seven types of people who show up at M.E. design happy hour
- the “hard core” — these few stay well past when everyone else has left, including the organizers
- the “waywards” — no one’s sure who they are or why they’re there, but they do show up…. and don’t really talk to anyone
- the “internationals” — these students don’t speak english well enough to get on with the rest of the crowd… but you gotta admire their willingness to step out of their comfort zone
- the “frat boys” — these guys are allllllllll about the beer. they show up just a bit fashionably late, consume as many beers as possible, and are gone the instant the alcohol runs out
- the “eager beavers” — these people live for office hours, and happy hour is treated as such. these schmoozers use happy hour to “get to know” their professors…. and seem not to notice there are tons of other cool people there to talk to
- the “groupies” — they come in a group, stay in the group, and leave with the group. it’s like oil + water with these folks.
- the “functionalists” — they come for exactly one beer and try to leave without getting stuck talking to anyone before they make their escape. happy hour is seen by these folks as a source of free beer, not as a social event.
oooooo, in writing this i came up with so many more! the ME design group hosts a happy hour every friday, and the location changes based on who hosts it. the dschool hosted yesterday, and i was totally blown away by how differently everyone uses the “hour”. if i had to categorize myself, i think i’d fall into the “intensely conversant” group. i’d get into relatively deep conversation with one or two people and then there’d be silence….. then “ok i’m gonna get another beer now” or “ok, i gotta go, nice talking to you”. made me think there’s really no graceful way to end a conversation minus an outside stimulus. if someone else walks up to the group, it’s an automatic out. phone call? nice out. you can always “go to the bathroom” but you gotta be careful not to use that one too much. no human being needs to pee five times in an hour.
seven things that i disliked about my voting experience this morning
- wobbly table… definitely distracting
- queue forming up the stairs – as in, you had to climb the stairs to get to the back of the line. and in doing so, pass an already cramped bunch of people. awwwwkward!
- assaulted by no on 8 campaigners on my way in and out. aggressive!
- dude in charge had no idea what was going on. made me think it’d be retardedly easy to commit voter fraud.
- poor quality pen provided… (pet peeve, what can i say)
- really weaksauce cardboard privacy shell. had this been a test, i could totally have cheated off my neighbor. not that i’d have wanted to, given the very awkward encounter i had with her just a few minutes prior.
- people making up their minds as they descended the stairs. seriously??? why would you have gotten to the polls at 7am if you didn’t know how you were going to vote? you have until 8pm! ay caramba.
yeah… it was sort of surreal. for a lot of reasons – first, because i was dressed up in my bike gear since i was on my way to work. second, because some guy who worked for apple (you can tell by the name badge) tried to hit on me on the way too tight staircase. third, because this crazy old lady behind me started ranting… oh wow, that was so awkward!! behind me for this were three ladies: one middle-aged, overweight woman wearing what i can only describe as unsuccessful 80’s makeup and a magenta jumpsuit… one overweight african american woman dressed very nicely… and one crazy old lady stirring up all kinds of trouble! she starts yelling about how excited she is that this day has finally come, how she can’t wait to go watch the polls all day long, how “we all know who we’re voting for… hahaha” and then proceeds to SLAP THE LEG of the african american woman, yelling “YOU BETTER!”
uh…. WHOA!!!! dude, sooooooo inappropriate. granted, probably every single person there was, in fact, voting for obama, so this example isn’t all that great, but how DARE she make that assumption that just because she was black, she needed to vote for obama? these people are so off the mark it’s ASTOUNDING!
ugh. one more day. then this all effectively goes away, and it’s out of my hands. but does that make me feel better? depends on what happens. after today, i’ll either be completely terrified or… just relieved.
seven unwritten rules of the locker room
- no eye contact
- no looking around for a shower; commit to one and go there without browsing around
- you may not stand idly at any point. you must always be doing something.
- no talking
- no acknowledging the existence of others
- you must be covered at all times unless you are standing under a running stream of water
- you must stay at least 10 feet away from any other human being
what a strange morning. i much prefer it when the locker room is empty in the morning. there are all these strange dynamics that evolve when you put 4 or 5 people in the locker room together… so much awkwardness! delicious!
