Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug

I just pulled off an amazing parallel parking feet. With grace and ease. My car practically melted into that spot, in no less than one attempt (with under three "finaglings" to get it just right). My first thought was "I'm an expert parallel parker! It's a gift!" Until I remembered the truly heinous parallel parking job I'd done the last time I planted my car for the night. How can that be? How can I be miraculously good at something one day, and laughably bad at it the next?

There are days when I feel like I missed my calling as a race car driver. I speed along the Boston roadways, weaving in and out of traffic and merging into lanes like I was born behind the wheel. And then there are other days, like the day I almost killed myself and Boyfriend (accidentally of course) and we had to execute an emergency Chinese fire drill downtown because I was clearly unable to operate a motor vehicle at the that particular moment in time. What changes from one day to the next? Well, something. Obviously.

But for me that's sort of how my life is. Some days I'm totally together and ooze competence, compassion, and charisma. Other days.... well, less so (I don't want to be too self-degrading here, but I'm sure you know what I'm getting at, and if you're one of my friends you've doubtless been unlucky enough to witness the damage). And even though I know that's how it goes, I'm still always surprised when I'm either totally on, or totally off. I'd like to say the totally on days make up for the totally off days. But they don't. Today I fell up the stairs at work (you know it's bad when you're not even falling in harmony with gravity), was late to almost every appointment I had, and, when trying to explain to the Healthworks attendant why I needed a towel even though I didn't have the measly $2 to pay for it, actually elaborated on exactly which parts of my naked body I didn't really want other women staring at. Why? Why would I do that? I've thought about it all evening long, and parallel parking merry-go-round mojo is the only explanation I can come up with.