knitting encounter in the cashier's office

I stopped in at the cashier's office this afternoon to get reimbursed for some paint brushes I bought for the lab last March. (We use really thin paint brushes for mounting 30-micron-thin slices of tissue on slides.) Stupid bureaucracy. I was ready with my knitting, just in case I had a long wait, but I did not, which I guess was nice, though it meant I didn't get any extra knitting done. Still, the woman at the counter noticed my knitting and commented "that's a new one." We launched into happy fiber-related conversation (she had tried crocheting, but could only work in one direction), and even to the woman standing at the window to my right chimed in (she took up knitting as a means to stop smoking. So cool.). And at the end, I walked away with my long-lost $9.96 in my pocket.