Phyllis Doesn't Make Appointments

This morning I went to meet with my art advisor Phyllis because the "Art Tools and Equipment" class I want to take this summer is already full and today is the first day I can register. I needed Phyllis to get me into that class.

Phyllis is an older woman, very cool, who is definitely overworked and probably underpaid. Her office is, at best, the size of a closet. Actually I think it was a closet at some point. Anyway, Phyllis doesn't make appointments. She works from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. most days of the week and you just have to show up and wait your turn.

Knowing this from previous meetings, I decided to arrive early to beat the crowd. The Fine Arts Building parking lot is being demolished and a new parking garage is under construction. In the meantime, there is nowhere to park, so I drove around campus looking for a parking space for 15 minutes before finding one right across the street! How lucky.

I walked into the advising office. I was the only one there. Lucky again! I could hear Phyllis talking to a co-worker, so I sat down and waited. It was about 9:50. Shortly afterward, two girls showed up and sat down on a tiny couch. The waiting room was slightly bigger than her office; just enough room for a small couch and chair. Phyllis was still talking, so I began chatting with the two girls about majors, etc. Then an older man in a suit walked in. He asked if we were waiting for Phyllis and we all said yes. Then he said, "Well I have an appointment for 10:00." We three looked at each other. Then I said, "Phyllis doesn't make appointments." The man stared at me for a few seconds in disbelief. Then he opened his notebook and pointed to something and said, "See, I have an appointment." I didn't say anything. I was thinking about what I was going to do if he tried to get in before me! Luckily he acknowledged that he was there on behalf of his daughter and said he would wait outside the door (there was no more room in the waiting area).

Shortly after that, I went in to see Phyllis. While I was in her office, the phone rang and Phyllis excused herself to answer it. She told the person on the other end of the line that she would be there until 3:00 and to come anytime. After she hung up she mentioned how funny it was that a person would call her from just outside the building. I asked her if it was a man who said he had an 10:00 appointment. She chuckled and said yes, but that she didn't make appointments. I laughed and said that I had just spoken to that man and told him the same thing.

She said, "Good for you," and then got me into the class.