[Originally posted to livejournal]

Haven't posted anything in a while. Mea Culpa. A reformulated bitscape.org is in the works, but I'm a slowpoke with it. Anyway, this bit that just happened is too good to not post.

So I'm on my way "home", and about to park in the spot where I usually do -- out near the edge of the lot where there's lots of empty spaces and no need to squeeze. But this time, there's a car there, stopped perpendicular to the direction of the parking spaces. The car is running, and its lights are on. There appears to be nobody in it. It's as of someone had just made a quick stop and would be right back. Not exactly typical around here between the hours of 4 and 5am.

The presence of this unknown vehicle wierds me out, just a little. I consider driving on to find a space somewhere else, but there's still plenty of room, so I decide not to be intimidated, and I go ahead and park in my usual place. Momentarily, I can't help but feel slightly self-conscious at the thought that the owner might return to the vehicle and see me emerging with my industrual-quantity tortilla chip rations, which I dumpstered not too long ago.

But I know I'm being silly and paranoid, so I grab a handfull of bags and stop out of the car. As if on cue, when I turn around, I see a figure quickly making its way back to the car a few meters away. But the person wasn't coming from the direction of the apartment building. Suddenly, it all registers.

Wearing dark clothes. A nifty little light mounted to his forehead. This person just came out of the dumpster cage. Before another moment passes, he's in his vehicle, and driving away. I know this drill. Undoubtedly, upon hearing another human in the vicinity, he decided to abort the mission and clear out asap. I've been in the same situation several times myself.

And so, as he drives away, I'm left thinking, Damn dude, don't stop because of me. I'm cool with it. But of course, there's no way for him to know that. And I would have done the same thing. Damn.

So this little incident gets me to thinking. After the initial reactionary "We shouldn't have to cower and hide in the corners; in a just would, we would stand and be proud of our heritage!" thought, and the "Wow, cool, I actually spotted another dumpster diver right where I live!" moment, it occurred to me that maybe dumpster divers should have a secret signal. Some sort of gesture to flash that only others of our kind know about, and could use to recognize one another. You know what I mean.

Right now, I'm not having any brilliant insights as to exactly what it might be, and it's really probably rather silly anyway. But that doesn't keep my nocturnal brain from dreaming.