The Advising Meeting

Since it's snowing outside today, I found it fitting to re-publish this story...

I woke up early and prepared a large meal of blueberry pancakes, fruit, fancy cheeses, and peppermint tea. I arrived just on time and was welcomed by my handsome advisor in the NCC lobby. I asked him how much time I had and he said one hour. I admitted that I had already chosen my classes and taken care of everything; he looked over a piece of paper I handed him and told me I did a swell job. When he asked why I bothered to make the appointment I told him that I had brought him breakfast. He got really excited and said, "Oh, boy! I LOVE blueberry pancakes!!!" At that point he motioned for me to follow him into his office.

I followed him through a snowy forest of pine trees. My nose was really cold but other than that, I felt great. We came to a small camp in the middle of nowhere where we sat down on logs by a fire. I took the Gladware containers out of my backpack and started to prepare the food. I asked Matt what he wanted and he selected a few cubes of parrano and some strawberries to start with. He took his mittens off and began to eat. I found some sticks and poked them through the pancakes and hung them over the fire. I sat directly across from Matt and when the pancakes were warm enough, I flung them at him. He caught them and ate them with his hands. I did the same thing. Both of us were very happy even though it was cold and snowy.

After we ate, I asked Matt what time it was. He pointed to a clock hanging on a tree which read 9:30. "Oh, I only have 30 minutes left." He thanked me for breakfast and asked if I wanted to go for a ride on his dog sled. Did I?! Oh, yes. I did. He introduced me to his 9 blue-eyed husky dogs which were named Communication, Critical Thinking, Strategic Problem-Solving, Valuing, Group Interaction, Global Understanding, Effective Citizenship, Aesthetic Awareness, and Information Technology. I patted Aesthetic Awareness on the head; she was my favorite. Matt traded his glasses for comical-looking goggles and pulled up his faux-fur lined hood. I sat on the sled and Matt stood behind me shouting encouraging words at the dogs.

It was fantastic; like driving with the windows down in the middle of winter after a sweaty concert. The dogs dragged us over snowy plains and rainbow bridges that led to other snowy plains. I looked back at Matt and he admired how handsome he looked in the big coat with the faux-fur trimmed hood. I asked him about his full beard which he previously told me he would never grow. He answered that it was a necessity when he got into the whole dog sled scene. I asked him what time it was again and he said I had 10 minutes. I asked if we could talk about cute boys and he said, "Totally!"

We talked about cute boys for 10 minutes and he made me a list of all the hot young professors I should seek out. He had the dogs take us back to the NCC lobby but before we got there he asked me to help him push everything into a small closet. We took the snow and the trees and the dogs and the rainbow bridges and the fire and the warm clothes and even his beard......and tossed it into the closet. A lady came in and told him his 10:00 was there. He winked at me and said, "Good luck next semester! I'm sure you'll do fine; I believe in you!"

As I walked out the door I heard him go, "Ooh, ooh, ooh! Wait!" I turned around and asked what he wanted. He opened a desk drawer and took out a shiny green stone hanging from a thin rope. He hung it around my neck and told me it was magical. "If you ever want to return to the Land of Snow and Rainbows, just close your eyes, hold this stone, and think about it. If it doesn't work just email me."

"If it doesn't work, I'm gonna come find you in the Gay Office in the morning."

"Pride Office, you mean."

"Yeah, totally. Thanks. By the way, you were so hot in that fir-trimmed hood."

"Thanks."

"Seriously, dude. You should wear it more often. It matches that one pair of shoes you have..."

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Hmmm. Maybe. I've gotta go now. Have a nice day!"

-November 1, 2008