load. I'll try to update more regularly this week.
On to the news:
I bought my first official piece of luggage for China. (See below for picture of me modeling it)
I found a dictionary of Chinese Sign Language, put together sometime in the 1970's. I am not allowed to remove it from the library, so will be photocopying the important parts this weekend. With all the research I've been doing, I'm becoming a serious copyright violator. Luckily, I've found the most remote copy machines in the library to do the dirty deeds. These copy machines are so far from any sign of life, that I actually stumbled over this unfortunate soul who never found his way out of the copy room. I made sure to give him a proper burial in the recycle bin.
I met a new "friend" today at the bus stop. I stopped by a Thai food
restaurant on my way home and picked up a large, steaming bowl of tom kai soup. I carried it with me to the bus stop, where I sat against a cold building and ate.
I enjoy people watching. I like to park myself somewhere and see what information I can gather from the people walking by. I especially like to see if I can figure out other people's habits. When I am at school, I try to figure out what people are studying, and when they come and go. I know that the guy with long hair arrives on campus at 8:45 with a fresh cup of coffee from Starbucks. He reads from the same textbook everyday, but never gets very far because he is distracted by the blaring TV. He always leaves at exactly 9:20. I know that the cleaners on the fourth floor of the library always clean the bathrooms between 9:10 and 9:30. I know that my class T.A. secretely wishes that students would forget their appointments so that she can finish her homework. The Greek owner of a pizza place near campus speaks Chinese (although not fluently). The librarian is from Germany; a Fulbright scholar who is studying Chinese business.
Anyway, I was crouched against a building, slurping my soup and watching the crowd walk by. A man, about a foot shorter than me, and ten years older approached. As he walked past me, he hesitated and turned around. He stopped by where I was sitting, and again hesitates. He was clearly trying to strike up a conversation, but didn't know how. Finally he said, "Hi. How are you?"
"I'm doing fine, and you?"
"I'm fine too." I turned my attention back to slurping my soup and hoped he would leave me in peace. He watched me for about a minute, and then began to wander away. I continued my eating, watching him out of the corner of my eye. I sat leaning against that building until the time that my bus was due to arrive. I stood up slowly and made my way over to the bus stop. I stood waiting a minute, counting cracks in the sidewalk until I heard the sound of a bus pulling up. I glanced at the number; it wasn't mine. I resumed staring at the sidewalk. Another bus pulled up, and just as I looked up, I saw my friend from earlier walking my direction. He stopped next to me. This time though, he looked like he had just finished a marathon. He was sweating profusely. Sweat was pouring down his face, soaking through his shirt, and by the way he kept wiping his hands on his pants, he had sweaty palms too. Again, "Hi. How are you?"
"I'm doing fine, and you?"
"I'm fine too." Not wanting to encourage the conversation, I lapsed into silence.
"Someone stole my cell phone and they haven't given me a new one yet." At this point, he started wringing his hands.
"Oh. That's too bad."
"I think you're cute." You poor, poor man. I pity your unfortunate soul.
I laughed, "thanks."
"My name is Alex. You have a cell phone. Do you want to call me as friends?" You know, creeps and weirdos just aren't my type.
"No, not right now." This is the nicest way I know of to say buzz off.
"Why?"
You're asking me?
"Uh.." It was my turn to hesitate. I have a special line for people I meet at the bus stop. I don't use it often, as I have nothing to back it up with. It's not very creative, but it still gets the job done:
"I have a boyfriend."
没有评论:
发表评论