February 20, 2008

  • a party

    so the strangest thing happened today.  I went to a party, and actually enjoyed it!  Ok, let me clarify, by party I mean an event with food, alcohol, and music, in which I know very few people, and the order of the night is socializing.  This would be contrasted with say a "dinner party" where one invites friends over for dinner, or a "gaming party" in which one invites friends over to play games, or a "tea party" where one invites friends over for tea and pastries (ok, I think you get the picture).

    So what was this "amazing party?"  Well, it was a work-related party.  In fact, it was an "Attendee Reception" for NANOG, which is..  Well, NANOG is basically a convention for a bunch of router nerds.  What's a router?  It's a layer 3 networking device which..  Err, forget it.  Let's just say it was with a bunch of pretty geeky nerds.  I hope I'm not insulting anyone (but if we refer back to my tact filters post - we know that anyone that went to NANOG or might be associated with that group probably would not be insulted by such a comment).  It was at the The Loft in San Jose, a beautiful location.  Nice space, upstairs and downstairs, I took some nice photos of it that I'll post later.  Food was decent, they had a nice patio, music was not bad as well.  But when I first got there, I wasn't actually having much fun..  Because I barely knew anyone and didn't have many people to talk to.  But I met up with some guy I had emailed earlier in the week, saying we'd have a chance to talk about his company's services and if they might work for box.  So we met up, chatted some..  He introduced me to his CTO, whom is this British guy who had many funny stories (well, funny to a router person).  Then he introduced me to more and more people, and I started to feel more comfortable.  At the end of the night, I even introduced myself to someone who worked at a company I used to work at..  Which was nice because I only do that when I am really feeling comfortable in the environment.

    So I felt good about the party, I had fun, made some contacts with people whom I suspect may be really helpful with getting some services that we'll need moving forward for box (it's amazing how difficult to work with sales people can be in this industry - it's rare to find good ones to work with, and when you do you have to hold onto them like treasures).

    Then came back "home" to los altos, and had a really long chat with my housemate, Nelly..  She had a lot on her  mind, and needed someone to talk to I guess.  But it was cool, it was fun listening to her story and her problems.  Well, fun in the sense that I think she felt understood, and that some of the insights and comments I made might have been helpful to her.  And she also said (again) how all my references had said really nice things about me.  It was nice to hear that, because I gave her as references my former roommates, and it's just nice to know that I'm a good person to live with.  That having me around is a positive thing. :)   And also I listed Benji as a reference, and it's also nice to hear she says really nice things about me (not that I have any doubt she would).  When I think about it, I'm so fortunate to be so well loved.  Jenny (Wang) also wrote me an email today that was really sweet and touching.

    When I was growing up, I was always jealous of the friendships girls had with each other.  I just always longed for that emotional closeness they seemed to be able to have, which is generally so much harder with either male-male friendships, or male-female friendships.  And for so many years I used to think about how I "didn't" have that, and how it was sad to "not have."  But, tonight the thought occurs to me, my perspective has improved over the years, and I see that I have been able to form those emotionally close friendships, and that I am so grateful for them.

    It's also interesting specifically that I've been feeling so much more thankful recently.  Every once in a while, a sense of gratefulness nearly overwhelms me.  It's something I've mentioned in posts here and there too, which is so much a change from years ago..  When my mindset was always full of sadness and angst.  Which still show up, but interspersed with thankfulness and positive thoughts as well. :)

    I have so much to be thankful for, may I remember all that I have been blessed with, and may that create in me a sense of joy and thankfulness that is a witness of the glory of God.

Comments (6)

  • that's interesting. i guess i've been kinda envious of those close girl-girl relationships too a little, now that you mentioned it. but i've always been closest to guys i think in general, and i think i've long felt that a girl-guy friendship bond is the strongest.

  • @elizyma - 

    hmm, that is interesting.. I always get the impression that your female friends are very fond of you. Which is probably also true for me, but it's been a perspective change to _see_ that. But, there definitely seems to be a tendency for some people to either prefer same-sex or opposite-sex friendships (and some that seem to not have much preference either way). And, now that you say it, I can sort of see what you mean by guy-girl friendships may be the strongest. At the risk of over-generalizing, one might say that females tend towards emotional intimacy in their friendships, while guys tend toward reliability and trust. I think those that prefer opposite-sex friendships to some extent are looking for the "full package," perhaps they want to find like-minded people who also want to imbue their friendships with both of these aspects. In addition, they have to overcome the natural barrier that exists in opposite-sex friendships, as it requires a greater initial investment - the resulting friendship is less easy to "throw away".

    I think at least this is the case in my own guy-girl friendships. That there is both that emotional intimacy, and also a sense of trust and loyalty. A sense of loyalty and trust that I sometimes hear my female friends express aren't present in their female-female friendships.

  • there's a tournament going on right now that's being commentated for the first time in english! very exciting, even though the commentary could be...better haha. oh well it's the first one so there's only up to go from here!

    if you're interested you can check it out at http://gsi.gomtv.com/

  • @Panda_of_Darkness - 

    cool, i downloaded the player but didn't have time to watch (too much work, sigh)..

    Do you play still? Maybe we can play some time, though I'm back to being a real noob (after not having played for about 8 yrs).

  • glad you enjoyed the party. seems like you enjoyed yourself at the party, too. those two seem related. :)

  • Well, NANOG is basically a convention for a bunch of router nerds. What's a router? It's a layer 3 networking device which." haha. the explanation might have kept going.

    that was an enjoyable read, of discoveries

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