Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Christmas Excitement
I’m not often shocked by things I see in Chicago. I’ve only been working downtown for 6 months, but I’ve seen a lot of weird things. I’ve seen homeless women flash their boobs at me. I’ve seen people get hit by cars. I’ve seen cars get hit by people. I’ve randomly run into friends and enemies alike. (Yes, it’s sad to say, but I really do have enemies. Newman to my Seinfeld, if you will. Or more realistically, Fargas to my Kramer. And if you get THAT reference, you really need to stop watching Seinfeld reruns.) But I was not prepared for what I saw this morning.
I work in a high rise. Getting into our building is a bit of a pain in the butt. We have to use our ID cards to get through a turnstile. Then we have to put our bags through an x-ray machine. Then we have to walk through a metal detector. This presents all sorts of problems that I won’t get into now. Let’s just say it’s not the ideal way to start the morning.
Anyway, after going through security this morning, I turned the corner to head to my elevator. And that’s when I saw her: a harpist. There she was with a huge harp. (Are there small ones? I don’t think they’re called “harps” if they are. Probably “lyres.” Yes, I do too many crosswords.) She was playing Christmas music, which I suppose makes sense. Still, I was shocked.
And that got me thinking. Today is December 20th. (Happy Birthday to my sister, by the way. And about 10 other people I know who all have birthdays within a week of my sister. These people really wanted to be born before Christmas.) Anyway, if Christmas is still 5 days away (3 work days), what can I expect in the lobby of my building tomorrow morning? It’d be a bit lame to have the harpist there again. Might it be a 3-piece orchestra? A barbershop quartet? A full choir? Will it get progressively better each day? Or was today just a one-time only event? Honestly, I’m expecting actors to come in Friday morning to portray a “living” manger. I’d be lying if I said I weren’t extremely excited to be coming to work every day this week.
I work in a high rise. Getting into our building is a bit of a pain in the butt. We have to use our ID cards to get through a turnstile. Then we have to put our bags through an x-ray machine. Then we have to walk through a metal detector. This presents all sorts of problems that I won’t get into now. Let’s just say it’s not the ideal way to start the morning.
Anyway, after going through security this morning, I turned the corner to head to my elevator. And that’s when I saw her: a harpist. There she was with a huge harp. (Are there small ones? I don’t think they’re called “harps” if they are. Probably “lyres.” Yes, I do too many crosswords.) She was playing Christmas music, which I suppose makes sense. Still, I was shocked.
And that got me thinking. Today is December 20th. (Happy Birthday to my sister, by the way. And about 10 other people I know who all have birthdays within a week of my sister. These people really wanted to be born before Christmas.) Anyway, if Christmas is still 5 days away (3 work days), what can I expect in the lobby of my building tomorrow morning? It’d be a bit lame to have the harpist there again. Might it be a 3-piece orchestra? A barbershop quartet? A full choir? Will it get progressively better each day? Or was today just a one-time only event? Honestly, I’m expecting actors to come in Friday morning to portray a “living” manger. I’d be lying if I said I weren’t extremely excited to be coming to work every day this week.
