Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Took a break from Subway sandwiches yesterday and had lunch at Taco Bell instead, which led to a couple of odd encounters. The first was with a woman I'd met through the Wells Weight Watchers at Work program - she had been interested in Diversicon but had mislaid everything but my e-mail address and the date of the convention. I filled her in on the location, cost, and where to find the programming schedule online; she seemed particularly excited about the writing panels since she said she was working on a "sci-fi" novel.
The second encounter was depressing. I was sitting there munching my nachos and reading the Wall Street Journal when somebody's cell phone went off behind me. Old, bad habits asserted themselves, and I found myself listening to the unhappy story of a breakup/divorce/separation in progress. The phone's owner had apparently had her address book burgled by her soon-to-be-ex, who had sent a bunch of e-mails about their relationship problems to all and sundry, including phone owner's employers and co-workers. Phone owner had spent most of the morning cleaning up the resulting mess, and was going over to the (apartment?) that night with a friend to pick her stuff up. Her tone of voice was one I remembered well - angry, but on the edge of tears at the same time, and trying to keep the lid on the whole seething mess because one is in public and it wouldn't do to have all kinds of strangers see you erupt in a screaming fit of sadness-fueled rage in the middle of the Taco Bell. I felt really bad for her, and it was depressing to know that there really wasn't much I could do for her. When I got up to dump my garbage and leave, our eyes met. "I'm sorry you had to listen to that," she said.
"No, it's all right, I understand," I demurred. "Good luck."
"Thanks," she said, "It's - " She stopped abruptly, as if she had been about to bleed all over me and caught herself.
"It's all right," I repeated. "I understand." Sad smile. "Been there, done that. Take care."
A depressing scene in the middle of a depressing day.
Today should be better. I had sandwiches and yogurt for dinner last night and went to bed early after watching the second halves of "Song For A Kingdom Now Lost" and "Wakaba Flourishing" from Revolutionary Gitl Utena. Sad stories, but the scene with Tatsuya and Mikage in the first one shows you that there is some kindness to Mikage after all - he's not just a devious schemer, weaving his webs in the darkness. He does have a heart.
This morning my blood sugar was much better - down to 153 after a couple of days above 200. Woke Melody up, showered, hit McDonald's and drove in to work since I have an appointment after work to have a masseuse frob my shoulder. The knee is better, but I think I'll ask her to tweak that as well.
The second encounter was depressing. I was sitting there munching my nachos and reading the Wall Street Journal when somebody's cell phone went off behind me. Old, bad habits asserted themselves, and I found myself listening to the unhappy story of a breakup/divorce/separation in progress. The phone's owner had apparently had her address book burgled by her soon-to-be-ex, who had sent a bunch of e-mails about their relationship problems to all and sundry, including phone owner's employers and co-workers. Phone owner had spent most of the morning cleaning up the resulting mess, and was going over to the (apartment?) that night with a friend to pick her stuff up. Her tone of voice was one I remembered well - angry, but on the edge of tears at the same time, and trying to keep the lid on the whole seething mess because one is in public and it wouldn't do to have all kinds of strangers see you erupt in a screaming fit of sadness-fueled rage in the middle of the Taco Bell. I felt really bad for her, and it was depressing to know that there really wasn't much I could do for her. When I got up to dump my garbage and leave, our eyes met. "I'm sorry you had to listen to that," she said.
"No, it's all right, I understand," I demurred. "Good luck."
"Thanks," she said, "It's - " She stopped abruptly, as if she had been about to bleed all over me and caught herself.
"It's all right," I repeated. "I understand." Sad smile. "Been there, done that. Take care."
A depressing scene in the middle of a depressing day.
Today should be better. I had sandwiches and yogurt for dinner last night and went to bed early after watching the second halves of "Song For A Kingdom Now Lost" and "Wakaba Flourishing" from Revolutionary Gitl Utena. Sad stories, but the scene with Tatsuya and Mikage in the first one shows you that there is some kindness to Mikage after all - he's not just a devious schemer, weaving his webs in the darkness. He does have a heart.
This morning my blood sugar was much better - down to 153 after a couple of days above 200. Woke Melody up, showered, hit McDonald's and drove in to work since I have an appointment after work to have a masseuse frob my shoulder. The knee is better, but I think I'll ask her to tweak that as well.