I work as a network tech for a 24/7 ISP. I work alone, nights, 12 hour shifts. We are located on the edge of town, actually somewhat beyond, pretty much "the sticks". There's not much around here, point being. I sit in a warehouse room on a computer waiting for network alarms of one sort or another. Sometimes I can go all night without a single problem coming up or the phone ringing even once. Every so often it's a madhouse and I suppose that is when I earn my keep.

I have internet access and listen to a lot of music. I read, I draw, I do jumping jacks. I stand outside in a little fenced-in area and pace, but make sure to stay off camera so nobody bothers me about why I'm pacing around outside instead of staring at a monitor and basking in the fluorescent light. I chat with other 3rd shifters, night owls, antipodean friends in Indonesia or Australia.

If this all sounds incredibly dull, it is to illustrate what passes for the "strangest thing" to happen this week.

The past week a large skunk has been wandering around our parking lot. It sniffs around the side door and digs in the mulch in the landscaped flowerbeds. It's a big one, and kind of unkempt looking, even for a wild animal. This skunk is not concerned with hair care. This skunk does not rinse, let alone repeat. It's also not very afraid of cars, because once in a while someone turns around in the lot. Pepe - yes I've named it - will make like it's going to run off, but really isn't going anywhere. It's a skunk, you know? Nobody wants to mess with a skunk and Pepe knows it. It'll hang around for a couple hours usually, digging, then wander off around sunrise. I keep hoping it'll still be out there when my relief shows up in the morning, for obvious reasons. Not that I don't like my coworker you understand, in fact he's a close friend, but when the opportunity for a workplace skunk-spraying arises you know who I'm rooting for. I tried taking a cellphone pic of the monitor but the skunk was pretty much indistinguishable from the mulch. (Note: A real camera is going to be helpful with documentation.) I may get a little loopy in the wee hours but I'm fairly certain the skunk is there. Or was, as the weather turned cold again and I think Pepe is not much for cold weather. I anxiously await its return. In fact I am going to have to read up on what skunks like to eat.

There you have it, late-night entertainment courtesy of the local wildlife. A regular Audubon Society for the 3rd shift tech worker. The fact this is a nocturnal animal was not lost on me. I, too, have become close to nocturnal working here and suspect someday soon I will stop sleeping altogether and just turn into a swarm of bats or some kind of vapor during the day instead. That would be a lot more strange, but Pepe the skunk will have to do.