April 15--the new woman in the office across the hall from mine, part 2

[zyzyly]

I realized that I never said anything yesterday about the new woman in the office across from mine. There is a small office across the hall from my office. It looks like it might have been a janitor's closet at one time. No windows and just enough room for a desk and a chair. It was most recently used by a delightful woman named Leela, who was funded by a grant to help the nursing students with all the applications they have to fill out for everything. The grant ran out, and Leela got a job across campus in the counseling department.

When I was there yesterday, I looked out my office door and saw a woman look out of the office across the hall. I looked at her, she looked at me, and neither of us said a word. Then we both put our heads back in our respective offices, and that was it. So now I am curious who she is. If she is there Monday, I will talk to her.

Today was about the same as yesterday. I visited with students in the hospital, and walked a lot. I had lunch at the greek place again, and noticed they have what looks like a delicious lamb plate. I will take Malida there this weekend for her lamb fix.

I am kind of checked out of doctoral school this week. I know there are some big things coming up, but I'm just not feeling it at the moment. Tomorrow is our class phone conference, so I guess I will check back in then.

I'm having lunch tomorrow with a guy I haven't seen in 38 years. We were stationed together in Germany and have gotten back in touch via Facebook, where he is politically my exact opposite. Hopefully our conversation can stay clear of that and focus on the good old days.

When I was out walking today, in a city park about a block square, surrounded by houses, I came across an opossum standing there, watching me capture a portal. He didn't seem startled by my presence, and just kind of stood there looking at me. I don't think I have ever seen a live opossum, though I have seen many dead ones on the side of the road. I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, so I asked him, "what are you doing?". I walked to my car to get my big camera, but when I got back he was gone. I will be back at that park eventually, and will bring him a banana.

Comments

[rejectomorph]

Although I live in a semi-rustic area, I've only ever seen one possum here, and that was when I returned from a three-day evacuation because of a forest fire. The whole neighborhood had been deserted, which I suppose is what brought the possum out. Oddly, I saw more possums when I lived in the busy suburbs of Los Angeles than I have seen here. Urban possums are apparently bolder than rural possums.

[katbyte.livejournal.com]

I have some very good friends who are total opposites to me politically and in other ways, but when it gets close to danger territory, I just say: "I am not going anywhere near there" and change the subject. They are wonderful friends and I respect their right to their views, and I think they just shake their head about me, lol.


Being a native Californian living in the deep south has and always will be a challenge.

[thoughtsbykat.livejournal.com]

You and the woman across the hall must have looked like a comedy skit to someone looking on. Hope you talk to her on Monday.

My mother-in-law had a large opossom that would visit her porch at night. Se would always put scraps and milk out for animals. I think that's how the opossum grew so large.

[pinkroo.livejournal.com]

we had a porch opossum once, too, when I was a kid. I called him The Scraper, b/c you could hear him pushing the plate around the cement porch to make sure he hadn't missed anything. He would eat anything we put out.

My best friend in high school ended up marrying a guy who grew up in a semi-rural area; she was from Miami, a big city. She said she almost called things off when she found out he and his brothers used to drop-kick opossums as kids. He says they curl up in their protective shell, and it didn't hurt them. She was unconvinced, and her teasing/not teasing name for him was 'possum punter'.

[shellynoir.livejournal.com]

Prairie dogging is when you check out what's going on from the safety of your cubicle.

If your office is in a janitor's closet it's called...um....possuming.

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

Opposums are cool. I rarely see them. I hope it was in good health.

[kishenehn.livejournal.com]

Be careful of that little guy ... could be a spy for the Resistance! :-p

[fletch31526.livejournal.com]

Facebook is such a wonderful thing -- after all, that's how you reconnected with Birdman. But the downside is that its too easy for people to seem (or be) one-dimensional. There are so many people who post about just one topic -- their grandchildren, or their favorite football team or, worst of all, politics. And when every post is about just one topic -- especially when it's as polarizing as politics, it's easy to forget there are a thousand other reasons we liked that person to begin with.