word on the street

I attended my first "all staff" meeting today at lunch time. There were about 30 people there. Mostly h.r. related news and introductions to new employees, including your truly...all I had to do was stand up, smile and wave...hello. I didn't know who the guy was running the meeting. He may have been prez. of the school.
Several students in the shop drilled holes into the sides of bottles, glass bricks and sugar dispensers. I'd never done it before...gotta stay ahead of them...
The rate of non-students walking in off the street seems to be about 1 every few days. Last Friday I was visited be an earnest guy in his 50's who was soliciting donations for an AIDS walk this past week. The donation form was legit. Gave me a bit of his background, unsolicited of course, sharing some humbling moments about his son. He also told me about his volunteering for the homeless. He didn't seem crazy at all, very engaging. We chatted about politics. I gave him twenty bucks. He stopped by today and thanked me.
Today I was visited by a woman, I'm guessing, again, in her 50's, not homeless, said she lived in one of the condos nearby. Jarringly perky and effusive in that way that makes me bristle, turned up to 11. The prospect of a design-y shop in the neighborhood was the most exciting news since...whatever. It was closing time, I was trying to lock up for the night as she went on briefly about a product idea she was thinking about, working on, or something, and that it would be great to brainstorm with some designers and "bing" launch a product!