I Bought a New Pineapple
On an unrelated note, I was at a garden party yesterday at my super-eccentric chair's house. This person was a cause for some anxiety for me because I discovered, last Tuesday during a department dinner, that I have nothing to say to him. The logical thing would be to talk shop, you'd think, except I realized that I felt pretty foolish saying novice things in front of a world-renowned expert. So after an uncomfortable pause, I gave up on the chair and started talking to the professor on my other side, even though this professor scared me shitless.
(Afterwards, some of the senior students told me that it was a move of absolute foolhardiness to place myself between Professor Eccentric and Professor Scary at the dinner table.)
Anyways, yesterday's garden party was a kicker because I was finally able to have a normal conversation with Professor Eccentric, at the most unexpected of times, and with the most baffling persistence. It actually happened when I was about to leave, and I approached Professor Eccentric to say good bye and thanks. As soon as he saw me pausing beside him, he turned and said, "We were just talking about the earthquake in '89. Do you remember it?" And I had a normal conversation with him about earthquakes! A bit later two other students came by to say goodbye and thanks, and they made it out fine. I was about to piggy-back onto their exit with, "I should probably get going as well..." when Professor Eccentric did a genial: "Have you met Victor?" Then I had another long conversation with Victor about Plato, during the course of which Professor Eccentric wandered off. Finally I said, this is ridiculous, I was supposed to leave 20 minutes ago! I excused myself from Victor and hunted down Professor Eccentric for a third time, this time with determination. Third time was a charm.
Who knew that this professor, who I thought was so weird, a logical system only unto himself, would turn out to be this bubbling fount of sociability and charisma?
(Afterwards, some of the senior students told me that it was a move of absolute foolhardiness to place myself between Professor Eccentric and Professor Scary at the dinner table.)
Anyways, yesterday's garden party was a kicker because I was finally able to have a normal conversation with Professor Eccentric, at the most unexpected of times, and with the most baffling persistence. It actually happened when I was about to leave, and I approached Professor Eccentric to say good bye and thanks. As soon as he saw me pausing beside him, he turned and said, "We were just talking about the earthquake in '89. Do you remember it?" And I had a normal conversation with him about earthquakes! A bit later two other students came by to say goodbye and thanks, and they made it out fine. I was about to piggy-back onto their exit with, "I should probably get going as well..." when Professor Eccentric did a genial: "Have you met Victor?" Then I had another long conversation with Victor about Plato, during the course of which Professor Eccentric wandered off. Finally I said, this is ridiculous, I was supposed to leave 20 minutes ago! I excused myself from Victor and hunted down Professor Eccentric for a third time, this time with determination. Third time was a charm.
Who knew that this professor, who I thought was so weird, a logical system only unto himself, would turn out to be this bubbling fount of sociability and charisma?
posted by Rex at 9:31 PM
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