Orientation

Am recruited by the Dean's office to help with the new student orientation. The Contessa and I assigned to table in lobby of building to direct new students. Attempt to complain. The Contessa becomes unpleasantly superior and says she Loves the start of school. Says she is fine helping out as long as she doesn't have to do anything with any of the Board Members. (She reminds me of graduation.) There are no snacks to be had and extremely bossy Student Services person keeps his eye on us to make sure that we don't stray from our posts. Same student services person Forces us to wear Orange t-shirts about five sizes too big. The Contessa claims that she looks like a House but student services is not impressed. Extremely humid and lobby inadequetly airconditioned. (But much, much better, presumably, than New Orleans for many reasons. This thought doesn't help self-pity--only serves to make feel worse about everything. i.e. have prevented self from linking Hurricane with Global Warming even though clearly related) Day spent giving directions to students (fine, mostly) and parents (trying). Spend long conversation in lady from Dallas who thinks that having an East Side and a West Side is Dumb. Why not just have the house numbers run all the way across the island? And why is Fifth avenue the dividing line? Who decided that? This enlightened creature has much to say about everything, including the asbestos dust she found in her daugher's room, the drug deal she saw in Washington Square Park, and how Julie (her daugher) is the artistic type (does she mean lesbian?) Many similar conversations. Jaw hurts. The contessa says she feels grimy. Student Services says that we can Keep our t-shirts.