my first!

Yesterday was a momentous occasion – my first OD meeting! Smile, Sideler, their very entertaining son Kyle and their unbelievably cute teeny little dog Jesse were camping nearby, and Baker B and I visited them at their campsite after work. In all these years I’ve never met an ODer, so it was quite the event. Naturally, being the socially phobic loon I am, I was all nervous about it, but they are great and we all hit it off immediately and it was lots of fun. And I knew it would be – honestly, I’m anxious about meeting up with my own family, so that’s nothing unusual. Then I have a wonderful time and don’t want to leave.

But I enjoyed that so much, and although it’s kind of odd to meet people in the real world that you’ve only talked to in the cyber world, it felt like I’d known them forever. And I kind of have. And they were just like I’d imagined them to be – fun, friendly and very easy to get along with. Kyle is hysterical, and I expect he’ll end up a famous comedian in a few years. Or a rocket scientist. Or both. They had a really nice camping spot too. Right by a creek, very peaceful. Of course it’s rained the entire time off and on, with periods of torrential downpours, including an evening of flooding. But they didn’t seem too distressed. At least it hasn’t been freezing, which is saying quite a lot for this town.

Ok, I’m going to have to get back to work, because I’ve somehow ended up answering ALL the phones. Honestly. The Dean’s Ass’t and the person who ought to be everyone’s receptionist but isn’t went to a dissertation that’s going to last for two hours, and then will go to the lunch afterwards. Dean’s Ass’t came in here and handed me her cordless phone, which everyone else’s phones are forwarded to. And asked would I mind terribly catching all the calls. Ummmmm… sure!!! Luckily it hasn’t been very busy, and neither has mine so far. K is gone for the week too, so I’ve got mine, hers, the deans, and all the various professors that the supposed receptionist answers phones for. Amusingly I’m not too concerned. If I can’t answer one of the ten zillion lines because I’m on one of the other ten zillion lines, that just illustrates how idiotic it is that nobody has voice mail.

The cordless phone is weird, too, and I don’t really understand how it works, which has made transferring calls amusing. I’m like, “Ummmmmm…dude, I don’t know what I’m doing so here’s the direct number for when I cut you off, or transfer you to Indonesia!!”

Good times, good times.