Pinpointing

I can tell you the exact worst moment of my life.

I don't mean a moment like, "That time I ate that weird sandwich." I mean the exact moment. Almost to the millisecond. "It was after Event One but before Event Three. In fact, I would say it was during Event Two, but not in the middle. It was more than halfway through, probably about the same time the fifth syllable fell from her lips. There was about two beats of processing, and then my stomach sank like it was an accused witch who was thrown in a river to prove her innocence by drowning."

I can also pinpoint several more terrible minutes in my life, the runners up to the title of Worst Moment. They're like snapshots in my head, screenshots, motion captures.

On the other hand, if you asked me to tell you the best moment of my life, I would say something like, "Oh...the time I was offered my dream role," "The time I got that great job," "That day when two guys asked me out within an hour of each other." It would be much vaguer. I would not be able to tell you the exact moment I felt that thrill. I would not be able to describe it in such exquisite detail or with such specifically ridiculous metaphors.

Funny how that works.