Overheard at Work, vol. XCV

Our big annual gala is two weeks from tomorrow. This was the last relatively low-key week before I disappear in preparation for that event.

I forgot to include this quote from last week:
Me, to two teen girls: You ladies should stay for Family Night.
Teen Girl: What's Family Night this month?
Me: For Women's History Month.
Girl: *rolls eyes*
Me: What?
Girl: I hate that...I'm like the opposite of a feminist.

Me, to a volunteer and an 8 year old boy: If I took a nap right now, what would you do?
Volunteer: Probably be really jealous.
8 year old boy: Um...cook you for dinner.

8 year old boy, thumbing through camp brochures: Yo. I need to be away from home for a little while.

Overheard at Work, vol. XCIV

Well these days are just flying by, aren't they?

This week featured a couple late night work days, one to take a group of teens to see a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was lovely, and tonight, after Women's History Family Night, where I ran a super fun activity testing the kids' knowledge of important women in history and culture.

Colleague A, more beleaguered than I've ever been: It's too much work to eat.

Colleague B, hoping to avoid my (joke) plan to "drag him up" in honor of Women's History Month: I don't like things being done to me.

Me: Please, go sit with your peeps.
10-year-old boy: You can't say peeps.
Me: I can't?
Boy: No, that's a hood word.
Me: How do you know I'm not from the hood?
Boy: I know you're not from the hood.
Me: You have no idea where I'm from.
Boy: I know you're not from the hood. Look at you.
Me: Because I'm white, I can't be from the hood?
Boy: No! I'm not racist!
Me: You don't know where I'm from.
Boy: I know where you're from. You're from New Hampshire.
And then,
12-year-old boy: We know you're not from the hood because you're a good person.

After, I gave him an impassioned monologue about how people like him and his diverse group of friends should be seeing theatre, not just the old white people we were surrounded by at the play:
16-year-old boy: You're so black.
Me: I AM?
Boy: You just made it onto the top 5 list of blackest white people.
Me: Who else is on that list?
Boy: Justin Timberlake. Ellen DeGeneres. Donald Trump. (That was a joke.)
Me: OK. Who else?
Boy: Channing Tatum. Macklmore. Seth Rogen. Jonah Hill.
(My conclusion, after we talked about it was that I'm "black" because I'm down-to-earth and most white people are "hoity toity." Oof.)

Colleague C, getting ready to go out with other colleagues: Lady's out of town!
Me: Shit's gonna go down!...I just made a poem!...about cheating.

Just Write {10}

Some things I have considered writing about in the last two weeks:

1. I am back to reading bound books.

And I am, like, actually carrying a book in my purse on my commute. It's GLORIOUS. Mind you, bound books are more expensive than the impulsive Kindle purchases I was making to read on my phone, and now I want to spend all my money at a real live book store. But there is really nothing like holding a book in your hands while you read.

2. It is basically May.

S is coming to visit this weekend. I have next weekend totally off. Then I am working at an Arts Summit on 3/29, have a hair appointment on 3/30, my annual fundraiser is on 4/5, I am traveling to Ithaca for a family reunion from 4/12 to 4/19, and traveling to Providence on 4/25-27. See you in May.

3. I have spring fever real bad.

It's the time of year when I feel like I have a ton to do (clean my room, clear out my drawers, rearrange my room, organize my files, write some remarks for my grandmother's memorial), and instead of doing any of them, I try to find one more Academy Award nominated film I can stream online. It's like, with all my free time this weekend, there were too many options for how I could pass my time, so I did none of them.

4. I believe my 30s are going to be about consciously making bad decisions.

I have always been a pretty cautious and calculated person, and I have always been able to let reason and logic and practicality outweigh any impulses or guilty pleasures. But since turning 30, I'm pretty set on doing some things that a previous me would deem unwise. On purpose. For fun. Watch out.