Curse or blessing?

Very often in the course of my job I'm going on routes and journeys that I know as well as the way round my own house, no concious thought required. So if a punter is the silent type the Billy Liar in me kicks off and any homework from my writing class gets done or one of several other projects gets thought about and developed, just not written down.
Often though, with my mind essentially out of gear, the curse sets in.
As a photographer all my life, pro, semi pro and currently resting, I tend to view life as a collection of still images. Stationary at lights I'll be unconciously moving my eyeline slightly so that the traffic light isn't in line with the lamppost, or the wing mirrors of the cars in front form a nice visual stack with a reflection repeated in each. Noticing that I'm just about at the right position to get a long shot of a building via the reflection in some office windows.  I've even found myself rolling the car forward slightly to achieve the desired effect.
Driving past derelict buildings I'll wonder if I could get a shot of that broken window with a pigeon or two sitting in the right place. I have a thing about derelict buildings. Don't ask.

The curse doesn't stop there though, my own peculiar form of dyslexia kicks in and words have different meanings. A 'Baby on Board' sticker in the car in front and I'll be wondering why they've got a San Fransciscan honey making insect in the car. 'Exit'? I'll be waiting for the hen to move so I can watch it hatch.
'School'. No it's not, s'never been cool.
It's endless.

I've managed to make the visual curse pay in the past but it remains to be seen if I can do the same playing with words.
A piece of writing accepted by a publisher or having my collar felt because "That daft bugger over there keeps dodging his head about and staring straight through me".
Could be a close run thing.