March 10, 2003
personal space issues
What was it about today that made everyone want to hug me?
Being the strange little introvert that I am, having grown up with four siblings, loving parents, and all that sort of thing, I really do not like to have my Personal Space invaded.
In my case, my P.S. "bubble" has a radius of at least three feet. If someone gets within the three-foot area, I usually scoot away, especially if it's someone I don't know well. Beyond that, I can comfortably hold a conversation at a distance of fifteen or twenty feet without noticing a thing until the other person gets up and moves closer. And with very few exceptions, I DO NOT like to be hugged. When peope try to hug me, I instinctively stiffen up. Sooner or later, most people get the hint. I don't mind people patting my shoulder or something like that (well, I don't like people tugging my ponytail either, but that's just a general aversion to having my head jerked around) but for the love of all that is caffeinated, do NOT hug me.
Sure, I appreciate the sentiment, inasmuch as I appreciate anything sentimental, but a nice firm handshake will get your point across just as well, okay? As far as I'm concerned, the only people allowed to hug me are immediate family members and Sorcha, who might as well be an immediate family member.
So I don't know what it was about today, but at practice for the musical, I was chased around the gym and cafeteria by three people wanting to hug me. I had to grab people (usually Daphne) and use them as human shields against the three Mad Huggers. One was Leigh, who's the touchy type anyway but knows I can't stand that, so she should know better, dammit. One was Bridget, who knows it as well and was just trying to be annoying. The other was the male lead, who actually succeeded by sneaking up on me. *grumbles*
Bridget even stole my Hat and wouldn't give it back until I submitted to the Hated Embrace. My Hat! For a hug! My HAT! *whimpers*
We did have an interesting theological conversation during dinner (brought by one of the drama mamas), which consisted of a rather fundamentalist Seventh-Day Adventist picking a "discussion" with a Catholic-waiting-to-happen, whereupon chimed in a Southern Baptist, a liberal Baptist, and a Heretic Christian (that would be me, yes), plus one person whom I think is Presbyterian. We started with eschatology (I made some comment about not believing in a pre-trib Rapture) and ended with... I believe it was the Eucharist. Fascinating stuff. About the only consensus we came to was that no one really knows what the End Times will be like, Left Behind notwithstanding, and that no one at the table believed in predestination, numerous Bible classes notwithstanding.
Being the strange little introvert that I am, having grown up with four siblings, loving parents, and all that sort of thing, I really do not like to have my Personal Space invaded.
In my case, my P.S. "bubble" has a radius of at least three feet. If someone gets within the three-foot area, I usually scoot away, especially if it's someone I don't know well. Beyond that, I can comfortably hold a conversation at a distance of fifteen or twenty feet without noticing a thing until the other person gets up and moves closer. And with very few exceptions, I DO NOT like to be hugged. When peope try to hug me, I instinctively stiffen up. Sooner or later, most people get the hint. I don't mind people patting my shoulder or something like that (well, I don't like people tugging my ponytail either, but that's just a general aversion to having my head jerked around) but for the love of all that is caffeinated, do NOT hug me.
Sure, I appreciate the sentiment, inasmuch as I appreciate anything sentimental, but a nice firm handshake will get your point across just as well, okay? As far as I'm concerned, the only people allowed to hug me are immediate family members and Sorcha, who might as well be an immediate family member.
So I don't know what it was about today, but at practice for the musical, I was chased around the gym and cafeteria by three people wanting to hug me. I had to grab people (usually Daphne) and use them as human shields against the three Mad Huggers. One was Leigh, who's the touchy type anyway but knows I can't stand that, so she should know better, dammit. One was Bridget, who knows it as well and was just trying to be annoying. The other was the male lead, who actually succeeded by sneaking up on me. *grumbles*
Bridget even stole my Hat and wouldn't give it back until I submitted to the Hated Embrace. My Hat! For a hug! My HAT! *whimpers*
We did have an interesting theological conversation during dinner (brought by one of the drama mamas), which consisted of a rather fundamentalist Seventh-Day Adventist picking a "discussion" with a Catholic-waiting-to-happen, whereupon chimed in a Southern Baptist, a liberal Baptist, and a Heretic Christian (that would be me, yes), plus one person whom I think is Presbyterian. We started with eschatology (I made some comment about not believing in a pre-trib Rapture) and ended with... I believe it was the Eucharist. Fascinating stuff. About the only consensus we came to was that no one really knows what the End Times will be like, Left Behind notwithstanding, and that no one at the table believed in predestination, numerous Bible classes notwithstanding.
Labels: friends
# posted by Liadan @ 8:34 PM 
