1 May 07

Time:

?

Money:

$3, D.P. and milk again, usual place.
$8, usual lunch again, usual place.
$0, coffee and a chunk of carrot cake, because Professor Alpha is a lovely guy, usual place.
$16, pad Thai, Cafetasia.

More interesting things:

Barged, accidentally, into this bizarre section of the building attached to my office's building that I hope never to see again; it involved someone shrieking like they were desperately and painfully ill, giving birth, or (as it seems to have been) an autistic kid undergoing therapy. Yeouch.

Barged, purposefully, into Professor Alpha's office. Actually, since he had not yet called my name, it may have appeared that I barged, but I am quite good at recognizing an "uhh... ahem!" of a certain tone and volume as an indication that it's time to hop to, so it was really just what I was supposed to do. Anyway, the point of summoning me in this case was that I should provide Alpha and Professor Number Four with a run-down of what was going on in terms of the whole party business, but Number Four interrupted before I got too far along: looking down at my suede Converse, "Hey, cool shoes!" (When I explained that they were my Friday shoes, Alpha helpfully pointed out that today was not, in fact, Friday: thank you very much.)

Mentioned that last night's funny guy felt a little goofy about his comments, which - of course - started a conversation about what he'd actually said. It turns out that Professor Alpha had no idea he'd been the intended beneficiary of the discussion, much less what the hell the whole point of it might have been, so as he retreated into his office he offered me one last opportunity to explain it. I decided that, in a Professor-Number-Six kind of way, it would have been too rude for me to leave it, so I got up with the intention of figuring it out as I went along - and was saved by the undergrad. Well, I think. But it doesn't really matter, because the point is that this advisee hopped in front of me, and I had a chance to hide back at my computer, which worked out well because I emailed Alpha: the Wikipedia entry for this particular gesture. He finished with the student, and then with another professor, and THEN I could hear him clicking away. I knew he'd checked it out once I saw him lean far enough back in his chair that he could catch my eye; Marisa knew it too when he thanked me for the link to the thorough explanation, including visuals.

Got Professor Alpha chatting about all kinds of things after that, including an ever-so-attractive duck-related article which he suggested I email to individual responsible for all of this to start with (whom we love, incidentally, and to whom I am eternally indebted - it's not every day you have the chance to send a link like that to a professor). That was only the start of the non-work-related conversation, though; we continued at length with extended commentary on theories regarding paper-pushers and, shortly thereafter, as he looked through the catalog to try to prove certain aspects of the theories, an announcement from Alpha that it was too bad his whole job hadn't been about these trivia-type things.

Sat at my desk, working and eating lunch as Marisa checked on cookie recipes, when the Party Professor blew past us and into Professor Alpha's office - and closed the door? Of course, Marisa and I immediately looked at each other kind of funny; I'm pretty sure we were both instantly caused to think what I said out loud: why are you closing yourselves in there when two of the people who have a pretty good idea of what's going on are out here?

Had good cause to make sure Professor Alpha got a hug today, so as he took off past me towards the printer, stopped, turned around, made a goofball face in recognition of the day's insanity, and went to leave again, I stopped him, laughing, threw my arms around him, and told him he was a nice man. Which is funny, because I think I've only taken that approach in one other situation, when the nice man in question was counseling a teenager!

Hopped on the local headed uptown, but it was obviously running behind schedule, and after just a couple of stops the conductor announced that it was going to go express. This meant we got to do one of the coolest subway-related tricks I know: rumble through local stations, relatively slowly but more than making up for the sudden drop in speed by sounding a watch-your-platform-waiting-ass "woonk! woooonk woonk!" MAN. I love it.