encounters of the em kind

AT WORK:
I work with a woman named Mo. (Short for Monette, which is pronounced "mo-nay") Some of the things she says make me laugh.

A) "My daughter-in-law is a beautiful singer. She wins karaoke contests all the time."
**I love that her second sentence apparently qualifies the first.**

B) Break room conversation--
Mo: What are you reading?
Me: The Gift of Asher Lev
Mo: The Gift of Actual Love?
**I quickly corrected her. I never want to be mistaken for someone who would read a
book called The Gift of Actual Love**

Also, Mo wore a wolf shirt last week. Seriously. A howling wolf in front of a majestic peak and full moon. All day, I kept wanting to ask her, "Are you aware of wolves?" I refrained. Who knows? Maybe her checkbook is "nothing but wolves." I wouldn't want to offend.

ON THE BUS:
Another woman I've met this summer is named Wanda. She rides my same bus route at the same times I do. Last month, I had the idea to start a summer series on my blog called "Commuter Profiles." I would interview one fellow bus patron each week share their stories with my lovely audience. Many times on the bus, I contemplate the lives of the other riders, and interviewing them would allow me to get a deeper look into them.

It didn't too long to realize that most bus riders consider their fellow commuters to be strangers, and therefore feel uncomfortable sharing personal information with them. I guess I'm the only one who feels the RTD bond with Wanda and co. I know from personal experience.

After about a week of harboring the idea of my Commuter Profiles series, I finally got up to courage to conduct my first interview. I selected Wanda because I had already introduced myself to her, and that day, the bus was nearly empty because we were nearing the end of the route.

It became evident right off that I made her uncomfortable. Hindsight tells me that I shouldn't have been so forward. Instead of saying, "Hi, Wanda! I write a blog, and am starting up a Commuter Profiles series. How would you like to be my first featured bus rider?" and pulling out a notebook and pen, I could have just started up a conversation, and taken mental notes. When I muster up courage for something, I sometimes end up with too much courage.

She let me ask some vague, impersonal questions, but I did not come away with the in-depth glimpse I was looking for. For example, when I asked her what sent her downtown everyday, she replied, "my job." I followed by asking what her job was. She replied, "finance." Poor Wanda. I think we were both glad when her stop arrived. Before she disembarked, however, I threw caution to the winds and said, "So I'm guessing a picture would be too personal?" She confirmed my assumption. Now, whenever I see her, it's like bumping into someone with whom I had a bad first date. It's awkward. But then it makes me laugh to myself.