I accepted a happy hour invitation for this evening. A vendor invited the boss lady and she forward the invite to me. Since she was going and is eager for me to make new work connections, I accepted. My challenge was to find something to find conversation starters since I am in a new industry. Because my work day is over at 2:30, we would also be arriving separately, so I would not be able to hide behind her. I am not as comfortable making conversation and walking into events alone as people might think (even if I do have a big mouth). It might seem that I am outgoing, but that is just a behavior developed out of necessity. My personality type has been categorized as an extroverted introvert. One of my ploys is to wear an interesting piece of jewelry so that if I have no one to talk to and there are women around, a conversation will generally ensue. I chose the necklace above.
Well, it turns out that there were more men than women at this event, at least there were more males near the door. My worst fear came true. I was on time, but my boss had issues with her GPS and arrived about forty minutes after me. Once I got in the door and ordered my glass of wine, I knew I'd have to brave the smallish but unfamiliar crowd. If I'd paid for my own drink, I could have nursed it at the bar, but the vendor was picking up the tab, so I spotted two guys with the correct logos on their shirts and introduced myself. I do now have about five new connections to add to my on-line network.
The necklace never came into play, I did a good job networking too. The space was a renovated factory and after about 20 minutes we were all given a tour (there is a distillery as well as a brewery and a few other operations). When it was just about over, my boss came in. What a relief! But at least she saw that I was willing to put myself out there and represent the company.
I find that the subject of drinking helps make conversation when you are at a bar. As the conversation was dying down, I decided to pick up a growler and had a nice conversation about beer with a couple of other people. Admittedly, it was a shock that this growler of "Alien Technology" double IPA was $35, but I did want to bring a token home to TBG. This growler is different than what we usually see. Me thinks it would make a very nice lamp, so that is what I will probably do with it.
As I was leaving, thick snowflakes were beginning to fall. One whopper of a storm is supposedly headed our way. Good thing I am not working tomorrow. We do have a grooming appointment for Teddy that I hope still stands. Thursday is my Friday, so I guess my weekend got off to a productive start!
From one extroverted introvert to another, great job! (Wonder if it's a dancer thing?)
ReplyDeleteThank you Meg! When I used to dance, I enjoyed practice and rehearsal much more than performing. How about you?
DeleteI enjoyed performances if there was a big crowd--anonymous people I will never see again don't bother me. I loved a good, difficult class, but hated when parents, or kids from another class, would walk into class before the end and chit chat. When I was adjudicated to a smaller, advanced group, I formed a close friendship with one other dancer, but for the most part, my dance classmates were like co workers--we did our thing very well together in class, and went home.
DeleteI can walk into a crowded restaurant, sit at the bar by myself and order a meal with no problem. Making small talk with somebody I barely know, however, really pushes me out of my comfort zone.
When I occasionally had to go to out-of-town, two-day meetings when I was working, I actually went without dinner a couple of times rather than have to walk into a restaurant alone. I finally got over that, but I'll never be comfortable doing it.
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