03.10.2004 - 4:38 p.m.

Every so often I have to meet with one of the tutors to see how their work is going, not only in the tutorials themselves, but also the various upkeep and maintenance tasks they�re in charge of�things like distributing advertisements, revamping bulletin boards, and replenishing popular handouts. Sometimes these meetings are a breeze, full of ideas and enthusiasm and new things we could do. Others are a study in British theater a la Eddie Izzard:

Me: �Ah, Sebastian. And how is it going?�

Them: �Oh.� (pause) �I am counting spoons.�

(long pause)

Me: �And do you feel it�s going well? The spoons?�

Them: �Yes.� (pause) �There are a lot of spoons.�

Me: �Yes, there are. Is there anything you need to help with the spoons?�

(pause)

Them: �No, I�ll count them.�

Me: �Well. Then I guess I�d better get going.�

Them: �Yes, I think you�d better had.�

I do know that tutoring is not the greatest job in the world, and I know they only get minimum wage. I know that most of them are seniors who plan never to look back. It�s just that in some cases, I really need to know how many spoons there are, and they are the only ones with the time to count them.

It is quite hard to convey that.

-stonebridge

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