Homecoming Week: The Good, the Bad, and the Reek

Saturday was beautiful. The weather was finally on our side. Lola and Alaya came over early for breakfast. Yvette made them some French toast while I made myself an Eggs la Mexicana taco with jalapeño poppers and hash browns. I took my breakfast outside and ate while watching Alaya play.

That afternoon was Ram Jam, so I had some errands to knock out before we went tailgating. Dear God, was the town ever so fucking busy! I wasn’t sure what the hell was going on, but all the stores I visited were madhouses. It took great strength to maintain my sanity.

After the craziness of shopping, I came home to an empty house. Everyone had disappeared off to do their own shopping. What I wanted to do was meal prep for the evening so I wouldn’t have to worry about anything after tailgating. I prepped some King Ranch Chicken. I don’t think I’d made that in years, but damn if it didn’t sound really fucking good.

I met my family at Ram Jam around three. IT WAS PARENTS WEEKEND, and it was happening! It also helped that the temperature was nice and cool. The last one we attended was terribly hot. So hot that four members of the catering crew had to be hospitalized during the football game due to heat exhaustion. That’s scary hot.

We really enjoyed ourselves this time around. How could we not? The only thing this one was lacking was food. Aside from the always-excellent ribs, for some reason, the food just wasn’t that great.

That evening, I got dinner going, and Yvette and I watched some horror movie. It was a very nice Saturday.

Sunday was the day the Halloween decor went up. The spooky fall decorations came out. That means jack-o’-lanterns, ghosts, and lights on the front porch. I had a lot of fun finally getting all our Halloween stuff out of storage and scattered around the house. I even put up more outdoor decorations than I did before Yvette moved them. Our DIY witches from last year still look good.

That afternoon, while Yvette was off at her parents’ house, I did a little yard work, pulling weeds, and ran some errands. Afterwards, I went to the library to do some studying. I needed to get some work done, even though I really wasn’t in the mood. Some days, it’s hard to find that groove.

I think that’s why I didn’t get a 100 on my first quiz. I was really pissed with myself for getting an 80. Which is kind of weird because when I was in school years ago, I would have been satisfied with that 80. Now I seem to have become some sort of perfectionist.

I needed to go easy on myself. It was bound to happen. Eventually, during the week, I found the right answers, and I beat myself up even more over the sloppy mistakes. What can you do but try harder next time?

Monday, I woke up with a tummy bug from hell. Starting the week off right with a vomit session. Great.

It was Homecoming week, and I really didn’t want to miss work. I wasn’t really sure what had gotten the better of me, but it sucked. I texted my boss and opted to sleep it off. I took some meds and dozed the day away. Whenever I was awake, I was in the bathroom. Really rather sad.

Tuesday wasn’t much better. I couldn’t spend another day in bed, so I curled up on the couch for hours. I was able to keep some saltine crackers down, and I had a grocery delivery from my mom. She basically sent everything she would want if she were in my shoes. Very kind of her.

I was getting stir-crazy by the afternoon. There is only so much lying around I can put up with. I took a walk down the alleyway, and it exhausted me. Time to go lie down again. At least I was done vomiting.

Wednesday, I decided to go back to work. I still didn’t feel 100%, but I was tired of being at the house. I had to get out. Plus, like I said, it was Homecoming week, which is one of my favorite weeks on campus.

The mornings were now down to the upper 50s. As I was walking across the parking lot to the office, I noticed all the doors were open. I figured they were just letting the cool morning air refresh the office. That was until I noticed the giant fan blowing air out from inside the office.

In that moment, I almost turned around and went back home. I was still a little queasy, anyway. But I didn’t want to miss any more of the week’s festivities.

It turned out something had died in our office. They were trying to fumigate the place as best they could. I can only imagine what it would have done to me had I not taken Pepto before leaving the house.

The stink was something awful. They had searched and searched all Tuesday to no avail. My coworker even called in Wednesday morning to avoid working in that stink another day after what he had endured on Tuesday. He has a sensitive nose, so I can understand.

Thank God I was able to get away. I spent most of the morning out of the office, catching up on things across campus. I had no intention of spending my first day back after a vomiting sickness stuck in an office that smelled like a dead, decaying animal.

The morning was beautiful, so I had no problem with that. Anything was better than the alternative. Even in my weakened state, keeping busy was better than dealing with that putrid stink. So I made myself do all the work. Even the stuff that could have waited went out of the office.

It was also Homecoming week, so while I was out and about, I made a point of checking out the door decorations. Every year, departments can sign up for a decorating contest, and this year, some of them went all out.

Yvette even had a little stake in it this year, since two of the three departments she works for decided to decorate. She even lent her student workers to the cause. I’m not biased when I say that both departments did a damn good job.

When I returned that afternoon, the heat of the day was having an effect on the carcass rotting away somewhere in our office. The stink was even worse. It certainly wasn’t getting better, and it had us all wondering where the hell it could be coming from and what the hell had died. We were starting to think that maybe it was something larger than a mouse.

Thursday morning, the stink was even worse, and it was only 58 degrees outside. What the hell was the heat of the day going to do?

My coworker, Troy, was back, and he was almost hysterical about working in such conditions. He made a fuss to everyone about it, but again, they had looked. Just not well enough.

Instead of going through the proper channels, he decided on his own to go straight to the top of the chain of command. He called our boss’s boss and, in a state of outrage, made a point of telling him that if this were happening somewhere else on campus, it would have been taken care of, but because of who we were, no one cared. He said he shouldn’t have to use sick or vacation time to stay home. He even slammed the phone down on him.

It was a nice and proper little temper tantrum. Embarrassing, really. Although he had a point, and it was what we were all thinking. Something would have been done on Tuesday if it were happening in the President’s Office.

The results came about rather quickly. The Big Boss Man came back to our office himself to address the problem. Troy kept his distance. I don’t blame him. He hadn’t used the proper tone when addressing a superior and could face a write-up.

Big Boss got himself a twelve-foot ladder and started removing ceiling tiles, searching for the source of the rot. Eventually, he traced it to the wall in our break room behind the fridge. With the help of a hammer, he beat out the drywall and found what was causing all of us to want to puke.

A dead fox.

I would have never thought that one of the poor campus foxes was the source of the odor in our office. The poor bastard had somehow gotten stuck inside our wall and couldn’t get out. A truly horrible way to die. I felt so sad for it, but relieved that we could eventually get our office back to smelling normal again.

Again, that day, I spent most of my time out and about, trying to keep away from my ripe office. It was fortunate that I had things to do as an excuse to stay away. And the weather was just perfect. Fall is truly my favorite time of year. The nice, crisp morning air smelled so refreshing after spending even a little time inside the office.

I made a trip to the museum to check out a new exhibit on campus. One of my favorite things to do while on the clock is check out a new exhibit. It’s a blessing, really. Just one other perk of the job.

The week slipped away, and Friday was finally upon us. The office was still a stink hole, but not nearly as bad as it had been in the preceding days. The smell of rotting flesh lingers a little longer than anyone would wish it to.

Once again, I was busy and able to keep my nose out of the office, where the cool autumn air was fresh. Yvette’s mom had a little procedure done, so Yvette was off work with her. I was kind of lonesome without her. Does that sound pathetic? It probably does.

The monarch butterflies were migrating, and I was lucky enough to see them all over campus. That’s a sure sign that fall is actually here to stay. They have that built-in knowledge to know when it’s time to migrate.

That night, we went to the Bonfire and Bash. It was the first of its kind. The inaugural event. Small turnout, mellow vibes, but free booze and snacks. We actually enjoyed it. For a first event, I’d say maybe 75 people showed up. That’s not bad.

The bonfire was about what you’d expect. Alaya was dancing and having fun until she started to feel the heat coming off it. I suppose that’s when you call it a night.