i lost my check from the university of utah. i went to the payroll services website and it told me that i had to go in person to sign something. when i got there, the day was hot. i rode my scooter, the song that was playing on my ipod as i rode my bike was perfect. i followed the instructions and went exactly where i was told to, to get a new check. the receptionist was on the phone. she pointed her finger in the air, signaling me to wait, wait silently. i did. her conversation of personal nature continued for a while, but i found it amusing, so i waited. finally when she got off the phone, without saying a word she held her finger up in the same manner as previously, again. she walked to her purse and got a bottled water, she unscrewed the top very slowly and took three long sips of water. next she got a make up kit, one of those shadow boxes out, opened it and began to apply make up, looking into a little mirror in the box. i began to open my mouth to ask her a question and her finger went back up into the air, again without uttering a word. when she finished applying her make up and put everything away into her purse, in very slow steps she approached the counter that separated us. she looked at me in that expression that usually means: " yea, you need something?" i told her my name and where i worked and that i was a student and an employee and that i had lost my check and needed it replaced. without looking away from me she said: "what do you mean?" so i repeated everything that i said before. the whole time i was talking, she had her eyebrows expressing the look of utter confusion, like i just fell off another planet. i remember in my head wondering, if i had accidently been talking in georgian. after what seemed like a long explanation on my part, she just said: "did you loose a check?" i wanted to yell, yes, that's what i have been trying to fucking tell you. i can't be the only fucking person employed by the entire university of utah that has ever lost a check. instead i just said: "yes", signed the paper and ran far, far away.
