"what are you doing?"

"what are you doing?"

no "hi, how are you?" or even "hello." instead, the person in the stall next to me asks what i'm doing. hello- i'm in the freaking bathroom! what does one normally do in the bathroom, besides hope their thighs are strong enough to allow hovering over the dirty seat long enough to accomplish what they came in for in the first place?

"uh, huh. i've had three shots since you left. i'm soooo drunk."

yep- she was talking on a cell phone- in the can- while expelling those three shots (and about five beers, from the sound of things).

wow.

the rest of the day went well, though it wasn't nearly as interesting as this almost conversation with a perfect(ly drunk) stranger in macayo's bathroom.

we got a late start (imagine that), which was further delayed by my discovery that my trail running shoes (which i use for hiking) were still in the hotel room in lake havasu city. (whoops!) a couple of phone calls later (still no definite word on whether or not my shoes are still there), we were on our way to peralta canyon, in the superstition wilderness outside of phoenix. during the hike up to the top of the canyon (maybe 3 miles or so- i'm not sure), we passed a group heading back down. the older man traveling with the group was kind enough to let us know that they'd seen "three snakes on the trail so far- just f.y.i.") this was not the sort of information i'd wanted bestowed upon me while on the trail. i know in the books they say that snakes are no big deal as long as you give them space and very few people actually die from snakebites. I DO NOT CARE. if i meet a snake, i am quite certain that everything i've ever read about what one is supposed to do in such a situation will fly right out of my head. here's my plan:

1. scream
2. pee my pants
3. climb up the tallest member of my group or
4. run like a bat out of hell (probably while still screaming)

thankfully, all we saw were lizards and the occasional bird.

at the top of the canyon, we caught up to a couple of women who were enjoying a leisurely hike. they hadn't seen any snakes, and seemed to be equally thrilled at the prospect of running into one.

after a few pictures, we headed back down to the car. once back to civilization, we dropped off twelve rolls of film (so i took a couple of pictures here and there- it happens), took showers, and prepared to meet the family out at macayo's, a mexican restaurant here in phoenix.

i think my next stall neighbor was probably ordering her first drink as i was hopping in the shower.