My office is at the front of the building, with a large picture window overlooking a stunning view (okay, overlooking the Fire Lane and 2-story parking lot). So the building’s comings and goings occasionally catch my attention.
In a span of 3 days, I’ve seen two ambulances quietly show up (no flashing lights, no sirens, and no discernable hurry), accept delivery of a gurney, and just as lackadaisically drive away. I didn’t catch a look at the first one, but yesterday’s wheeled a pale, closed-eyed, motionless ( i.e. downright dead-looking) old man right past my window on the handicap ramp* during the on-load. The statistical matters (2 occurences, 3 days, and that’s just times I happened to be in-office AND notice something through the cracks in the vertical blinds), besides the obvious matter of potential cadavers floating past 5 feet away from my workstation, left me a little squicked. Surrounded mostly by unspecified researchers ( i.e. a paper sign recently appeared on the front door pointing “sleep study” participants to the side entrance) and anonymous biotech start-ups, I want to know…what exactly is going on in my building?
On a semi-unrelated note, I got out of my car yesterday in said parking lot, happened to glance in the backseat of the car next to me and… who the hell keeps a copy of the DSM-IV in the back seat of their car?
* Handicap ramp, n. Place outside where the entire buildings’ worth of smokers congregate (because they get shooed away from in front of the front doors by management) right in front of Jeff and I’s windows and smog us out of our office.
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