2 posts tagged “awkward”

While I'm nervous about the preschool-to-kindergarten transition and contrary to my last post, I'm quite excited about the school and school district Lorelai will be in. 

I went to a PTA meeting this weekend. 

Kids were invited and it was a potluck.

Guess who looked like a child predator and a food moocher?  THIS CHICK OVER HERE.  I totally forgot the potluck aspect of it, and Lorelai was hanging with fam at the park and opted out of the PTA meeting thus making me appear that I just wanted to hang around small children.

Whatever.  I volunteered for stuff throughout the year (mostly computer-related and writing newsletter-type stuff), I met Lorelai's teacher (she's super cute, young and short. Not that any of those things matter...), met a few other parents, etc. 

I also totally chowed down on some edamame that a parent brought.  Like, squeezing in between groups of small children in order to get to the edamame bowl... multiple times. 

I do not do well in buffet type settings.  I mean.  I do.  But I have to do a lot of mental prep: "don't pick from the buffet display. don't yell 'YIPPEE IT'S ALL YOU CAN EAT!' don't embarrass the people you're with but running up and down the buffet line and doing the Arsenio Hall 'WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP!'" etc.  I'm mostly kidding about this mental check list.  Mostly.

Anyway.  Edamame was consumed. Volunteer hours were committed.  Elbows were rubbed.  It was cool.

Also, I had a very classic, awkward moment with a parent.

Goldie: Blahblabhblahb Lorelai, kindergarten, new to school, blahblahblah.

Other Parent: Blahblahblah Kid's name, first grade, did really well, blahblahblah.

Goldie: Do you know anything about the different color groups?  Like, I know there's yellow.

Other Parent: Um.  Yellow?  Color groups?

Goldie: Yeah.   Like, they separate the kids by their different colors?

Other Parent: By their different colors?  Well, there's the African American Connection group...

Goldie: Um... Okayyyyy...  But I thought that the kids switched teachers throughout the day according to whatever color they are...

Other Parent: Ohhhhhh...  I thought you meant ... by RACE.

Goldie:  *gasp* NOOOOOOooooo.  You thought I mean yellow, like, ... Oh no no no.  Hahahaha!

The color thingie I was referencing was just a kind of temporary assignment.  There are three color groups - yellow, green and something else, I think.

Anyway.  Excited about PTA.  I kinda wanna be one of those die-hard PTA parents.  The one that other parents see coming and cringe cus they know she's asking for money/volunteers/parents souls.  Yeah.  That's what I wanna do. 

Elevator talk is stupid.  You don't know each others' names, you don't know what one another does (except you know they work on, say, the lawyer's floor, or the hospital floor, or the computer people floor, etc.), you don't really even care to talk.  You're in an elevator for 37 seconds with folks you see everyday, and while you don't typically talk to, there is an inclination to speak due to the commonality of your office building or because of the silence that some folks find awkward.

Typically, I don't fall into the category of 'we must talk for 37 seconds.'  I usually find it grating.  I feel there is no obligation owed to any party in the elevator to make generic conversation.

Today, though, has been a weird kind of day.  I've been a bit out of sorts.  And I am blaming the scenes below on my having been a bit out of sorts.

What had happened wuz: I got in the elevator after work with.  The people from the lawyers floor were in there.  My guard was up.  Cus see, lawyers and insurance agents are typically natural born enemies (well, the lawyers that work with insurance agents are. there are good lawyers out there... don't know if I can necessarily say the same about insurance folks... but you didn't hear that from me).  BUT I DIGRESS...  My guard was up. 

They're in the elevator discussing something and I join for the descent to the first floor to go home.  The topic at hand: gaming systems.  Something I don't know much about.  Yet, for some reason (see: out of sorts) I felt inclined to contribute to the already-flowing conversation.  While innocent enough, I felt compelled to correct one of the guys when he said Sony made XBox, cus I don't know a lot about gaming systems, but I do know that Microsoft made XBox. 

Now, the situation wasn't as awkward as I so graciously painted below (see the detail of my hair, eye color and cardigan), but I felt it was.  Granted, there were a few blank stares after I spoke, and I interpreted those blank stares as "Um. Why are you talking?" but I'm sure my interpretation was scewed cus, well, I don't know.  I'm just sure that that's not what they were really thinking.  But I kinda think it was.

Anyway, this is what the 37-second exchange felt like:

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