Saturday, May 3, 2008

Woke early. Usual oatmeal breakfast. Picked up Scott near his home in the Inner Sunset. On the way over a gaggle of elderly Chinese women surprised me by crossing on a red light directly after having gotten off a bus. I wasn't going fast at all, and I didn't even come close to hitting them, but all it takes is for one to get hit and then the community must suffer the burden of an education campaign directed at elderly Chinese people choosing to ignore both the law and common sense. Then, near the turn onto Judah 3 different drivers ignored my request to enter the right lane so that I could turn right even though I had left plenty of time to make the lane change, but I finally made it over. When we arrived at the Masonic Auditorium parking garage, no attendant was in the booth. Cindy had given the staff parking passes for parking, and I thought we were supposed to give it to the attendant as we came in, not as we left. An attendant walked over to the booth and I explained to him that I wanted to give my parking pass, and he was confused about it and pressed the button on the ticket machine and handed me the ticket but he also took my parking pass. It seemed obvious now that there was some miscommunication and I was supposed to give the pass as I left, not as I entered, so I asked for it back but he wouldn't give it back to me. Of course, when I left the garage, I think the same man insisted on me giving another parking pass or paying $11—he pretended to not know that he took my parking pass as we entered. We happened to have another since Joel didn't use his, so we gave him a second pass but feel we were—or the School was—cheated out of $11 by the Masonic Center. The graduation went smoothly. Assistant professor Conan MacDougall, PharmD, won the School's highest teaching award for the second year in a row. Graduate Troy Drysdale, PharmD, won the Bowl of Hygeia award. Joel was in a testy mood today, so I stayed clear of him as best I could.