the people where i work seem to think i'm really strange. first of all, even though i'm no baby, i'm quite a bit younger than most everyone here. quite. and apparently the people out here like to stare. a lot. and this somehow gives them cause ... or so they seem to think. i guess it's weird that i still have some elasticity in my skin and all my own teeth.

secondly, apparently i am really tall compared to all the other women working here. i'm only 5'10", but i notice that the other two young women here are really tiny (like in the 4'9" - 5' flat range). the rest of the group is old and have shrunk some so are therefore likewise shorter than myself. i mean, i knew i was a tad taller than the average femme, but i swear i have never had so many people comment on my stature. one guy walked by my office door this morning, just as i was walking out, so we almost ran into one another. as i'm saying, 'oh, excuse me' he's saying, 'wow, i didn't know you were so tall.' wow? so tall? hmm. and not ten minutes later this cute old lady from across the hall asks me how i ever manage to find pants (actually she used the word 'slacks') long enough for me. i mean, you'd think these people had never seen women's basketball.

third and probably most odd, i like to read. some days i go to lunch across the street in the 'big cafeteria' and sit all by myself and read a book while i eat lunch. this action elicits more stares than my infantile face and gigantism put together. i mean, people really look at me like i'm a leper. i'm thinking of getting a jacket to go over any book i want to take with me, one that proudly displays a title along the lines of, "the erotic adventures of a young catholic priest," or "fourteen sacreligious things to do to a confederate flag for under twelve dollars". don't worry, i'll get my will in order before this experiment.