People; Candy

Usually what I do is I'll write up a bunch of entries at once when I have a few hours to just sit and write, then post them once a day for the week. This is why you may sometimes read some stuff that happened a while back. This is also why if something comes up, I'm loathe to deviate from my schedule to write about it.

I went to grab dinner with D.C., M.C., and A.W. tonight. They all wanted a shout-out, and I will admit, I have been slacking on that end. (So, what's up? I will work on something a little more substantive than that, but it's late and I still got a lot to do.) D.C. wants a "cheat sheet" describing who exactly everyone is that I write about. This will never happen; just as I would like to preserve my own pseudo-anonymity, I would also like to preserve everyone else's pseudo-anonymity. It's more or less a group effort anyway, as you can trace people back through other people.

However, I understand it can be difficult to follow people as letters only, not even real names. At some point in the future, I will create a list of Dramatis Personae in the tragi-comedy of my life, grouped by how I met them. At least this will grant some clarity, though not enough to fully identify people. Still, when I say I also had lunch with G.B., K.C., and J.L. today (what's up?), you'll have a better idea as to whether or not you do, or should, know them. As usual, i reserve all right to renege on that, and I curse l-school for granting me the foresight to include that.

***

I've come to the conclusion that V.M., my office mate that I've spoken of in such glowing terms in the past, is actually just trying to create a friendship, and has been ever since I moved in. It's just that, for him, the only way to sustain a conversation is to turn it into an argument. I can't stand arguments, and so interpreted his overtures as aggressive. Now that I've taken pause and started nodding my head when he starts talking, and just responding with minimal grunts, I can see what he's trying to do.

Of all the people in my life, V.M. occupies the most time when you measure by proximity (within 10 feet). By that metric, he has become one of the most important people in my life. And though you can't see it, my lip just curled as I typed that. Seriously. I feel a little dirty. I do have a plan, however. As the N.C.I. voice writers know, I enjoy eating during a shift. V.M. appears to like candy, based on informal tests on my end. I plan on keeping several candy stashes about the office. Whenever he starts talking, we'll talk for a bit, then I'll go to one of the stashes and offer him a sweet. Caramels gum the mouth up the most, right?