I had a pleasant conversation with an acquaintance today. His name his Jason. I actually re-met Jason earlier last year at some Business and Hospitality Mgmt luncheon that they do on campus. I was with my co-workers and I was standing behind him in line, staring at him. I was feeling especially un-shy that day so I just came out with it: "You look so familiar."
And he said I looked familiar, too. So we tried to go through where we would have known each other from, maybe a class, but we couldn't really place it. But we left it at that and Jason became someone I would say hi to now whenever we passed by.
But today I was sitting out on the bench smoking my cigarette when I saw him walking up toward me. So I said to him, "How's it going?" He sat down next to me and we just started talking. I wasn't really enthralled with the conversation, but I kept it going by picking up and asking him about things he would mention. We talked about how it was both our last semesters. And we talked about plans after. He was talking about his course plans, how he has to do these internships that he doesn't actually get credit for and things like that and how it's just a job. Somehow he mentioned how he's a pilot and how he loves to fly. He was talking pretty passionately about it. I noted how exciting it sounded and I asked him why he isn't doing that, and why is he here studying hospitality management? He was saying that after 9/11, it's not a very stable, dependable job and this course of study was something for him to fall back on.. and talking about how you can go for something you love, but, such as with actors even, you need something more practical to fall back on. And I agreed.
And then he asked me what my dreams were. I started to tell him about how I'd like to go for my masters in library science after I graduate. He thought it was interesting, but I was like 'yeah I know it's not much..' But then I decided to open up a bit more. And I told him, "What I really want to do is paint.. but I just never got into it and I don't really know how." He encouraged me to pursue it as a hobby, and I told him one day I would. And I told him I also really like music and how I used to play and I'd like to pick that up one day. Painting and music.. both very unpractical, undependable livelihoods.. but one day.. even as just hobbies.
Mentioning music got him talking about how he used to play bongo drums, and used to do the drum circles in St. Pete. So I picked up on that, asked if that's where he was from. No, he only lived there for a year. And he worked at the Don Cesar. Ooo.. the haunted hotel. This gave me more to prod with. Did he see anything weird while working there? He hadn't, but he was able to give me some of the history I didn't know about. For instance, I didn't know part of it used to be a morgue. How creepy. And he described to me the creepy feeling he would get late at night sometimes going down the elevator to the part that used to be a morgue..
I asked him if he's ever been to the drum circles down here, as I used to go when I first came down here. He hadn't. I mentioned that I think the next one is coming up the 24th, and that I wanted to try to go. [I just double-checked, it's actually the 25th] I mentioned it as an opening to see if he'd want to go with me. Maybe he could even play his bongo drums again. But he didn't pick up on it. :p
Finally, I said I'd better get back to work. He noted how this was the first time we actually had a chance to sit down and have a real conversation. And he kept saying, more than once, as we parted ways, "It was really nice talking to you." I think the conversation meant more to him than it did me. For me, I was just practicing, really. I wasn't that interested. I didn't feel like we made any real connections, and it wasn't like we discovered any new enlightening truths to life. But good conversation takes practice. And that's what I was doing.
The funny thing was, after I walked back in the library, I checked my email and there were a couple from my baby. One of them was a link to an old diary entry I wrote about wanting to paint, this desire to create. And I thought how odd, I was just talking about that. How odd that he would, out of the blue, find and send this entry to me at this moment. And he said, "we can work on creating a stable environment here to allow that to blossom in you." Blossom.. I like that.. My baby is so wonderful. And he was talking to me last night about taking care of me.. when I need it.. but not taking over.. which is an important balance. And I told him he was going to make me cry. And then he called. And said some more things, I don't remember what they were now. But they did make me cry.
In a good way. A tender way.
*sigh*
Why would some fool want to take care of me..?
But I'm touched, and I melt, at the thought.
LJ