Dichotomy

So, in graduate school, one of my roommates and I had a number of classes together. In those classes, there were invariably people who felt as if it was their mission to use as many "graduate level" words as possible. Two of the words that we heard A LOT were paradigm (and all of its forms) and dichotomy.

Well, today was truly a dichotomous day. You really could take each large event today and split it into two totally separate parts that each exhibited their own sets of characteristics.

Since I know you can't wait for me to expound on this, here I go.

So, I had a church business trip that I was leaving for today. To get to the airport on time, I had to leave my house at 5am this morning. My trip to the airport was uneventful (in fact, traffic was a breeze). I got on the plane and headed out.

Once I arrived, I headed to the car rental counter where I had already reserved the cheapest economy car they had. When I got to the counter, the worker informed me that they had overbooked, they were out of cars, and one should be arriving any moment. So...I waited...and waited...and waited. A bit over an hour later, a car arrived, and they sent it to be cleaned. When the guy brought it to me, it wasn't the cheap little golfcart that I was expecting. Instead, it was a really pretty Nissan Maxima, and I got it for the golfcart price.

Part A of the Dichotomy - Sat at the airport for over an hour.

Part B of the Dichotomy - I am driving around town in a pretty nice car for not very much money.

Then, I headed to campus. As I was walking up to the Administration building to pick up a parking pass, I slipped in the mud and fell (yes, I realize that is fairly normal for me). My jeans were covered in mud. My knee is scraped up, and I think I am going to lose a toenail. I headed off to the restroom to try to clean up as well as I could, but there was mud and dirt everywhere. So, I changed into another pair of jeans.

Since I only brought the exact amount of clothes I needed (that is so not like me), I had to go to the mall this afternoon to grab another pair of pants. I found the cutest pair of jean trousers, and they were on clearance.

Part A of the Dichotomy - I fell down and got a boo boo.

Part B of the Dichotomy - I have a really cute pair of jean trousers that will take me through the fall.

As I went early this evening to check into my hotel, I unloaded everything out of my car and headed to the front desk. The front desk manager greeted me by saying that they had had a pipe burst, and a number of the rooms had flooded, and so they didn't have a room for me. The front desk manager then told me that they had made reservations for me at a different hotel (a nicer hotel), and that they would comp my room.

I headed over to the other hotel. When I got to that front desk, the clerk checked me in and then told me that the only room they had left was one of the suites. So if that was okay, then that is where I would be staying.

Part A of the Dichotomy - Reservations at a hotel with a pipe that burst.

Part B of the Dichotomy - I am typing my blog entry tonight from a lovely, comfortable couch in my sitting room.