Four disjointed thoughts from my trip to work this morning.
A guy listening to his iPod sat next to me on the bus this morning. Across the aisle was a man cheerfully typing away on his beautiful Titanium G4 PowerBook. And a few seats down was a dude with a classic multicolored Apple logo patch sewn on his bookbag. Being surrounded by so many Apple products made me smile. 'Twas neat, that's all.
There is an uncovered rubbish bin at my morning bus stop; it's situated next to the road, right in front of where everyone has to wait. Not only does the trash usually smell pretty rank, it also attracts a lot of sweat bees when the weather is warm. I like the bees, though. I think they're fun to watch, and I am always quietly amused at the gyrations and squawks of people whenever a bug flies too close.
The bees were quite prolific this morning, and a plump, overly made-up, middle-aged lady was freaked out about this. She'd scream and flail her arms wildly whenever one came within even a yard of her. A guy took compassion on the woman. "Would you like to stand over here, ma'am? If you're allergic to bees, you can have my spot in the shelter."
She smiled wanly. "No thanks, I'm not allergic, it's just that I don't want to get stung. It might hurt!"
Things were quiet for a few moments, but then another bee came a bit too close to Flail Lady. Once more she spun around wildly, trying to hit the bee with her purse. But in doing so, she heedlessly stepped out into the middle of the road - right into the path of a rapidly oncoming bus. Before any of us had a chance to react, the driver laid on his horn and slammed on the brakes.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?! GET OUT OF THE DAMNED ROAD!!!!" yelled the driver, who was understandably very upset that he had come within inches of hitting the woman.
"I didn't want to get stung by that bee," remarked the lady, who seemed oblivious to the fact that she had just missed becoming road pizza.
I don't know about you, but I think being hit by a bus would hurt a LOT more than being stung by a bee if you're not allergic. Good god.
I have a Sprint travel mug that I take to work with me every morning. I've had it for years; it was a freebie that Rob got from Radio Shack, and he gave to me because I liked it so much. However, I think he's regretted that ever since; he keeps trying to get me to trade it to him for his expensive Thermos travel cup. But my Sprint mug is so awesome that I refuse. Besides, I've toted it along daily since...wow, at least 1999.
I didn't realize just how special my mug was until this morning.
As I was walking to my office, I happened to run into a guy I had worked with in the Coal Section a few years ago. He stopped and gave me a weird look, then suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, aren't you the intern we had a few years ago working on the Straayer mapping project?"
"Yep, that was me. How have you been, Scott?"
"Oh, you remember my name! I'm so sorry, I don't know yours anymore. I only recognized you by your coffee cup."
Ha, there's no way is Rob getting this mug now! Not only has it been through a lot with me, apparently it's also part of my identity.
Bryan (my coworker) was passing through my office at the same moment when I unzipped my backpack to retrieve a notebook. We both watched bemusedly as two hitchhiking bees flew out of the bag.
"I didn't know that the U of I was being so literal in their grades," remarked Bryan in his usual dry manner.
It took me a second to get the joke, but then I turned to him with a grin.
"It really isn't a problem until I start getting C's."
Bryan laughed. He laughed!!! It's the first time in my almost four years of knowing him that I've EVER seen him smile. I feel so happy. More than just about anything else, I love making people laugh and cheering up their day.
THE END YAY
There is an uncovered rubbish bin at my morning bus stop; it's situated next to the road, right in front of where everyone has to wait. Not only does the trash usually smell pretty rank, it also attracts a lot of sweat bees when the weather is warm. I like the bees, though. I think they're fun to watch, and I am always quietly amused at the gyrations and squawks of people whenever a bug flies too close.
The bees were quite prolific this morning, and a plump, overly made-up, middle-aged lady was freaked out about this. She'd scream and flail her arms wildly whenever one came within even a yard of her. A guy took compassion on the woman. "Would you like to stand over here, ma'am? If you're allergic to bees, you can have my spot in the shelter."
She smiled wanly. "No thanks, I'm not allergic, it's just that I don't want to get stung. It might hurt!"
Things were quiet for a few moments, but then another bee came a bit too close to Flail Lady. Once more she spun around wildly, trying to hit the bee with her purse. But in doing so, she heedlessly stepped out into the middle of the road - right into the path of a rapidly oncoming bus. Before any of us had a chance to react, the driver laid on his horn and slammed on the brakes.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?! GET OUT OF THE DAMNED ROAD!!!!" yelled the driver, who was understandably very upset that he had come within inches of hitting the woman.
"I didn't want to get stung by that bee," remarked the lady, who seemed oblivious to the fact that she had just missed becoming road pizza.
I don't know about you, but I think being hit by a bus would hurt a LOT more than being stung by a bee if you're not allergic. Good god.
I have a Sprint travel mug that I take to work with me every morning. I've had it for years; it was a freebie that Rob got from Radio Shack, and he gave to me because I liked it so much. However, I think he's regretted that ever since; he keeps trying to get me to trade it to him for his expensive Thermos travel cup. But my Sprint mug is so awesome that I refuse. Besides, I've toted it along daily since...wow, at least 1999.
I didn't realize just how special my mug was until this morning.
As I was walking to my office, I happened to run into a guy I had worked with in the Coal Section a few years ago. He stopped and gave me a weird look, then suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, aren't you the intern we had a few years ago working on the Straayer mapping project?"
"Yep, that was me. How have you been, Scott?"
"Oh, you remember my name! I'm so sorry, I don't know yours anymore. I only recognized you by your coffee cup."
Ha, there's no way is Rob getting this mug now! Not only has it been through a lot with me, apparently it's also part of my identity.
Bryan (my coworker) was passing through my office at the same moment when I unzipped my backpack to retrieve a notebook. We both watched bemusedly as two hitchhiking bees flew out of the bag.
"I didn't know that the U of I was being so literal in their grades," remarked Bryan in his usual dry manner.
It took me a second to get the joke, but then I turned to him with a grin.
"It really isn't a problem until I start getting C's."
Bryan laughed. He laughed!!! It's the first time in my almost four years of knowing him that I've EVER seen him smile. I feel so happy. More than just about anything else, I love making people laugh and cheering up their day.
THE END YAY