1. There is an unwritten rule in our office that you don’t talk in the lifts.  Even if you know someone in there, you must talk in hushed tones.  It’s like an extension of the commute, I suppose.

Anyway, some of the time I obey this rule.  Some of the time I don’t (it is so awkward when there is only one other person in the lift with you, and I mostly just stick to asking why someone has 4 cups of coffee, or like last week, just a bottle of ketchup in their hands.  You get the picture).

So, it was a bit of a surprise when yesterday, someone got in the lift, looked at me and said ‘Nice flower’.  I have this flower on my jacket to try to make it less corporate and black:

Now, I know my response should have been ‘thank you’, but I was so stunned that someone had spoken to me, rather than the other way around that instead I went for:

‘Thanks.  I super glued my fingers to it last week.’  There was a confused silence so, I continued ‘the beads were falling off, so I tried to glue them back on, but you had to hold them to make them stay and I ended up stuck to it’.

The man looked a little pained, and we still hadn’t reached the ground floor, so I thought I’d add a bit more colour to things.

‘I probably shouldn’t use superglue.  But at least it wasn’t as bad as that time I glued my hand to the gear stick of my car.’

He laughed.  Then, as we left the lift he asked which floor I sit on.  He said he would be avoiding it at all costs….

2. When I get off the coach which takes me from London to close-ish to Bumpkinsville, I have a short walk to my car.  It only takes about 10 minutes so I usually spend it thinking through the day, planning the next day, or considering what topping to put on my toast when I get in.  I don’t usually listen to music, but last night I discovered that I can crochet on the coach without being sick, which was very exciting.  I couldn’t do it in silence though, so I put my earphones in and was very restrained by not singing along (anyone who does fitball with me will confirm that if I know anything close to the words, I’ll mutter the along with enthusiasm, if not with much tune).  My walk to the car is down a quiet, empty road and footpath, so I admit, I kept my earphones in and made up for my earlier restraint.  I was singing ‘I’ve got a burning desire for you, baby’ really quite loudly as I passed by a parked car.  Which, I then discovered, had a man in, with the window open.  He looked terrified.  I attempted an explanation that I didn’t have a burning desire for him, although I was sure he was very lovely, before scuttling off, and trying to work out another way to walk home for the rest of my commuting life.

So I’m not sure I make friends.  Or influence people.  Maybe I just make an impression and scare people a bit.  It’s probably best not to follow my example :o)