Thursday, October 23, 2003
Went to work early to unlock MSB9. Caught the 6:48 am bus which had a driver I'd never seen on our route before. I introduced myself and she offered her name: Andrea. The route this morning was quieter than I'm used to. This particular bus doesn't have the extremely loud beeping sound which hurts my ears every time the bus kneels or signals. Instead, it has a wimpy beeping sound which is barely audible, as though someone like me intentionally crippled that "feature" of the bus's mechanics. After unlocking MSB9, I went to the hospital cafeteria for breakfast. I was trying to figure out which spigot had hot water when a well-dressed woman accosted me through an opening in a wall partition and said, "You shouldn't eat here! It's a ripoff!" I had no idea who she was, but she looked a little familiar. After a few more exchanged words during which she admitted, "I'm joking!" I learned she was one of our first-year students named Deanna. She had come to have breakfast and study before an exam and was mildly upset about having been misled about the breakfast package plate and about having been overcharged due to a misunderstanding. She invited me to sit at her table while she studied, and as she took breaks we chatted. She had forgotten my name since the presentation I gave about a month ago, and that immediately made me feel more comfortable. Started work: link checking, read Sliding Doors of CSS by Douglas Bowman—a brilliant work of clarity. Read the new A List Apart. Updated my personal bookmarks page now that ALA seems to be back online. The new logo looks oddly like a man's genitals—whatever. Student database on the web project: visual indicators for accesskeys are in. Bought a few pastries from Sunset Bakery: a mini lemon cake, a chocolate muffin, and an eclair: $2.10—a bargain! Dinner at home with Patrick: vegetarian risotto, garlic and herb bread, mini lemon cake.