How smart do I feel *now*?

I have not out-and-out lost my temper in many, many years, mainly because I feel I've gained more composure with age. However, today, I came thiiiis to just losing it and blowing up in public. To call today disastrous would be an understatement. For me, it was probably the worst day in recent memory.

Oh, it wasn't supposed to be a bad day. On the contrary, today was supposed to be a fun, adventurous day. Here's what this blog entry should have said:

I took a Mensa test today. Just as a lark. I was recently talking to someone about IQ tests, and they told me I should try to join Mensa. In order to do that, I had to take their test to prove I have an IQ in the top 2% of Americans. So, I decided, "Why not?" At worst, it'll cost me the $30 testing fee. At best, it will be something I can gloat about and use to get discounts at Office Depot's printing station. So, I left at around noon, took the BART to San Leandro, walked the rest of the way, and had a fun time doing so...

However, that's not the story you're going to hear (God, how I wish it was...). No, my story turned out much different. And you know what? I blame two minutes. I have talked before about how sometimes a very short amount of time can make a huge difference. Well, today, two minutes pretty much ruined my day.

How could this be? Well, let's just say that one delay led to another.

-I began my trip almost two hours before the test started, walking to reach a 51 Bus Stop.
-I just missed the 51 Bus that would take me to the BART station, so I had to wait about 20 minutes for the next one.
-Once I got to the station, I deposited some checks at the nearby WaMu and took out some cash to pay the test fee. I then found out that I had just missed the BART train and had to wait another 20 minutes for the next one.
-I took the BART to the San Leandro station, and put my ticket in my wallet so as not to lose it.
-I had a map (with very few street names on it) that told me to go south on the street I was on. At first, I figured I should just guess (50-50 chance, after all). I asked a gas station attendant, but she was completely useless. I eventually decided to orient myself and walk in that direction. I was running out of time, but would still make it before 2pm.
-A little less than a mile and a half later, I realized that I had gone in the wrong direction. 50-50 chance, and I even tried to orient myself, and I still go in the wrong direction.
-I'm running out of time, so I begin jogging in the opposite direction, hoping to not be too late to the test (and hoping that they'll be nice enough to allow me to take it a few minutes late).
-After about two miles, I realize something is not right.

I instinctively slap my back pocket.

"AAAARRRGHH!!!!"

It was gone. My wallet was gone. Everything inside was gone. Cash, debit cards, and every form of identification I had. I began hyperventalating. This isn't supposed to happen to me. Andrew Schnorr does not lose his wallet. ANDREW SCHNORR DOES NOT LOSE HIS WALLET! But here I was, in some unfamiliar city, without a wallet.

I immediately retraced my steps. I walked back with my eyes sweeping the ground. To no avail. It was gone. And that most likely meant that someone had it. I prayed that they had an iota of honesty and would report it. I didn't even care if they took all the cash; hell, I'd give them the $80+ in there if they returned my wallet. It's the ID that's important. If I were ever mugged, I would always ask the thief to give me back my ID. The rest is irrelevant.

I soon called the San Leandro police department and reported my wallet as missing. I then called my banks to cancel my debit cards. I then realized a little irony: remember how I said that I had put my BART ticket into my wallet "so as not to lose it?" Well, now I was left with no way to get back, so I had to drag one of my gracious co-workers into this mess in order to assure myself that I got back to Berkeley. Before he came, I once again scanned the areas I had been to, but my wallet was still nowhere to be found.

Here are a couple ironies to ponder:
-Now I need to get a new driver's license and a new SID card, both of which are going to cost money. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to get cash from the bank until I have an ID to show them.
-I have a plane trip to go home this weekend. I need an ID to get into the airport. For that, and other reasons, I asked my father to mail me my passport. However, to pick up anything in the mail room that's not a simple letter requires an ID. (If they do that to me, though, I will end them.)

Sigh...I can't continue; I have a headache right now. I feel like I'm in Bizarro World, where everything is the opposite of how it should be. So forgive me for being a little bitter.