Theater of the Absurd

Well, I've had all my classes now, and this last one's really something. Let me try to set the stage for you: We get into the room, and the professor is standing in the front and he does not look like much fun at all. He's just standing there, never smiling, and staring at us like we're some kind of strange experiment or something.

But then he spoke.

And suddenly he became this little pudgy British man whose every other word is "um...um" (which, by the way, is suddenly spoken extremely loudly) and who tends to mumble, and then giggle to himself, as if those little mumbles were a secret joke just for him. He's rather jolly, really.

So, the class is called "Managing Organizations" and so far it could probably be titled "How to have group projects". I'm not really sure what we were supposed to learn today, but I do know that this class is basically the perfect avenue for people who really like to hear themselves talk to say things that really don't need to be said. But that's the whole class, basically. Just people talking. And some of us wondering what on earth is going on. My group, which is what this whole class is going to be based on I think (awesome.), decided it might be better to hit Happy Hour before class. And there we can talk about our worries, past experiences, and personal problems, which apparently is the secret to success in group projects.

Now combine this general atmosphere with the stomping that began on a floor above us about halfway through class (tap dance? Stomp? a giant fight?) and constant giggling as people count how many times jolly Prof. Dunbar says "UM....UM" per minute, and you have the makings of an extremely strange evening.

Just when I thought the night was coming to an end and that it couldn't possibly get more ridiculous Paul just brought me some news:

He was going to his apartment and getting his mail and the hall was completely filled with smoke. All of a sudden, 2 guys that work here burst in to an apartment and Paul saw that there was another guy and then he saw that there was this woman just sprawled out on the floor!! And the apartment and hall are filled with smoke! So the guys start yelling at this woman "COVER UP COVER UP" and "You fell asleep on the floor and the stove's on and now everything's burning!" And then I think Paul ran away as fast as he could. Um...UM...Excuse me- what is going on here tonight????