Winston and the $ilver Mining Plan

Why has it been so long since I have written on this blog?  Some of you have asked and I have answered that work has consumed my life.  This is true.  Of course, I would have a difficult time explaining what it is that I do all day.  And it varies from week to week, day to day, and even hour to hour.  Like this fine example from a few weeks ago:

I was wrapping up some student organization consultations (normal work) and walked out to our administrative associate's desk area.  Jose was talking to a man who was carrying a stack of flyers.  He looked to be about 60 years old and my initial reaction was that he was homeless.  (After a year of riding the bus to work every day you start to get a sense of who needs to get somewhere and who really needs a warm place to sit.)  The man was telling Jose that he wanted to meet with Mary Beth who is my boss' boss and Jose was trying to explain that Mary Beth's calender was booked solid.  Now it's true that if someone who is not a UT faculty, staff, or student is on campus and refuses to leave the building we can call UTPD to escort them out, but we do try to avoid that whenever possible.  Jose was frustrated so I stepped in, introduced myself as an associate of Mary Beth's and asked if there was anything I could help him with.

His name was Winston.  He was 64 years old.  He proceeded to tell me all about his $ilver Light Mining Plan ($ change his).  You see, the $ilver Light is a whole new untapped area that can produce our American economy with billions of dollars and take us out of debt.  Winston's flyers were recruitment posters for employees for the company.  If you signed up to be one of the first 200 employees of the $ilver Light Mining Company you would receive a free t-shirt and safe bus transportation to Memphis for just $15.  In Memphis, you would attend Winston's speech to reveal to the world his plan for $ilver Light Mining and announce the release of his book, which would unveil the truths proving that he is the next Martin Luther King, Jr.  

Oh yes, that's right.  The next MLK, Jr.  It turns out that in addition to being an entrepreneur and an author, Winston believes in reincarnation and in conspiracy theories.  And I got to hear them ALL.  For an hour.

I finally managed to send Jose an iChat begging him to interrupt and say that my next appointment was here just so that I could send Winston away.  He left me with two flyers; one for Mary Beth and one for UT President Powers, because we're close.

And that is what I do with my life.  That is the story of Winston of the $ilver Mining Plan.

AKA  You know you really want my job.

AKA  What I did with my master's degree today.

AKA  You can't make this up.