I've Got the Power!

I braved the crowds and went to Target yesterday. The things you do when you have cats and they poop a lot! I also have been hitting the La Croix pretty hard, and Target has the best flavors. So, I made it in and out all in one piece, only to have a an energy vampire force her way into my life! I was waiting for the bus, lost in my own thoughts when a woman comes up and asks me if the bus is due. Now, keep in mind less than two feet away from where I'm standing there is a schedule, but I tell her yes, it was due at whatever time. It was a few minutes late, so she notes that fact in a very disgusted voice. I wanted to point out that it was to her benefit that the bus was running late, because she had just gotten there, but I didn't want to encourage more conversation. I've been around the block, and I know her type. They will relentlessly talk about every little thing that is wrong with everything, and slowly suck the life right out of you. It's times like this I wish I had headphones, or earbuds. This is the price you pay when you need to be able to hear the killer. So, after she gripes about the bus being late, she proceeds to tell me how a state patrolman was killed last night, and she's very suspicious because it isn't mentioned in the paper, not sure how she knows about it, but I'm guessing she owns a police scanner. I've never know someone to own a police scanner who isn't a bit, let's say eccentric. I had relatives who lived in the boonies and listened to a police scanner and they were some strange relatives. She was just so miserable! It all continued as we got on the bus, all of her ranting turned into her stating that she is convinced there are many bus drivers who are "on the pot". And she is sure that they don't get drug tested, which in Seattle pot isn't illegal, so not sure what her point is there, but I was just hoping that the guy who was driving the bus we were on couldn't hear her! I was so happy when my stop came! She was one example of one of my biggest fears. I don't ever want to become that miserable to where all I can do is focus on the negative, and I just absolutely do not see Joy in anything. I always wonder what those kind of people were like as children, before life did whatever it did to them. They always have a face lined with wrinkles, but not laugh lines or any kind of just natural aging, it's always these hard, angry, deep wrinkles from just being pissed all of your life. When I was bartending I saw A LOT of those types of people. I think the holiday season brings out the worst of this behavior.
So, to bring my long winded story back to meditation, I noticed that as soon as i stepped off of the bus, breathed in some fresh air, I was able to shake off the bad energy. By the time I crossed the street and enterd my building, it was just something that happened, not something that altered my mood for the rest of the day. I am giving meditation all of the credit for this one. Not letting people suck me into the negative zone is something that has been an uphill battle for me. This is the first time I can ever think of where I shook it off so quickly and easily. This experience alone tells me that meditation is something I need to continue. I feel like I have acquired a superpower.
Hopefully all of these healthy habits I'm picking up will not only continue to help protect my energy from getting sucked, but also they will continue to help me feel good so I don't become what I fear!
How are you at dealing with miserable energy vampires?