QWS prep
It’s that time of year again. The Quiet Adventure Water Symposium is this weekend. The last time it was held as an in-person event was March 2020. You know why.
I was there that weekend. I didn’t get COVID. I was nervous as all getout though. Every time I went to the ladies powder room, I happy birthday washed my hands. I think hand-washing is a good thing but that birthday stuff seems kind of stupid now that we have figured out it’s an aerosolized virus. I no longer birthday wash my hands. Mostly I wash my hands in my HOUSE though. Where I probably never did have to do the birthday wash.
I had a very weird encounter at that symposium. I went to watch a presentation. I sat in the first row. A guy and his wife came in and the guy SAT RIGHT NEXT TO ME AND PULLED HIS CHAIR OVER SO IT WAS JUST ABOUT TOUCHING MINE! That would’ve freaked me out even if a pandemic wasn’t about to hit. You can bet it freaked me out even more knowing (or not really knowing) what was next. The odd thing was that after asking me a couple of weird questions, he (and his wife) LEFT five minutes into the presentation. Real human being or alien entity?
The GG is back into the swing of things and excited to go and help man our booth this year. Me? I am not going to attend. Is it because of COVID? There is an element of that especially since little outbreaks have been happening lately and I know most people won’t mask. But it’s more than that. This trip normally involves three or four restaurant meals with groups of people. And an entire day of hanging around at an event with a bazillion people wandering around. And being SOCIAL! As much as I have always enjoyed this event it takes a LOT out of me. I am an introvert, remember? I can usually prepare myself for this event but this year I do not have the psychological stamina for it. I am going to stay home and chill out and clean up after last weekend when I didn’t get to do my regular cleaning chores because of all the ice storm refugees hanging out and about 🤣
Oh yeah! Today one of the GG’s main hiking/backpacking buddies for the last year or so spent the day with us. They were in the GG’s lair messing around with photos at one point and when I heard her start talking (intelligently) about databases, my ears TOTALLY PRICKED UP. Somehow I had missed this part of her background, which is maybe easy to understand since she has MANY interests and has done MANY things! And she knows way more than I do about database work although I have dabbled in it from time to time.
February 28th, 2023 at 10:45 pm
I am certainly less confident in groups these days and much less social. I would pass also. I wonder what that guy was up to! I’m always curious about those kinds of anomalies.