know what Dragon*Con was or that it existed until this week. And that makes me not as worried about the car. Or my place in this world in general.