When I first met Just A Girl up in Portland, I remember that I was enormously chatty. Seriously, the whole time that we were moving stuff out of the truck, taking stuff from my ice chest and putting it in the hotel fridge, and generally getting me settled after two days of camping, I couldn’t shut-up.
When I met Homer-Dog and his lovely wife (aka “The Wife”), I was pretty close to myself, I think. Held up my end of the conversation without dominating it, felt calm and casual and pretty much balanced.
This weekend I met fellow bloggers Aly and Mel (with Mr. Wonderful along for the ride) for a picnic and general meet-and-greet at Descanso Gardens. I’m not afraid to admit that I was a bit nervous going in; after all, we’re talking about meeting three people at once and, well, you’re starting to see the pattern here, aren’t you?
True to form, I think I was probably a bit quieter than I am normally, a bit more restrained. I suppose that’s to be expected, of course, when interacting with a group of people who are already well acquainted with one another. Still, I hate that awkward feeling I always get when I’m around new people. I so often wish I was like my Mom, who can instantly establish a rapport with anybody new she comes in contact with. Seriously: she can interact with total strangers on the street like she’s known them for years.
None which I mean to detract from the coolness event itself. The picnic was great, with enough tasty salami and bread and cheese for all, followed by a walk around the garden. In fact, after they departed to go home and rest (they had done a fire-road hike that morning that, due to my bum right knee, I was unable to join them on), I headed back into the garden to sit under the redwoods for a bit. Even walked up to a tree or two and breathed in that oh-so-wonderful scent that only a coast redwood has.
(Just as a side “ain’t that interesting” tidbit: the spiders in the garden (and I have no idea what kind they are) have an interesting defense mechanism: get too close to the web, and they start shaking. The whole web bounces up and down, quite independent of the breeze or anything else that might otherwise be the cause. Isn’t finding little things like that cool?)
Aly and Mel and Mr. Wonderful are, naturally enough, very cool; all one has to do, of course, is to read their blogs to know what funny, interesting (and darn good ‘lookin!) people they are. Hopefully they will want to meet again at some point, and when we do so, I will be less shy and more, well, “me”.
Oh, and Mr. Wonderful? Dude, that guy has, like, some seriously amazing hair. Really.
So, yeah there it is (and Vicky could probably make a way cool graph out of it). One person = I’m a motor-mouth. Two people = just about normal. Three people = a little bit shy. Hard to believe such a minor change could make such a difference one way or the other.
Yeah. I know. I don’t understand my wacky mind either.
The GeekHiker 
Fun! Your other readers are sad to not have met you in real life too. 🙂
By: singlefabulous on July 27, 2008
at 11:24 pm
You did better than me.
I held my own in Oregon after the first day but when we met HD and The Wife I came over all shy and quiet.
I have a limit of one.
By: just a girl on July 28, 2008
at 12:07 am
I think two’s my limit, as well.
I went to a Blogger meet-up in Boston a few years ago, in which there were close to 50 people in attendance.
I don’t think I talked to more than 2-3 at a time the entire night. Big groups intimidate me.
By: East Coast Teacher on July 28, 2008
at 8:30 am
So, I guess the surprise party we were planning to throw for you and about 50 of your closest bloggy friends is out of the question?
By: Dingo on July 28, 2008
at 9:15 am
Wait wait, no pictures????
By: cripkitty on July 28, 2008
at 10:33 am
you know what’s kind of funny? i think that is totally the way i would be in each of those situations.
one person, there can be silence to fill. so you talk and talk.
two people, it can be pretty comfortable. conversation flows.
three people? i mean, i don’t want to be the loser. or chatty cathy. or whatever. i’m way to paranoid or analytical to be me.
By: kristin on July 28, 2008
at 11:16 am
You were great and seemed very relaxed! We were so excited to finally meet you and DEFINITELY want you to lead us on one of your cool (shady!) hikes when your knee is feeling better.
Your compliment on Mr. Wonderful’s hair made me laugh out loud. I’m sure he will be pleased. 😛
Now if we could just get Alysha to post one of those darn pictures of the 3 of us…
By: Mel Heth on July 28, 2008
at 11:54 am
I’m right there with you. I’m always uncomfortable meeting with new people. The Wife, Her Brother, and Father – place them in a room full of strangers and by the end of the night no one is a stranger anymore. I’m jealous of their ability to just step up and start engaging with people.
You and JaG were pretty easy but I, like JaG, was a little quiet. You and the Wife filled in the silence quite well.
By: Homer-Dog on July 28, 2008
at 4:21 pm
I’m a total freak because I am the opposite. I can work a crowd, but I’m a shy little mess one-on-one. Weird.
By: thecoconutdiaries on July 29, 2008
at 8:43 am
I too am the opposite. The more people around the more comfortable I am socially. Put me one-on-one with someone and I get a little strange.
By: Rachel on July 29, 2008
at 9:36 am
Hey,
At the very least, you can predict your responses. My ADHD won’t settle into a pattern of any kind. Course, if it did. I wouldn’t have ADHD would I? But then, ADHD doesn’t exist… Its my parents fault
😉
By: passionphish on July 29, 2008
at 11:34 am
SingleFabulous – Really? No way…
Just A Girl – You were a bit quiet the first day but opened up quickly. I thought you did well with HD and The Wife.
East coast Teacher – Ouch. Still, no way you could simultaneously have a conversation with all 50 people! LOL
Dingo – Only if I get to meet everyone two at a time…
Cripkitty – Nope…
Kristin – Exactly. Nice summary. And I totally get the paranoid part too.
Mel Heth – I was sorta relaxed, sorta uptight. I kinda held my humor a bit from the outlandish stuff. Noooooo… pictures, that is.
Homer-Dog – Heh, I didn’t think you were quiet at all, but The Wife does quite nicely in the group conversation!
TheCoconutDiaries – Okay, that is a bit odd… 😉
Rachel – Another odd one. *grin* Amazing, as I’m so much more calm with one than with many!
Passionphish – True. I’ll have to keep it in mind for the future. I guess at the very least I can say “I’m just like my Dad…”
By: geekhiker on July 29, 2008
at 12:22 pm
hehe, i’m really similar. though i think for me the talkativeness with one person is fear of awkward silences … i feel a need to constantly fill silence with something 🙂
By: seine on July 29, 2008
at 12:46 pm
The day of you said I was quiet with HD and The Wife…
🙂
By: just a girl on July 30, 2008
at 8:06 am
We all did just fine and talked exactly the right amount – no more and no less. 🙂
By: Homer-Dog on July 30, 2008
at 3:58 pm
Heh. Thanks HD.
By: just a girl on July 31, 2008
at 8:00 am