After a power outage, one of my friends and fellow writing consultant, Noel, gave me a piece of useful information. He said, "Chad, did you know that when you take the stairs, just count 8 steps before a landing? Then, 9 before you turn, 10 again before the landing, and 11 steps to reach the ground floor." I considered the information carefully, and I realized that it could be useful if I can't see the steps. I just need to count them so I wont fall over, especially because of the phantom step effect -- you know, the falling feeling that people get when they assume that there's an extra step when there's really none. However, after further musings, I realized that it could also be a very scary thing, counting steps.
