Saturday, March 30, 2013

Creepin' on front-lawn wildlife

Just a normal ol' afternoon at my parents' house. Oh hey, what's that in the (winter-yellowed) grass?



Walking closer ...


A squirrel! Just laying out like it's his casa! Does he see me creepin'?


I stepped furtively a few steps forward, but immediately moved some steps back so as not to startle him or appear threatening. (Is this how squirrels sleep? Napping out in the open probably isn't the safest idea ...)


Then he ran away. Guess I looked too eager. But no worries! I saw this green-eyed fluffmonster a few minutes later:


But he, too, ran away when I tried to snap a closer photo. (Does he look familiar ;-) ? )



Sunday, March 24, 2013

Meow

Conversation with my little brother:


Awkward work encounters (Part 1): Running into the same person several times in 1 day


Long office hallways are hot spots for awkward encounters. If you’re walking from one end of the hall to the other and spot someone you know at the other end walking toward you in the opposite direction, at what distance should you acknowledge/greet one another? For how long must you awkwardly stare at each other? Do you do that oh-I-didn’t-see-you-until-you-were-3-yards-away lie? Look down and away until you’re within 5 yards or so?

I by chance ran into the same person -- with whom I can almost always count on to have an awkward rencontre -- four times: the first two encounters within 5 minutes of each other in the morning, and the last two within 10 minutes in the afternoon. The fourth and last encounter that day was the most awkward. We’d both turned a corner at the same time at opposite ends of a short 10-yard-long hallway, and were headed toward the same turn -- the only available exit in the 10-yard distance. He did that ‘Uhhhhh-I’m-in-an-awkward-situation-and-wait,-am-I-still-staring?’ nail bite, and I, of course, resembled a lost deer in the headlights. Needless to say, there was no way to rescue the situation. And I stayed put at my desk the rest of the day.

A week or so later, we again found each other in a similar situation, but this time he had an ingenius solution: wave! Hardly anyone was in the office on this particular early, snowy morning, and I was walking from one wing of the building to the other -- where my seat is -- through yet another long corridor. And as I made the long trek over to my desk, I saw said employee walking from the opposite end of the otherwise-empty hall. From still far away, he recognized me and waved, and I waved back. Problem solved.

We’ve done the hallway wave multiple times since, although that is not to say awkward encounters have ceased altogether; for every normal run-in, there is -- without fail -- always an incredibly awkward one to follow. But that's OK because those situations remind me that even the most seemingly confident, put-together person can have those moments.




Sunday, March 3, 2013

10 years

See that little guy on the right?

Brothers: Tony and Duncan having a moment

He would have turned 10 years old today.

I miss you immensely, little man.