bridge run, part 2 - survival

so i survived the bridge run with my sanity intact.
the preparations weren't as bad as last year. i have moved down stairs and to the back of the building and it's amazing how much difference that makes in sound proofing. even my little alarmist dog handled it better than expected. so yay for that, i actually got some sleep last night.
they were even kind enough to wait to start the music and loudspeaker commentary until 8am this morning, and with the extra sound proofing i was able to dose through that enough to make me have to hurry to get to my saturday work shift (as per usual).
i managed to wade through the meeting street crowd without too much incident. but then... i had forgotten that king street is also a blocked off part of the running track/course/whateveryoucallit. i was afraid i would have to turn around and find some way to walk to the library around the runners area, which would have had me wandering all over town. but the traffic cop at the road block said that since i was on foot i could run across. this was rather daunting since i don't run, due to a leg injury, and because there were a damn lot of people running by. i somehow managed to frogger-scampered my way across the river of marathon runners. i did have one minor collision, but no one ended up on the ground to be trampled and make a pile of domino-runners, so i call it a win.

cooper river bridge run

so yesterday...
my alarm clock has been retarded, so i havn't been getting up like i should, until poor eli has held it as long as he can, and starts whining and yowling and nose pushing and licking me in the face until i'm finally cogent enough to roll out of bed and groggily take him outside.
by then it was passing noon thirty and i had to be at work at one, which meant i had no time for shower or breakfast. so i did abbreviated morning ablutions, poured a handful of peanuts and started my walk to work.
the annual cooper river bridge run is this weekend, and traffic was already getting crazy and there were already traffic police on all the corners attempting to direct the crazy. thank all the gods that i walk because driving in downtown charleston is surely one of the seven layers of hell.
this time last year i swore that i would flee the city during the bridge run. there are many festivals in charleston, but this one has a direct effect on my life... the finish line is directly outside my building. so along with the roads all being closed, my driveway being gated in, and the massive cheering crowds that line the street, the worst part by far is that they begin construction on the big finish line structure and gates at 11pm the night before. and when finally they finish with the tnk! tnk! and whir! whir! and clang! clang!, at about 6am they start the thumping sports stadium pump you up pop music at about a gagillion decibels, and the emcee with a megaphone loud enough to reach the entire city. which is awesome...
but as it turns out, i agreed to swap a saturday shift with someone, so i had to work that morning, which means i couldn't leave because then i wouldn't be able to get back.
i think it was a conspiracy.
so anyway... after a dull day at the library, i went back home and prepared for a sleepless night by taking a nap, ordered jimmy johns, and rewatched some more 'game of thrones' - (meep! count down to season two!)


EDIT: here is a picture i took last year to prove how close the loudness was to my living space - see that awning? that's the shop i live over. so see, it's practically in my bedroom