Did I Step Into an Alternate Reality?

The economy sucks.  It finally hit me – at the bottom of the economic barrel – recently.  I get it now.  The economy sucks.  Even Alexandra is aware of this – offering to bust open her piggy bank to pay for food.  The economy sucks.

 

I ventured for the first time today to DCI Biologicals.  Those people who are in Carbondale know what I’m talking about.  It’s that big stone building that I’ve always thought looked abandoned.  I’ve never seen a person walk in or out of the front doors – and it’s always looked kind of seedy.  When I told friends that I was going to go there, they made comments about meth addicts and the like.  Oh boy, I thought.

 

Well, okay – this isn’t the cream of the crop of society, to say the least.  I’ll grant them that.  I don’t see anyone around here who look like they’ve been ripping the skin off their faces, though.  There are remarkably quite a few normal looking people here – of course, a number of college students. 

 

I’m getting ahead of myself.

 

I walked through the doors and blinked repeatedly.  At 11 am, there were no free seats in the lobby area.  I’d say the room holds (seat-wise) about 30-40 people.  I couldn’t believe that it was full.  Wow.

 

After waiting a while, I at least got to fill out my first form and talk with someone who works here.  I smiled and said it didn’t look like the crashing economy was hurting them in anyway – that, if anything, it looked to be helping them.  She laughed and said they’re now getting all kinds of phone calls asking what other things they’ll buy.  I shudder to wonder what, beyond plasma, these people want to sell.