When I was hired here, part of my conversation with the Boss consisted of getting permission to stand Legolas in my office. He was skeptical but agreed because I think he knew it would make me happier.
I work in a school of geeks, my kind of peeps. Everyone who knows me knows, I am a geek lover/champion/admirer. I have my own level of geekery that I felt was expressed by having a 6’ cutout of Legolas stand behind me while conducting my appointments.
It didn’t take long in most appointments for the topic of Lord of the Rings to work its way in, which invariably led to Pirates of the Caribbean and then through some convoluted circumstances and segues led to discourse about Halo and other games. So it’s fairly well known here on campus that Athena is a gamer, a geek and not as “corporate” as the rest of them and perhaps therefore a little more approachable. Many of my students come in just to talk, or banter or discuss new games.
Last Friday I was asked/told to take Legolas home. Evidently he is unprofessional, distracting and “people talk about him a lot”.
I wasn’t happy about it. AT. ALL. It felt like the Universe giving me yet one more sign – “pay attention!” “get the hell out before you are molded into a blank corporate icon of boring uncreative work ethics” “you are being wasted here.”
It felt like a warning and one I seriously took into consideration as I stood him up at home near the foot of my bed.
Yesterday a student came in. One of my favorites who comes to talk about games and his future as a game designer.
J: Something is different and I can’t put my finger on it….
I let it pass for a few minutes while his companion told me about how he is job hunting and the market is tougher than he thought.
J: Something is missing and I can’t figure out what it is….
I nodded.
Me: Olri is gone.
His mouth dropped open and he sat forward with alarm.
J: Did you to that or did they do that?
I smiled at the vagueness of they and said,
Me: They did.
J: Did you cry? You should have cried. I bet if you’d started crying they would have let you keep him.
Me: I cried, but I did it at home.
J: That was not a very smart thing they just did.
I grinned and thought, GOD! I love my students. My fellow geeks. My underappreciated nation of misfits. I love them.
The topic shifted again to his friend who is job hunting and as they were leaving I said,
Me: Hey, good luck on your job search.
J, turned around at the door and looked pointedly where Orli/ Legolas used to stand.
He smiled sadly, and said…
J: Hey, good luck on yours too.
Did I mention how much I love my students?
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