All In a Night's Work

3:50 AM.  Pretty appropriate time to write, wouldn't you say?  Well it's either that or get wasted so I can make a ridiculous ruckus out in public.  And I was tempted to choose the latter but I figured plenty of people have perfected that role already so why bother?

In fact, besides the injuries, embarrassments, awkwardness, and just plain annoyances that these people induce directly, they're indirectly affecting us night owls detrimentally as well.  They cause security to be on edge as soon as the sun sets just because society simultaneously breaks out the booze.  They also make everything save for a McDonald's wrapper rolling by on the street seem suspicious.

Just a couple nights ago, I ventured on an innocent trip with a few friends to the supermarket at 2 something AM, only to partake in a series of uncomfortable encounters.  First off, there was the random drunk guy who approached acting like he knew us, then requested a photo with us, and finally got pissed off when we told him we were international students.  He then staggered off to rant about us to our poor other friend who we left all alone while we just pointed and laughed.  Once he escaped the drunk guy's clutches, we witnessed some hostile exchange as security confronted the guy and we bolted out of the produce area.  Soon minding our own business in the dairy section, a huge, half-bald-half-mowhawked brute comes out of nowhere demanding to know "who was making all the noise."

 Oh, and did I mention how hot he was?

I'm sorry but I never got the memo about laughing not being permitted in Woolworths after 11 PM.  But for fear of a crushed skull, it wasn't difficult to learn.

Even though I probably have the least to worry about when going out, I still feel as if I have to act as unsuspiciously as possible around any sort of security.  A little voice in my head just reminds me to "act natural" even though I have no idea what "natural" is supposed to mean at 2 AM.  Uh drunk and nauseous?

Ooh now I get it...

But no matter how much I complain, this is sadly the established and accepted norm of society.  It employs steroidal hunks of meat and provides them with a physical outlet for all that pent up childhood anger and neglect, so in a twisted kind of way, it works.

(and no, security is not on edge because darkness is also the opportune time for nonalcoholic criminal acts... don't be silly)

Ice, Ice, Baby

Classes are over and the "study" period has commenced... meaning I finally have time to write.  But before delving into the plethora of topics I've been intending to address these past few weeks, I must revisit a peculiar incident that occurred during lectures one day.

The unpredictable climate in the R1 lecture theater can be likened to Melbourne itself.  No ventilation over the weekend can lead to stuffy Monday mornings even before the rows fill up with 300 some students all breathing heavily over their whirring laptops.  But leave the doors open over night and we might as well be having the lecture out on the lawns.  Only rarely is the temperature actually "room."

So on one of these days, a friend turned and asked, "Is it cold in here, or is it just me?"  Quite a common question really and one that you never give much thought in asking or answering.  Normally the askee would nod in concurrence and agree that the air does seem quite chilly.  Then both parties would be rest assured that neither is shivering alone.

But in this particular case, I believed the temperature to be quite moderate and responded instead with, "Um no, I think it's just you."  Not exactly the response the asker had in mind, I'm sure, but it did add a nice touch of awkwardness in the air.  I did answer the question truthfully though.  And if no one really wants to hear the alternate response then why bother offering such options anyways?

People who ask about some observable feature in their environment and then end it with "or is it just me?" seem to be seeking to normalize their senses or own observations, which is completely understandable.  But just the way in which it is done seems silly.  What happens when the other person doesn't feel the same way or observe the same phenomenon?  Then the asker is left feeling unfulfilled and possibly crazy depending on the severity of the situation.

Another quirk in an established phrase used so often that it loses its absurdity.  Next time I'm shivering, I'll avoid the embarrassment with a simple, "hey are you cold?" ... "yeah, me neither."