sorethroat

so. i went to the hall where the "symposium" was being held, not knowing what, really, to expect. i went down a strange little staircase (u of t is filled with these mazes built into old buildings) and saw a table with snax and coffee, etc. i could hear the strains of a movie being played behind the doors of Room 100, the intended destination. i looked at the snax, found myself completely alone, and decided against standing there and stuffing my face. should, say, the dean of graduate studies (also an eminent holocaust scholar) emerge, i think it should look very bad.

also i was there to make my groupie-like impression on Prof. Hottie.

so i casually placed myself on an empty table off to the side (not sprawled across it, mind you...) and pretended to look through notes, my bag, my pocket lint - anything that would NOT paint me as an obsessive Hot Prof Stalker. sure enough, a few people emerged from the room after the movie noises ended, and applause, and Prof. Hottie was one of them. he beelined towards the bathroom, but i grinned at his Hotness in a slim black/dark grey suit. oooh that trim german thing just works so well sometimes...

after he emerged, he spotted me, i gave a little wave, and he said hello, but excuse him since he had to say goodbye to a colleague who was leaving. he did that, and i pretended to not be stalking or wetting myself some more...and he came back (aww, dude keeps his promises, too?) and made a little small talk about this guy who was leaving, and the weather, and the airport, and did i want something from the other table (the one not covered in Me, but snax) - i declined. i asked how it was going, and i said that i had only come for the scheduled Coffee Break. hahaha, sorethroat, what wit. (and what tits, perhaps? a girl can only dream of being objectified...)

i went inside the theater and tried to assess what spot would be best - up front? hmm, probably filled with know-it-alls, err, i mean academics. the back? too far away for him to smell my desperation. i then spotted the other Prof. Hottie groupie who is a nice guy admittedly, but has foiled my plans at one-on-one apres-class face time, more than once - turtleneck man! i thought, if i DON'T say hello and thusly sit near/by him, it will be very suspicious, and besides, i don't want to be an obsessive stalker on my own, do i? so i said hello and talked to him. though his stalking is much less obvious, since his attendance at the symposium is motivated by an "interest in the subject matter" (i'm sure) rather than "an obsessive love of Prof. Hottie". psh. oh well.

so Prof. Hottie spoke after the break, and he was given a very glowing introduction by the italian dude (the event was presented by the italian dept.) in charge, who mangled all his publications in an accent-tinged german. i was not wrong in placing dear Prof. Hottie on the Extreme Brilliance Pedestal, either, since this guy was doing the same, saying his publication list would elicit envy in a full professor...etc.

he gave his talk, and was all extra-cute and nervous in doing so...i took notes so it wouldn't look like, you know, the stalking thing...

then blah blah blah a few more people spoke, and Prof. Hottie got to come up again as part of a panel. we made some eye contact, and i of course scratched the tally into my arm with the rusty nail i brought...i mean, i broke it nervously nearly each time.

then i talked a bit more to turtleneck man after, since, you know, Prof. Hottie was talking to people and you have to match your exits perfectly. OF COURSE. Turtleneck man wanted to stalk one of the other speakers, so i said bye and ran off after my target.

and i would have lost him, but he actually saw me outside as he was walking away, and DOUBLE BACKED to speak to me. HOT AND NICE. woah. my head is nearly exploding. so he asked what i thought, and i tried not to sound too dumb or say anything like "i knew you were going to wear that tie" or "that's a foxy coat and i'd like to wear it naked" etc. i stepped on the snow, packing it down with my foot, and he did the same (alright, mimicry! excellent sign) - and i cracked another wicked joke and he laughed...heartily, perhaps. and then he said he had to go since it was so cold. of course, all this time i had been shivering like crazy, with the cold and also my nerve-tremors that come about as the result of the palpita-shuns'....i said "i'll see you later" in a very definitive way, making sure not to say "have a good trip!" or "good luck at the conference!" revealing that i know much more about him (and his travel plans) than he has expressed within the confines of our discussions, or the class. muhhahahaha. god bless google.

and as if that weren't all joyous enough - i think i've finally tightened up my topic for the paper, and i know he's going to fucking love it.

last time***next time