the crazylady

silly of me, i know, but i'm really into this picture. (it's better bigger. check it out here) i took it with my phone. i like the whole cameraphone thing because i like getting pics of random things. some turn out to be cool (at least *i* think they are) and some are pathetic but just plain funny, and make nice punctuation as i tell my friends about things i saw. i even have what i call my 'elevator gallery' that consists of pictures of my co-workers as we pack in the elevator at the end of the day.

here are a few from today...

this was in my lunchroom:



this is the view from one of the lunchroom windows:



and this was the 'foxy' sticker on the orange i bought from the 'crazylady':




so now i'll tell you about crazylady.

i have a deep fondness for crazylady. she runs the little convenience store in the lobby. i think she's around 60 and she's korean. she and her husband pastor a korean church and he teaches at portland state university. at least i think he does. or maybe not. maybe they're just students. the reason i'm not sure is that neither of them speaks english at a conversational level. she tries, but sometimes it just doesn't work. his english is much less than hers, and he's only worked in the shop twice when she was getting flu shots. she told me what he does and i still don't quite get it. she reads her Bible at the little table in her shop and plays the classical radio station really loud.

everyone calls her 'crazylady' when we talk about her even if we like her, because everyone always knows exactly who we're refering to. it's not that she's actually crazy. i think it's that the cultural differences just don't translate. sometimes she's cranky and short, sometimes she's chipper and tries to let you know about all the wonderful things she has in her store, and how little they cost. the problem is you don't feel quite sure you're understanding her, and she just keeps explaining. i end up smiling and saying 'oh yeah' alot.

today i forgot my lunch so i went to her shop on my first break and bought some california rolls, a bottled iced coffee, a yogurt and an orange (it was a "california foxy navel"). she handed me a paper bag for my things, and as i put it on it's side and started to set the little sushi carton in first, she took it out of my hands with a frantic 'no!no!no!' and made me repack it with the sushi on top.

i know for a fact that some of my co-workers are afraid of her, but i like her. she adds spice to my life, stories to my day and she sells california foxy navals. what's not to like?