The First Day Fracas

Well, first day of class today. From this, I have two observations.

The first, and least earth-shattering, is that the people on the bus scare me. Before today, I don't believe I'd ever ridden on a city bus. Shuttles and school buses, you bet your sweet fanny, but I'd never paid money to sit next to a toothless man who reaked of urine and kept trying to put his feet in my lap. Not only are some of these people terrifying, but they seem to carry a lot of weight in the public transportation system. During my ride downtown today, one troubled man announced to the entire bus that all of the rabies babies should move to the back of the bus. Stunningly, people began to move to the back of the bus. Were these people just trying to prevent an incident, or were they actual rabies babies? I don't know; the blood tests came back inconclusive. Whatever the case, I fully expect to be maimed or forced into marriage on a capital metro bus in the near future.

The second observation is that working at a university must slowly drive you insane. I had to pick up a student ID today, and when I went into the student services building, there was a gentleman there directing people to the proper lines. When I went up and told him what I needed, he said, "How are you going to pay?" Being all about the bling bling, I said cash. With that, I fell right into his trap. He shrugged his shoulders and theatrically announced, "Well I don't know who you think you're going to give the money to!" He was definitely into it, like an audience member on the Maury Povich show trying to straighten out a teen crackhead. It was a weird little production, but nothing I'd call the cops over. However, after I got in line, I heard him do the exact same pitch-perfect, weinerbiscuit recitation of "Well I don't know who you think you're giving the money to!" to the next three people. In retrospect, I have no idea whether that guy actually worked there. However, I am sure of the odds of this man riding the bus: even.