You see me as WHAT?!?!
So, I get to work this morning and we have our usual staff meeting/devotion time. When that's over, I'm back at my desk, trying to figure out what it is to have to do today. One of the employees, I'll call him Dex, begins to talk with one of the volunteers. I'm not really listening to them at this point, but I perk up when I hear Dex say "Yup, Laura can be quite a bear sometimes." He was joking and laughing, but he was serious as he said it - like it was a funny truth to be shared by all.
Now, I can defenatly be a bear sometimes (as we all can), and have been sometimes at work, but you don'st gotsta say it right out loud like that! Geez...
It reminds me of a couple other occasions like this. This other guy at my work once needed someone to help carry something heavy outside. I happened to be standing around by a group of guys he came up to to ask for help. He asked for help, they smiled and said "I should get Laura to help me, she's husky. A real husky gal."
I later found out that in the Native American culture (he was Native American) that being husky is considered a great thing to be. Aparently, its quite the compliment to be called "husky." Understandably, though, I wasn't too thrilled about it.
Another time, a guy I really liked was introducing me to his mother and his grandmother, along with a few of our other friends. He'd say "This is so and so, she does graphic design for a company. This is so and so, he works in youth ministry and teaches hockey to inner-city kids". Etc. Then he got to me, and said "And this is Laura. She's trouble." And that was it.
I couldn't believe it! Trouble? TROUBLE! What the hell does that mean? What kind of trouble am I?
A year or two later, I asked him about it. He said that he could tell that I thought mischevious things all the time, but never acted on them. He said he could see it in my face, whatever that means. But couldn't he have thought of anything better to say while introducing me to mother? HIS MOTHER! I guess that nothing stood out about me more, or was more noteworthy, than to say that I was "trouble". Geez...
Oh well - at least he didn't say "She's husky."
Now, I can defenatly be a bear sometimes (as we all can), and have been sometimes at work, but you don'st gotsta say it right out loud like that! Geez...
It reminds me of a couple other occasions like this. This other guy at my work once needed someone to help carry something heavy outside. I happened to be standing around by a group of guys he came up to to ask for help. He asked for help, they smiled and said "I should get Laura to help me, she's husky. A real husky gal."
I later found out that in the Native American culture (he was Native American) that being husky is considered a great thing to be. Aparently, its quite the compliment to be called "husky." Understandably, though, I wasn't too thrilled about it.
Another time, a guy I really liked was introducing me to his mother and his grandmother, along with a few of our other friends. He'd say "This is so and so, she does graphic design for a company. This is so and so, he works in youth ministry and teaches hockey to inner-city kids". Etc. Then he got to me, and said "And this is Laura. She's trouble." And that was it.
I couldn't believe it! Trouble? TROUBLE! What the hell does that mean? What kind of trouble am I?
A year or two later, I asked him about it. He said that he could tell that I thought mischevious things all the time, but never acted on them. He said he could see it in my face, whatever that means. But couldn't he have thought of anything better to say while introducing me to mother? HIS MOTHER! I guess that nothing stood out about me more, or was more noteworthy, than to say that I was "trouble". Geez...
Oh well - at least he didn't say "She's husky."
posted by Laura Ibsen @ 1:00 PM
4 Comments:
At 5:05 PM, October 20, 2005,
b-nut said…
lol. When I worked for the Navigators my friends would introduce me to others by saying "this is Brett. He's on staff with the Navigators." Now they say "this is Brett. He's uh...he's..."
I guess I have lost my identity. This makes me wonder if being Husky (in the Native sense) is better then being nothing at all...hmmm...maybe not.
At 11:18 AM, October 21, 2005,
Anonymous said…
Yeah - it really goes to show you what people put value in. Most often, its jobs or special skills that you have.
I've come to realize that I often introduce people to each other by telling them where I know them from and how long I've known them. Sometimes I'll throw in something that I think is special about their charactor, or something like that. Good or bad? I don't know. But at least I always have something to say about them.
At 3:36 PM, October 24, 2005,
Jordan said…
Hey Laura, I think the "she's trouble" comment is a compliment. People who are "trouble" are the ones that make things happen. And they're playful/fun. That's my take. But I've described people that way before, so maybe I'm part of the problem instead of the solution.
At 5:20 PM, October 28, 2005,
Anonymous said…
Naw - don't worry about it. Its just such a cryptic thing to say. I asked my roomate Taylor about it, and she said that a guy used to call her "trouble" too. But, he said it because he though that that was the oposite of what she was.
But, as it turns out, I really am trouble. :)
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