Not as bad as it could have been

[hrj]

Being March Crown, it rained. It poured, in fact. But it wasn't raining when I packed the car. And it was only lightly sprinkling when I set up camp. And the new pavilion (which hadn't been rain-tested before) was dry and snug. And it was warm and sunny when I struck camp. So all in all, one can't complain. (One could complain if one had set up in one of the campsites that looked fine on Friday evening but became lakes sometime during the night. But one chose higher ground.) I learned a few things about optimum staking under wind conditions, but the pavilion is remarkably stable despite its large surface area. The event was quite pleasant despite the weather -- I wandered around and chatted, which I'm getting a little better at with practice. Judged research papers for A&S, got someone started on spinning flax, chatted enthusiastically with someone about their field of interest and then got told later that I'd been "being intimidating". I'm so bleeping tired of that. If I don't show an interest in things people are doing I'm standoffish and unfriendly, but if I do show an interest in people's work I'm intimidating. After dinner and cleaning up, I took a turn around the field looking for congenial company, but pretty much all I could find were the big loud crowded drinking parties and small private groups that didn't include anybody I knew. In the end, nothing looked more appealing than going to sleep so I did.

The menu didn't quite go off as planned, mostly because I failed to review my recipes on-site. So I ended up heating the Fylettes en Galentyne for lunch by mistake ... and forgot about adding the vinegar-soaked bread crumbs to thicken it. There was plenty, so even when I realized where I'd gone wrong there was still enough for dinner. But then I wasn't really thinking and added the whole container of soaked breadcrumbs to what was by then half the dish, so it was decidedly too vinegary and I just fished the meat out of it and skipped the sauce. So I had the caboges for Sunday breakfast instead, which was fine because the morning was chilly and the dish was warming. The Caudle of Almonds turned out to be a Caudle of Hazelnuts because the container that I thought was more ground almonds was hazels instead. It was a bit weird, mostly because the commerical ground nuts included the skins. I think I need to just buy a bunch of blanched almonds and grind my own meal, although the commercial ground nuts are convenient for some things.

Comments

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

I agree with maestrateresa here. Also, you're both shy, so when you're talking to new people the shyness can come across as whatever the new (to you) person's own insecurities want to turn it into -- intimidation, haughtiness, meanness, whatever. You're not into small talk, so with nothing else to gauge you on, you become a blank canvas that they paint to suit themselves. It will say a lot more about them than you.

Remember, maestrateresa is the psych major. I'm the master manipulator. I can show you how to stop coming across as intimidating if you want me to.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Now, I will argue that I'm just as much "into small talk" as the next person -- as those who care to listen can easily find out. Of course, my notion of appropriate small talk topics may be a little skewed. What I continually hear from people who have actually made the effort is, "Wow, you're a fun person after all. Why didn't I know that before?" But I'm still the same person doing the same things.