![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Sep. 16th, 2010 05:30 amBeen away from the computer most of several days, not about to change due to training sessions and happy hours!
Last night I went to McCormick & Schmidt and got to see people with far better social skills than myself, kind of taking mental notes it was so obvious. The racist in me was annoyed that again as I hung out with a almost all black crowd that to do so without making waves I had to tolerate a smattering of phobic comments. No harm necessarily meant but as a guest I didn't feel it was my job to stand up nor were any egregious enough to require responding. The comments weren't so much hateful directly as meant to establish machismo by dissociating with that "not masculine" element, or the religious xtian reference of all gay anything as "wrong" to establish the speaker as "right." I was amazed to find a man I worked with in 1995 who has 2 kids (and a dog!) looks exactly the same as the time I saw him last. Jeff is a trip - he talks to, flirts with, and makes sure each female around him is entertained. The crowd is a bit different than people I'm used to hanging out with, and it was interesting to see the little differences between those rules and those of my friends. While I'm watching Jeff like a retarded understudy, I also recognize that I'm not "as bad as I used to be." Being quiet is actually an improvement for me, or not being so insecure that I need to make myself the center of attention.
Unfortunately, Jeff was the only one I saw from my 1995 crew. The rest were all strangers to me - all very nice, engaged in conversation and swapped snacks & drinks, but I wear out being around strangers for long.
As I left I passed 5th column and whatever club is open beside that old spot. There were hundreds of smoking hot super dressed up latinos there...my god everyone was done up and fine looking. Props to my latino community for...being hot.
Tonight is HH with my current coworkers, who are nice and with whom I'll be more comfortable, but who aren't all necessarily traditionally viewed as smoking hot.
Mmm coffee.
Last night I went to McCormick & Schmidt and got to see people with far better social skills than myself, kind of taking mental notes it was so obvious. The racist in me was annoyed that again as I hung out with a almost all black crowd that to do so without making waves I had to tolerate a smattering of phobic comments. No harm necessarily meant but as a guest I didn't feel it was my job to stand up nor were any egregious enough to require responding. The comments weren't so much hateful directly as meant to establish machismo by dissociating with that "not masculine" element, or the religious xtian reference of all gay anything as "wrong" to establish the speaker as "right." I was amazed to find a man I worked with in 1995 who has 2 kids (and a dog!) looks exactly the same as the time I saw him last. Jeff is a trip - he talks to, flirts with, and makes sure each female around him is entertained. The crowd is a bit different than people I'm used to hanging out with, and it was interesting to see the little differences between those rules and those of my friends. While I'm watching Jeff like a retarded understudy, I also recognize that I'm not "as bad as I used to be." Being quiet is actually an improvement for me, or not being so insecure that I need to make myself the center of attention.
Unfortunately, Jeff was the only one I saw from my 1995 crew. The rest were all strangers to me - all very nice, engaged in conversation and swapped snacks & drinks, but I wear out being around strangers for long.
As I left I passed 5th column and whatever club is open beside that old spot. There were hundreds of smoking hot super dressed up latinos there...my god everyone was done up and fine looking. Props to my latino community for...being hot.
Tonight is HH with my current coworkers, who are nice and with whom I'll be more comfortable, but who aren't all necessarily traditionally viewed as smoking hot.
Mmm coffee.
