Thursday, January 15, 2009

Concrete Bunkers

I work in one.  A concrete bunker, that is.  My lab, along with being located in a really shitty part of Maryland, has no windows.  Initially, it seemed like a good thing; not being able to see out into the shit, but I've decided it sucks.  Part of it is that my desk is too small for me.  I can't stretch my legs out.  If I back my chair up so I can, I'm in everyone's way because then I have my back against the lab bench.  Usually it doesn't matter, but if I'm sitting there writing which is what I've been doing for the last two days, I can't even look up and see out the window, or down the hall, or even across the lab.  I stare at concrete barely 3 feet in front of my face.  

Like I said, it sucks.  

So I took myself to the student union in hopes of scoring a nice cup of hot tea and installing myself in the coffee shop, which has huge windows and good-sized tables.  No dice.  Why?  Because in typical fashion, the university has closed its most useful parts (like the coffee shop), leaving the shittiest bits open (like McDonald's, Chik-Fil-A (or whatever that revolting place calls itself), Steak-Escape, etc.).  But I managed to find a chair, table, and I'm pretty comfortable.  

Now, I have a question for any writer types who read this rag.  What do you do when you get all installed in a coffee shop or whatever, you've got your tea/coffee beverage of choice, the computer is open, you're ready to go, and all of a sudden, you have to go to the bathroom?  Seriously, do you gather your accoutrements, put your coat back on, shove your hat, scarf, and gloves into your bag, take your drink, and awkwardly lurch into the bathroom, dropping something that you'd rather never touch the floor of anywhere but your apartment?  Or do you just develop an oversized bladder/colon?  Or do you turn to the least skeezy looking person in a 4 foot radius and ask them to watch your stuff, hastily stuffing your wallet into your pocket in case their respectable appearance is a front for robbing broke student types in coffee shops?  

Questions for the ages, people...

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