I roll the dice each morning. Sometimes, I set the alarm, but can’t be bothered to remember forever. It’s not that I don’t care. Occasional nihilism shield. — one step over that line and…

Singular obsessions fluctuate, but the by-product remains static. Exposure to the teeming infinitesimal produces acute awareness — a crackling conduit for chaos: the events that proceed extreme solitary focus.

That morning I did set the alarm. I slid contentedly into a rare find parking place and sipped my coffee — tip-toeing across a muddy short cut across campus. I took the tunnel to avoid crossing the street and, per usual, read as much graffiti as possible — it relaxes in the midst of rushing.

For six straight hours I stared down a single line of code. The dizzying combinations spread through my thoughts and I hadn’t stopped for lunch — it stared back at me: peering out of its lonely paper sack. Casually, I tossed it in the fridge with the others and rubbed my drooping eyes.

Everything needed stretching — a run felt right. I slapped on some shoes and padded over to my friend’s apartment. It turned out he was in equal need of refreshing, so we set out on a rambling neighborhood nature course. The brilliant pre-sunset jungle glow blazed and flickered along at the jaunt of our choosing. We had slowed some heading down a narrow path surrounded by spring-fresh, dense foliage.

Out of the green tottered an elderly woman; a wrinkled lost countenance burdened her face. I gave full attention to the strain in her brow. As we neared, all tension released into a skin-stretching smile. Her left eye scrunched tight. She stopped in our path.

“Looks GOOD!” she exclaimed.

Jolted, we pattered on a few steps and I turned around — jogging backwards.

“Thanks?” I replied breathlessly.