Why is my camera suddenly metering about as proficiently as an alcoholic zombie?

Lindsay and I saw this guy sitting outside of Blackbird while I was trying to find things to shoot because I haven't taken a decent picture in oh about a million years.

Anyhow, I'm proud of this shot because I completely overshot it, blew almost everything, and then "rescued" it. Also, I hate to crop my pictures for some reason but I cropped this one anyhow. And not in a square! In some other shape!