I LOVE a Challenge, and It's a Damn Good Thing

The Scene:  The large gym/multi-purpose facility at UVM

The Event:  "An Event Fit For a King."  Martin Luther King III, to be exact.

Kind of a big deal.  Audience of oh, I don't know, 1,000ish people?

I'm sitting there at my post at the back of the gym, stenoing away to beat the band, LIVE.  The guest of honor was S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G.  The lights were all off.  The captions were being projected up onto a big screen in the front of the gym.  I was W-E-A-R-I-N-G  H-E-A-D-P-H-O-N-E-S.  Not little earbuds, but a big, official-looking headset. 

A university police officer walks up to me from the side, bends down near my face, and says, "Excuse me."

I look at her.

"Where do I find the assistive hearing devices for the hard of hearing?"

"Up front," I say, and continue to write steno. 

"Up front?  Up front where?" 

"I.DON'T.KNOW.FOR.SURE."

steno-steno-steno-steno

"Oh, OK, thank you."

Ally says she would love to see an MRI of my brain taken while I'm working.  I dunno.  I think I might blow up the machine. 

My team is awesome.  They sat chuckling and saying afterward, "At least you're still smiling."  Well, you know, she was wearing a badge.  Or something.  But even so.  People don't get AT ALL what it is that I do, even when they literally SEE me doing it. 

I have a reputation on campus for "always smiling," many people have told me. You're so lucky.  Only YOU get to see the not-good-natured side of me. Well, David and a few other people might beg to differ with that statement. 

Comments

[Kristen]

Oh, I don't know, Ms. Smiley! The one time I saw you live you were grinning non-stop. But then again, you were at a fiber festival and about to be carniverous, so that may have had something to do with it.

[gayle]

Well, it's your own fault. When people have a question, they go to the most competent-looking person in the area.
Or maybe she thought your earphones *were* the assistive hearing devices...

[Leslie]

You mean there's a NOT good natured side of you???

I agree with Gayle - the dippo probably thought you were wearing assistive hearing devices.

[Carole]

You ARE always smiling. But I bet you wanted to give that cop a big shove.

[Renee]

Are you smiling... or baring your teeth and clenching your jaws? Apparently I smile when there's steam coming out of my ears if I'm royally ticked. My family will often say, "Look out, she's smiling." lol

[marianne]

Hee, I was thinking the same thing as Renee, baring your teeth. I do the same thing. (oh crap, she's 'smiling', you've pissed her off, run!)

[Ann]

LOL. You ARE always smiling-if only they KNEW what you were really thinking!!! It's like the dog wagging its tail and grinning...Yeah, we all know what he's thinking-Bite them all!

[k.]

Heh--you're smiling at them all because you're thinking, "I'm going to go home tonight and blog about how stupid you were just then."

[Berta]

Just for balance can we give the campus cop points for a)actually grasping the concept of the devices and trying to locate them for (presumably) someone who needed one and b) maybe, actually recognizing someone doing work somewhat related to said devices. Yes, yes, deduct points for interrupting working person. On the other hand Norma, maybe she just thought you were a student with a Bose radio set and a strange computer game. Your own fault for looking good.

[Diana]

I hear there are a bunch of openings for air traffic controllers. Necessary skills -- ability to juggle many things at once and not screw up. Sure you don't want to change careers?

[Seanna Lea]

It's good that you can concentrate through things like that though in a perfect world you wouldn't have to.

[Mercuria]

I'm confused. Why would anybody ever go to the person with headphones on? Headset, maybe. But headphones? If nothing else, perhaps it should have occurred to her that maybe you wouldn't be able to hear her...

[Cheryl S.]

Perhaps some people don't know the difference between a smile and an insane grin.

[klaus]

I think there's something about human nature, the same thing that compels people to strike up a conversation with you when you're counting stitches, at play here. I dunno why people feel the need to ask the busiest looking person stuff.

[Cookie]

"She's worked here for years. I would see her on campus and she was always smiling and outgoing. She was smiling when she snapped, too. I guess I can't judge a book by it's cover."

Film @ 11.

[kmkat]

I was expecting the cop to tell you that you were illegally parked and had to come RIGHT NOW and move your car. Perhaps it is good that I am not in charge of your life ;-)

[--Deb]

I have no real comment, I'm just laughing... sheesh!

[Shannon]

Oh, I can so relate to that - the experience and the anger. I have attorneys lean over in the middle of depositions and whisper things to me about how they want their exhibits handled or whatever. And they think they're being polite by not interrupting the deposition!
Sadly, I'm not known for being one of those always-smiling kind of people, so there is frequently profanity flying out of my mouth before I even know it . . .

[=Tamar]

Maybe it would help to have a large badge or sign saying ON DUTY.

[sandy]

You need a SHHHHH sign.
xo

[elizabeth a airhart]

good saturday morning