I was put to guard some doors in the lower level where the bathrooms are.
Today was the first day of work, btw. I was sitting in a chair trying hard to keep my eyes from watering (my eyes were unusually dry) wishing I had grabbed my (Carol's) Twilight book before I had left the office. As I sat there expressionless, I came to the following conclusion: there are five types of people that crossed my path today.
The first is what I'd refer to as "The Small Talker". He has the most balls out of the five and is usually very confident and outgoing. He is the only one that actually STOPS walking to direct his full attention towards me. He has no shame in striking up friendly, and sometimes forward, conversation. He makes me the most uncomfortable. His kind approached me today as I sat guarding my post.
He was tall, rotund, and had slicked back his thick black hair. I yawned my 24th yawn within the hour and he stopped to ask something stupid like, "Sleepy so soon?" A common ice breaker. I nodded wearily and he asked what time I had started. I told him. He said, "I've never seen you here before," then changed his language to Spanish and added, "when did you start working here?" Beats me how some people are so sure that I understand Spanish. I think I look pretty white for being Hispanic. Anyhow, I answered all of his questions and he proceeded to take out a card from his shirt pocket and said, "Here, come work for me. You can set up the booths or clean them. I'll pay you twenty dollars an hour." Upon hearing this, it's as if I had been drenched in ice cold water because I was suddenly fully awake. I sat up now and nodded stupidly. He continued, "Yeah, just call me whenever. Are you gonna be here tomorrow? If you are give me call, we'll go out for lunch." I made sure to ignore this part. His smile made me uncomfortable like it had some kind of double sided meaning. Before turning to leave he said, "Just give me a call so I can get your email or phone number. We travel around, too. Las Vegas and sometimes Atlanta, you know? Let me know!"
I told my mom about this offer and she was quick to narrow her eyes and judge. I watched as my mom told Ann (this lady at work) about it and I grinned when Ann's eyes grew as wide as large, sparkling marbles when she heard the word "twenty". It made me laugh when Ann threw my mom a look that seemed to question her sanity when my mom said, "I don't trust him." Ann said, "What the hell do you mean you don't TRUST him. This could be a good opportunity for her!" Needless to say, my mom's getting the details tomorrow.
Later, when I was told that I could come back to the office, I had panicked when I realized that the guy that had asked me to work for him was managing the booth right next to the office. I looked straight ahead and tried to casually make my way to the office as fast as possible. Unfortunately, (I assumed) he spotted me because all I heard from behind me was, "Oh, there she is! Right there!" I prayed that I wasn't the target of discussion and kept walking. From behind me I heard, "Did your boss decide to move you somewhere else?" I ignored it and walked into the office LOL. As I sat down and opened Carol's Twilight book, I glanced towards the door and saw him talking to some other guy near the doorway. *wipes sweat off of forehead*
Okay, okay, but back to the list. The second kind is "The Remarker". As The Remarker makes his way to his destination, he will look my way and wait for the opportunity to make a short and appropriate remark. Today it was made easy for Remarkers because of my noticeably sleepy demeanor. Every time I allowed myself to release a yawn I got remarks that ranged from "Sleepy already?!" to "Man, you're here all night and you're tired already?!"Maybe if I had forced myself to sit upright...
I call the third kind "Half Smiling Strangers". They have no intention of talking to me but they will let themselves glance at me, sometimes holding my gaze, and then politely half smiling, almost embarrassed. Half smiling..like, um, when you kind of raise your eyebrows and ALMOST smile but kind of let your lips form an almost straight line. Yes, no? I tend to make this face a lot. It's the only way I know how to hide when I'm uncomfortable or embarrassed. That is, if I haven't reached blushing yet. The only reason I'm grateful for my terrible vision is because sometimes I can't even really see the looks people give me from a distance. The only way I'm positive they're actually looking at ME is if I'm the only one around. So, really, I'm usually not even holding their gaze, I'm just kind of...staring back at their somewhat fuzzy, blurry face.
The fourth kind is "The Uncomfortable". I feel like I can probably identify with this group of people the most. Well, sometimes. I can tell by their pace and their movements that they would rather I wasn't there so they wouldn't have to walk across an empty room while I watch their every move. They usually stare straight ahead or stare at the ground or pretend to be deep in thought. I do this often as well. Though, I tend to bite my lower lip while trying to make everyone around me disappear. I don't mind this group.
The fifth and final are "The Uninterested". They could care less of my being there or they don't seem to notice me at all. They continue on their way and keep their pace at a comfortable speed.
When I got to work today I asked a security guard at the entrance where the office was located (the location of the office changes for every show). He told me and I was literally half listening because I was so mesmerized by the color of his eyes. He was African American and had turquoise eyes that I had never seen on someone with his skin color. I waited for him to finish and said, "Your eyes are amazing, what nationality are you?" He grinned and said he was African American with a hint of Indian. I thanked him for the directions and continued to the office. On my way I silently hoped that many people throughout his life had made it an effort to say something about his eXtRaOrDinArY eye balls.