Tamie has a professor from her university days that she still keeps in contact with – we’ve visited him once and she always brings him and his wife ice wine from Canada when we go. Saturday was his last lecture, given to a room full of people he’d taught or worked with. The turnout was impressive – there must have been at least 200 people who showed up to celebrate his 44 years of service.
I didn’t understand a word of the lecture, but from what I gathered it was a brief 2+ hour presentation of the prof’s works and achievements over his career. The occasional laughter from the crowd hinted that he was dropping humour into his lecture, making me wish I understood the language a little bit better. Instead, I was busy holding Layla as she snored loud enough to embarrass Tamie, but not loud enough for anyone else to hear (thankfully).
The day was not without it’s humourous moments. As the speech was getting started, Layla was getting fidgety so I said I’d go get a drink from a vending machine… Layla wanted to come so we snuck out the back door to find a couple guys sitting in suits holding flowers waiting outside. The politely held the door and closed it quietly as we ventured forth on our quest for juice.
It was raining outside but we didn’t have any umbrella, so we dashed into and around buildings looking for a vending machine. In this country, you can pretty much hit a vending machine with a rock in any direction you decide to throw it. In this school campus, with the intention of finding one, it was next to impossible. I exaggerate, but it did take more time than I thought and by the time we actually found one I realized I didn’t have any change or bills small enough to actually use them! The card reader wouldn’t read my card or phone either (not that I was actually expecting it to).
With no way to work the vending machines, what could we do? Instead of going back to get change from Tamie, we headed over to the cafeteria that Tamie pointed out on our way in. The place was abandoned. There was one lady mopping the floor but no one available to break a large bill… so we ended up going to get change. And umbrellas. Our wet, squeaky shoes sure impressed the flower boys who held the door for us and the silent lecture hall that we tried to sneak through. Layla yelling ‘Mom!’ when she entered was fun too.
After we got some drinks and settled into a spot beside Tamie, things seemed to settle down. Layla tried to get comfortable on me and seemed ready to fall asleep… but not before she wanted to play a game on my phone. So I discretely pulled out my phone, ensured that the volume was turned down all the way and fired up her favourite Poke-A-Mole game. They say you learn something new every day, and that day I learned that my phone has two volumes — one volume for the ringer, which I had shut off, and one for media, which was at full blast. It only took a second to turn it down, but a second of poke-a-mole music in a silent lecture hall is definitely a second too much. The best part – Layla only played one game before she curled up and fell asleep.
As I watched the lecture, I couldn’t help but think about where I’m going to be after 44 years of working for the man. Dead, most likely, but if I’m still around I hope I’m sitting on the deck of my boat with a beer in one hand and a fishing rod in the other. I certainly don’t see myself working at the same place for 44 years… Heck – in the 7 years since I graduated I’ve worked at 3 different companies in 3 different cities across 2 countries. Including co-ops, it’s 6 companies in 10 years! At that rate, I’ll be on to company 32 or 33 in another 44 years!
When the lecture was complete, a few other people stood up and gave speeches to or about the professor. One guy even made another presentation with slides and everything. When it was almost over, the back doors opened and I expected to see the two guys who’d been waiting with the bouquets… The bouquets came, but carried by two girls who brought them up and presented them to the prof and his wife. I’m not sure who they were, but in a country of booth babes, hostesses, etc, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were hired just to present the flowers. Before wrapping up completely, there was a group photo taken — the big group required a big camera!
There was a small lunch buffet served where the prof got to mingle with everyone and enjoy the photo opportunities, shaking hands and kissing babies. As Layla was the only kid there, and one not totally happy being picked up by most people, not a lot of baby-kissing took place that day. But there were photos and handshakes aplenty.
We ended up going to Machida after we left the lunch to get Layla a much-deserved ice cream parfait. Green tea ice cream at least sounds healthy, doesn’t it? =)
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