Erroneous Expectations

Today I woke up knowing that my only real responsibility for the day would be running over to the Wood Theatre and picking up our props for Grease. I was excited as I always find props fun, especially when I get to discern which lamp will match the bedspread and that sort of thing, but I was also just a tiny bit nervous. See, in order to pick up the props we need to use a van, and in order to use that van we need to have someone from housing, and that someone was Miss Joanna Waggott, the Residence Life Manager (basically, head honcho) of Totem Park.

I don’t really know why I was nervous, it’s not that I am a bad resident, no, I wear my flip flops in the shower, and turn my iPod down at 9pm. I think it was just the position. This is the person most rule-breaking residents fear, she is at the top of the ladder, and gets the final say on just about every problem in Totem Park. I wasn’t really all that sure what I was expecting, but whatever it was, I was wrong. She’s actually really cool.

Let me elaborate on cool. She wears Vans, and not just plain old Vans, super cute polka dot ones. She loves music (just like me!) and introduced me to a new band, Vampire Weekend, (which are AWESOME, by the way) all while riding in her cute little car. She has a chic little apartment in Kwak, (who knew Totem had a chic little apartment!?!) and declares that she will always be a hipster. She is sarcastic and funny and nice and everything I never expected. Seriously, this is my kind of lady.

I am quite certain I will only see her from one side of the desk, as I have no plans to get in any fights or break any Totem rules, and I realize some people aren’t so lucky, but I want to get it out there that she is actually a really cool person. I think we tend to develop a sort of “us versus them” mentality in rez when dealing with higher ups, but throughout the course of this year I have been happily surprised to find that most RA’s, RC’s, and even Miss Joanna Waggott herself, are pretty awesome, laid back, and welcoming people. The point I am trying to get across is, when living in rez, don’t fall for the stereotypes and expectations that follow a job, because that big scary person at the top, is really just a hipster with a love for Vans.