CCLXXIX: Networking

There are two kinds of networking for me.

The first is the one everyone thinks of when they hear the word and is similar to mingling and/or schmoozing (the latter is a word I saw often as an option in The Sims game when parents would invite the local headmaster to their home to try and get their child(ren) into a private school. Good times!).

This is not my scene at all. I do not thrive in social situations with more strangers than acquaintances/friends. In fact, I drown. And I do not want to go around selling myself to people or trying to get things from them. Endeavouring to do so would be extremely fake coming from me, and this would be highly unsettling to my conscience, who barely lets me lie (successfully) as is. In Inside the Actor's Studio, James Lipton always ends his in-depth celebrity interviews with a questionnaire by Bernard Pivot (pronounced pee-VOH). My answer to #9, "What profession would you not like to do?", would be "Salesperson". No offence to salespeople, I just cannot do your job.

Tonight I was invited to a Tourism Whistler-held event at Holts Salon & Spa. I shouldn't have been invited since the only event I do is that annual conference that just took place earlier this month, which is only ever held in Vancouver; but because my colleague was scoping out some space in Whistler for an international event happening next year, she received this invitation and asked me to come along, probably as a thank-you for helping her out this year.

This soirée consisted of a wonderful array of appetizers and desserts catered by Culinary Capers. Among these were (note that the following descriptions were taken from their website--my memory isn't that good!):

• Crêpe Purse with Basil Chicken Salad (tender crêpe stuffed and tied with a chive) - YUM-ZORZ! And pretty-zorz!
• White Truffle Pancake with Grilled New York Steak (smoked salt rubbed beef with tomato Parmesan fondant and radicchio salad) - HEL-LO!
• Tangerine Ginger Prawn Skewer (with crisp Asian pear, lime and chives)
• A cheese plate
• Three varieties of sushi
• Cranberry Pecan Caramel Square (buttery pecans and sun-dried cranberries in a chewy caramel filling baked on a shortbread base) - can someone tell me why I didn't grab one of these?
• Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake Square (pumpkin cheesecake on a graham cracker crust garnished with toasted pecans) - to answer my previous question: oh yeah, because I got this one instead
• Nanaimo bars
• Lemon meringue tartlets

I'm still thinking about that crêpe purse *drools*...

I digress. The main treat tonight was not the food but the free express manicures! Yes, I got mah nails did and they look awesome. But I had to smalltalk with a few people for an hour while I waited for the manicurist who said I was next but then proceeded to treat other people before me!

It wasn't too bad though. The people were really nice and there was one guy who I got along very well with because he just moved from Hong Kong eight months ago (and has perfect English due to his international school education) and is a fellow foodie! So all I did was recommend restaurants! Problem solved.

The most drawkwa part for me was actually getting the manicure done, because people were chatting around me but I didn't know whether I should talk to my manicurist, and when she asked me questions I didn't have lengthy answers. Meh.

OK, so the second networking I mentioned is a pun I thought up as I wrote today's blog title. What do you get when you split up the word? NET and WORKING. What is blogging but WORKING on the interNET? Eh? EH?! Not too shabby if I do say so myself. 

Yes, I enjoy this networking more than the other kind, as much of a percentage as it takes from my free-time at home. Some days it's a blessing, other days it's a burden, but hopefully everyday it isn't crap. When there is a topic to write about, I like taking the time to think about ways to express myself. This blog is essentially my creative outlet. However, on those many days when I'm grasping at straws and suffering from blogck, I very much feel like abandoning ship. Then I wouldn't be keeping up with my project now, would I? 

I've quit many things in my life, but this is something I am going to hold on to, at least until my 356 days are up. It's like yoga for the mind and soul.