Teachers: things not to say

I was recently given my dad's palm pilot. It's amazing. I put my entire schedule in it, which is helpful when you're making a film. And I put a to-do list in, and peoples' phone numbers... So complete is my trust in my palm pilot, that this morning I was very confused when my phone rang. Who could it be? I picked up and, lo and behold, I had missed a meeting with my favorite teacher. That's right. And of course, my palm pilot is not to blame. It looks at me disapprovingly, shaking its little screen and saying "Why didn't you tell me?" Sigh.

Today I went to a theatre show. 3 short plays. I sat next to a theatre teacher and chatted him up (no, not for sex, but because he's in the theatre department and teaches an acting for film class. And since I make films... well... it's obvious why I would chat him up). Then on my way back to my seat during intermission, feeling proud of my networking skills, I heard someone say my name. I turned to look, and there was my advisor!

Having felt so confident in my verbal skills only a few minutes ago, I was stunned to find that nothing came to my mind, or my mouth. So, to avoid one of those awkward silent moments with head-nodding and "so..."s, I said:

"What are you doing here? Isn't it your bedtime or something?"

when that (surprisingly) did not turn into a conversation, I went with

"It's just so weird to see you outside of your office."

Smoooooth. This for the woman I asked to write me two recommendations.