I got visited today.

Not entirely unexpected, but it was a bit unorganised. Just yesterday the department got in touch with my work supervisor, telling him they were visiting today. Not a word to either me or Colin, though.

So there I was, sitting working away, almost totally oblivious to the world around me. However, suddenly I became aware of a discrepancy with regard to that world that for some reason my brain was not processing fast enough.

I heard a voice – a familiar voice – yet I was not able to identify it. I knew that I knew that voice well, but it just didn’t conjure up the face of any of my new work colleagues.

I turned round, and there was Peter Dickman from uni walking past with Adrian. My eyes nearly dropped out their sockets, and my fingers automatically reacted to Peter’s prescence by minimising all open msn windows. (Colin actually signed out of msn completely when I msn’d him to say pd was here. )

Anyways, he had a wee chat with me, after he’d spoken to my supervisor. My supervisor was pretty good about the whole thing… it sounded like he’d given pd a glowing report about me, despite seeming rather disappointed last time he saw my code… so all in all, a rather good outcome, considering!

Peter was pretty decent too. As usual he did his job with complete competence and efficiency. I respect him. I like him too, I suppose… but in a way he’s not really one of those people you ‘like’ so much as ‘look up to’. I do look up to him, certainly. I can understand his style could not suit everyone, but as far as I personally am concerned, I would after today value his advice above anyone else in the department staff on all-but-one subject.

Anyways, I better be getting my tea finished,

I’m happy

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4185140.stm

My bus took a wrong turning today. I’m glad it did.

There’s this guy who’s been on my bus every morning since I started taking that bus. Tho’ everyone tries to pretend that this isn’t the case, the plain blunt truth is that he looks pretty much like a stereotypical suicide bomber. He knows this as well as everyone. Everyone who tries to pretend that they don’t notice, and that he’s just another bus passenger like the rest of us.

Anyway, poor guy, he sees the subconscious suspicion. For most of us (I hope) it is unintentional, and undesirable. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s there, however unwillingly we are displaying such suspicion. Despite my own conscious effort just to be normal, I must admit to trying to sit away from him, just so he won’t see the book I’m reading at the moment: “Afghanistan: Where God only comes to weep.”

The guy’s defence – and I can’t blame him – is to tell himself that he doesn’t care what the rest of us think of him. He looks at us with a proud and defiant glance, possibly just as unwillingly displayed as is our suspicion.

Vicious circle. Such unfriendly glances towards us only further promote suspicion. And I can’t speak for everyone when I say that the suspicion is always unwillingly portrayed. He does have some justification for feeling victimised.

Anyway, today when the bus took the wrong turning, the whole crowd of us stood up to get off. All us people from GT, and also this poor guy. One of us – Ali, I think – told the bus driver he’d taken a wrong turn (he must have thought he was on a 23, instead of a 23A – that was the turn he took) and the bus driver went to turn around.

So we all stayed on the bus. I happened to turn round, and catch the eye of my friend. He was just behind me, ready to get off and get another bus to wherever-it-is he goes every day. Just as confused as the rest of us as to why the bus had made a wrong turning.

He was smiling.

I was glad to see that smile. As we got off the bus today, for the first time we were not greeted with a scowl from his nearly-at-the-back seat. The incidental smile was no longer there, but there was a serene recognition of something or other on his face.

It was good my bus took that wrong turning.