mean what you say, say what you mean
Apr. 13th, 2007 01:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
intertribalProfessor PJ - everybody's favorite human rights advocate and senile grandfatherly figure (eighty-one years old and still insists he can climb on chairs to reach objects on tall shelves) has just come into the office and started poking around the wire drawers of office supplies under the desk.
"Looking for anything in particular?" My mouth is unfortunately full of tuna roll sushi.
"Pardon?"
"What are you looking for?" I say, after swallowing.
"Oh, just those little, you know, those stick-'em-ons." Drawer after drawer is opened.
"Stick-'em-ons?"
"Yeah, you know, those little pieces of paper, they're colored, and they're sticky."
"Um... post-its?"
"They're just small pieces of paper that you can stick on things. It doesn't look like you have any..."
"Yeah, I haven't seen any of... those... recently. Do you want post-its?" I've realized by now I have to humor him, do the conversation his way.
He looks up. "Are they sticky?"
I pull some from the inbox beside the computer. "Yeah."
"Oh! That's what I was looking for!" he raises his frail old hands and stretches them to the post-it notes.
"There's small ones, medium ones, big ones..."
"Small ones?"
I show him the small ones.
"Oh, yes! The small ones! Yes!" He snatches it right out of my hand. Well, I think, there go the last of the small post-it notes. "What do you call them? Post-its?"
"Yeah, that's what the company calls them."
He stands up, nodding and staring at the post-it notes in his hand. "Post-its, post-its... thank you," as he walks out the door.
God, I love this department. Oh yeah, and Professor Cooley smiled very widely at me today. He recognized me and said hi to me before I saw that he was even there. This made my walk to Morton Williams to drop off our catering order all the more wonderful.
"Looking for anything in particular?" My mouth is unfortunately full of tuna roll sushi.
"Pardon?"
"What are you looking for?" I say, after swallowing.
"Oh, just those little, you know, those stick-'em-ons." Drawer after drawer is opened.
"Stick-'em-ons?"
"Yeah, you know, those little pieces of paper, they're colored, and they're sticky."
"Um... post-its?"
"They're just small pieces of paper that you can stick on things. It doesn't look like you have any..."
"Yeah, I haven't seen any of... those... recently. Do you want post-its?" I've realized by now I have to humor him, do the conversation his way.
He looks up. "Are they sticky?"
I pull some from the inbox beside the computer. "Yeah."
"Oh! That's what I was looking for!" he raises his frail old hands and stretches them to the post-it notes.
"There's small ones, medium ones, big ones..."
"Small ones?"
I show him the small ones.
"Oh, yes! The small ones! Yes!" He snatches it right out of my hand. Well, I think, there go the last of the small post-it notes. "What do you call them? Post-its?"
"Yeah, that's what the company calls them."
He stands up, nodding and staring at the post-it notes in his hand. "Post-its, post-its... thank you," as he walks out the door.
God, I love this department. Oh yeah, and Professor Cooley smiled very widely at me today. He recognized me and said hi to me before I saw that he was even there. This made my walk to Morton Williams to drop off our catering order all the more wonderful.
