Visitors galore!
Boots, Don, and Barb Cordonnier just passed through Boston last weekend and we’re gearing up for another fresh batch of family tomorrow night. Kay, Kelly, and Keith Borchers are flying in tomorrow and Nick is heading up to the airport to pick them up so I don’t miss one moment of Grey’s Anatomy.
Sometimes I forget that we live, as Don would say, DOWNTOWN. “Not just near downtown, but DOWNTOWN,” is how Don describes it. Unfortunately, our guests got a little too much a taste of city life when we watched the aftermath of a pedestrian get hit by a car right in front of our apartment complex. The drama doesn’t stop.
In addition to visitors, Nick and I are gearing up for our first autumn together in the city. The sheets are flannel, the jackets are out, and Nick’s Adidas pants are a near daily occurence. Living in a high rise residence hall continues to be full of surprises. About three weeks ago, a student accidentally burned a plate full of Tostino pizza rolls that sent the alarms off at 12:30am. As the RD (Resident Director) on duty, I helped evacuate the building and tried to keep traffic under control, I kept glancing at Nick to make sure he knew where to go.
Why was I worried? That worry proved unnecessary when I spotted him directing students across the street and cautioning them not to jaywalk. Sometimes, I swear, he wants my job. When it was time to go back in the building, I started wondering how 550 students were going to get back into the halls without their IDS, which is necessary for entrance. It took some time, but I managed to get a system going and it seemed to be going well. Then I felt a finger poking me in the shoulder. It’s Nick.
“Leese, there’s a kid trying to sneak in by using someone else’s ID. I stopped him and confiscated his card.” He held the card to my face and nodded emphatically several times in a quite official manner.
“Oh. Ok. Thanks. I’ll take care of it. You, uh, you know, don’t need to be confiscating cards or guarding the entrance. I have staff to take care of it.”
“I know, but I wanted to! Crap like that pisses me off! I told him to stand over there,” Nick points to a section of the lobby where a dismal student anxiously shifted his weight from side to side.
Though Nick is entirely happy to be studying his theology and ethics, I think it’s important to note that anytime my job requires my authoritative fist and Nick is around, he is more than happy to jump in and bust any student on any policy violation. We were resident assistants together in college, so I guess that still hasn’t died down in him just yet.