I'm currently in Marietta, GA (slightly outside of Atlanta) for a friend's wedding. I've known said friend since undergrad, when I was a wee confused kid who'd landed up in far north Queensland and lucked out in finding some really wonderful people to hang out with. She's also provided me with some info about one of my alter egos (the marine biologist) as she's a sea/ocean/water (whatever we call it) geologist (she doesn't know I have alter egos). But, that's not my point. My point is: this was a wedding in which I knew NO ONE. None. Zero people. Except the bride and obviously the bride's not going to have time to stand around and hold my hand and make sure I didn't flounder in the waters of social oceans (dreadful analogy/metaphor/whatever we call it there). Instead, I was left on my own and am not sure how I did (not too well, I think, from a conventional social behaviour sense) but can say I had a marvellous time. So here's what happened:
I was placed at a table where there were 5 people (out of a table which seated 8). I was the only female (I later found out some of the lads were supposed to bring their wives and girlfriends but didn't--who knows why!) and I was the only person that didn't draw, write, own, edit comic books. In fact, I think I can name the number of comic book artists/writers I know on the fingers of one hand and have fingers left over. Oh and I know very little about So Bad They Are Awesome '80s films (the wedding songs were almost all from the '80s and there was a lot of 80s films discussions going on) and I'd just come off a 14hr buses/train journey+2 hr bus journey from Atlanta to Marietta (for a distance of 20 some miles. Yeah public transport!) so my comprehension/concentration skills, already fairly minimal, were shot.
And, yet, as I said, I had a great time. Why, you ask? Well, I think the main reason was that it was like hanging out with people I know. Someone would start off by talking about Thor and the conversation would jump from Helmsworth, Chris to ancient Norse myths to what they have in other religions/cultures to how women were portrayed in the comic book Thor vs movie Thor and then back to how ancient people conceptualized "men" and end with a joke. There were no rules but also everyone KNEW stuff. Romans? Yeah, they were killed by (long explanation)...Oh no, Romans were the ones who (another different explanation)...man, those Romans (joke). It was the sort of thing where your brain works to keep up and then you feel a bit energized afterwards. There was also no filter (ok, that was mainly me) as things like: "Oh, goodbye. Nice to meet you. Hope you have a good trip back. Gosh can we add yet another platitude to that? But, wait, Don't forget the platypus." made perfect sense (none of us really drank anything apart from copious amounts of coffee). My last words to them? (as I was worriedly waiting to figure out if the shuttle to the hotel had left without me on it and they were asking if they should wait with me, even though they had hours of driving ahead): "No, no worries. I'll just stay here and haunt this bloody place as a ghost."
Answer: That's a pretty perfect answer.
I mean, it's rare anyone says that to me. My uni friends would have been all: that Priya, she's so weird. Here, the folks thought that I'm sure (and thought I was rude, too, since I spent quite a fair bit of time trying not to fall asleep over the table) but didn't say it. And kept on keeping on even when it was obvious I wasn't doing much to uphold my end of the convos.
[This blog has gone from my observations about the news/uni stuff to my observations about me and my thrilling personal life. Let's just say it's observations on/about anything?]
ETA: To point out that I'm sure folks *thought* I was weird but didn't *say* it. I mean, I was operating on 5hrs of sleep for the previous 48 so, yes, high on adrenaline and coffee and sheer nervousness at knowing No One At All.
I was placed at a table where there were 5 people (out of a table which seated 8). I was the only female (I later found out some of the lads were supposed to bring their wives and girlfriends but didn't--who knows why!) and I was the only person that didn't draw, write, own, edit comic books. In fact, I think I can name the number of comic book artists/writers I know on the fingers of one hand and have fingers left over. Oh and I know very little about So Bad They Are Awesome '80s films (the wedding songs were almost all from the '80s and there was a lot of 80s films discussions going on) and I'd just come off a 14hr buses/train journey+2 hr bus journey from Atlanta to Marietta (for a distance of 20 some miles. Yeah public transport!) so my comprehension/concentration skills, already fairly minimal, were shot.
And, yet, as I said, I had a great time. Why, you ask? Well, I think the main reason was that it was like hanging out with people I know. Someone would start off by talking about Thor and the conversation would jump from Helmsworth, Chris to ancient Norse myths to what they have in other religions/cultures to how women were portrayed in the comic book Thor vs movie Thor and then back to how ancient people conceptualized "men" and end with a joke. There were no rules but also everyone KNEW stuff. Romans? Yeah, they were killed by (long explanation)...Oh no, Romans were the ones who (another different explanation)...man, those Romans (joke). It was the sort of thing where your brain works to keep up and then you feel a bit energized afterwards. There was also no filter (ok, that was mainly me) as things like: "Oh, goodbye. Nice to meet you. Hope you have a good trip back. Gosh can we add yet another platitude to that? But, wait, Don't forget the platypus." made perfect sense (none of us really drank anything apart from copious amounts of coffee). My last words to them? (as I was worriedly waiting to figure out if the shuttle to the hotel had left without me on it and they were asking if they should wait with me, even though they had hours of driving ahead): "No, no worries. I'll just stay here and haunt this bloody place as a ghost."
Answer: That's a pretty perfect answer.
I mean, it's rare anyone says that to me. My uni friends would have been all: that Priya, she's so weird. Here, the folks thought that I'm sure (and thought I was rude, too, since I spent quite a fair bit of time trying not to fall asleep over the table) but didn't say it. And kept on keeping on even when it was obvious I wasn't doing much to uphold my end of the convos.
[This blog has gone from my observations about the news/uni stuff to my observations about me and my thrilling personal life. Let's just say it's observations on/about anything?]
ETA: To point out that I'm sure folks *thought* I was weird but didn't *say* it. I mean, I was operating on 5hrs of sleep for the previous 48 so, yes, high on adrenaline and coffee and sheer nervousness at knowing No One At All.
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