Who cares about the effects of storm waters on construction sites? I certainly do not. But someone out there must think it is a fairly weighty matter, because it was the topic of discussion at a meeting of contractors who met at Fairway Oaks Country Club last night, and I was priveleged enough to be one of the few working at this exciting event. I really can't help but feel sorry for the poor guy who had to give the presentation. I spoke with him briefly before everyone (and by everyone, I mean the 9 people who showed up) arrived. He seemed like he would rather drown in said storm waters than speak about them. What a sad day.
So while this poor man addressed his overwhelmingly hickish and partially drunk audience, my fellow co-workers and I sat in the kitchen discussing matters fit only for the most educated and sophisticated: scary movies. It was during this conversation that I had a moment of self-discovery. I realized that I am not scared by most scary movies. Sure, I may jump when the masked man with the ax jumps out of the closet, but that is more me being startled than truly scared. I come out of most scary movies thinking, well that was highly entertaining, but not at all realistic. And why should I be scared of something that can't happen? That's not to say things don't creep me out. Our discussion of scary movies led to a discussion about the creepiness of our workplace after dark. I mean, we're talking about a huge country club with lots of dark hallways leading to who knows where. During the course of this conversation, I was introduced to "the mechanical room." In order to get to this room, one must go to the basement of the clubhouse and go through a series of obscure doorways and dark hallways. Upon arrival, you are greeted by a roomful of large, mysterious machines and a humming so loud you can't hear yourself speak. In the far corner of this room, is another small, dark room with the creepiest looking floor-to-celing vent I've ever seen. I don't think I'll ever enter that room alone, day or night. I also find myself extremely nervous every time I must enter one of the 2 walk-in refrigerators we have in the kitchen. I can just picture the door closing behind me and refusing to open again. Then I think of the scene from The Shining when Jack Nicholson's wife locks him in the huge walk-in refrigerator in the hotel, which is identical to the one I must enter. We all know things can only get worse from there. However, I was happy to learn that there is a safety release on the inside of these things, so if I ever did get locked in, I could just turn a knob and the whole door would come off. But I think if it ever came to that, I might be too freaked out to remember such a device.
