I’m a big sleep enthusiast, generally clocking 8-9 hours of zeds each night. (My lovely friend and colleague, Alanna, would approve!) My bedtime routine is almost sacred, though I’ll admit freely that I’ve been off my sleep-game in the midst of some big life changes, the least of which being my move back to Halifax.

All of this to say that more often than not, I prioritize sleep over other things – like shampoo – and you might as well know now that I’m a big dry shampoo enthusiast as well. I can usually go between 2 and 3 days without washing my hair before it gets out of hand, and so I do because sleep, but also less damage to the hair I’m terribly attached to.

Wednesday was a no-‘poo day – one of three this week (sue me) – and I’ll admit that my hair was a little unruly. I’m not even confident I had makeup on, to be truthful, and I was yawning my way through the morning. Hungry and desperate for coffee, I shot to the food court next to my building for breakfast. And landed in line behind a guy I dated previously.

It was nothing serious – a few dates, a couple of long conversations over coffee at one of our houses – before I did what I seem to do best and stopped communicating.

We did the awkward ‘hi, how are you?’ thing and then I focused on whatever I could to seem too distracted to say words: lint on my pants, a hangnail, my phone. It’s not like things ended badly so much as I just don’t like revisiting the past.

Especially not before coffee.

The rest of the day went on as per usual: I ate lunch, drank some coffee and worked late. No biggie.

This morning, I’m standing at the very same restaurant in line. I’m looking around, not really at anything, but I’m bored and looking for something to grab my eye. I order my coffee. I take my change. I drop a tip. And as I put my change in my pocket, I look up and catch the eye of my ex-brother-in-law. I immediately try to turn my back, reach for my coffee and bolt.

In other news, I can run fast in heels while carrying a coffee.

(Dear Universe: Please let me caffeinate fully before the next awkward encounter I don’t want to deal with comes along. K, Thanks)