"What's your name? Where are you from? Why are you in Boston?" I've answered and asked these questions about 200 times in the last two weeks, hoping to cross the threshold from "I've seen your face but never talked" to "we are past the getting to know you barriers and can start building a real relationship". In case you are curious, Andrea; Seattle/DC; MA in Teaching. This last weekend I went with about 150 people from my church group to a camp to meet, greet, and eat. It was fantastic, but by the end of each night I felt like I had been speed dating for 12 hours straight. It's like a thousand first date conversations, trying to get a feel for the other guy and squeezing out any and all possible commonalities: geography, major, job, intl' experience, languages spoken, favorite movies, books, activities, and most importantly, a listing of all possible friends we have in common. Hopefully I've finally broken through to at least a few people and can contribute more to the conversations of this upcoming week than "Oh, right, your name IS Kirsten, not Kristen. Huh."
This post made me twitchy. I didn't know it was possible to feel social anxiety by proxy. ;)
ReplyDeleteI get tired of all of the common questions too, so I often mix it up by asking people what they're reading or what their favorite books are. If they give me a weird look or if they have to think about it too long, I know that we'll never be more than casual acquaintances. But if they launch into a long list of favorites, I know there's kindred spirit potential. :)
ReplyDeleteMiss you!
BTW, I LOVE speed dating. or I did when I was single. Exclusion: I loved speed dating when it involved talking to guys and flirting whith everyone I met. This kind might be different.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my life, Wendy - I can add an extra dose of social angst to anyone's life!
ReplyDeleteGood call Mel! I'll try that. I'm sure there are a thousand questions I could ask that would help me remember people equally well. Perhaps during my boring lecture on Thursday I'll write some up.
Miss you back.
Alana! Yeah, speed dating could be good, if it were with all tall, handsome, totally-into-me guys :) This kind is sort of tiring.
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