multifaceted

there are a few regulars to the networking scene that i always bump into. when i see them, in a strange way it's nice to see a familiar face since you see so many strange ones in networking events. (strange ones meaning new people i've never met before) many have become more friendly if i have bumped into them more than just a few times. each time i'm greeted with smiles and "how have you been"? in the back of my mind however, i always wonder how genuine these people are. i always get the feeling i'm a lot more genuine than the people i meet. I really am there to network for business, learn from others and make new friends. not to gossip, not to scam on eligible bachelors. perhaps they are just multifaceted networkers. what i first meet a person - i get the professional networking persona. by the 2nd or 3rd encounter, barriers sometimes come down and i get a different side. every once in a while i'm surprised at how different that other side is compared to the professional networker i met earlier. it makes me wonder at how others perceive me in the networking setting.

i believe i'm a very open person and for better or worse, my feelings are always extremely apparent on my face. Therefore, if i don't like you, you'll know it. if i look happy to see you, i am! maybe i'm just a simplistic person that way - what you see is what you get. whether or not this will work well for me in the business world - well we'll have to see. for now it has only helped me. maybe things would change once i get higher up in the food chain.

anyhow - there are a couple people that i keep bumping into. they seem like really amazing people who I would really like to get to know better so I can learn from them. however i'm afraid they would misinterpret my curiosity as an interest to date them. you see, i don't talk about my personal life at networking events. I suppose I like to keep business as business and personal life as personal. (i guess i'm multifaceted myself since i do have a networking persona an then there is my regular goofy self) I also hate it when girls are always blabbing about their boyfriends - as if those girls didn't have their own lives. i love hunny, but i don't need to talk about him incessantly. however, my concern as to not to have other people misinterpret things has stopped me from really getting to know those other people. do you think i'm just thinking silly thoughts and should just get over it?

one more thing to add - pet peeves
at dinner yesterday after the networking event, a bunch of people from the event were going through introductions. 6 guys and 2 girls. the guys all asked the other guys what their jobs were. however they only asked us girls for our names. as if they just assumed the female population of the table didn't have notable jobs! elaine is a manager at hp who handles more than 30 technical professionals. and i'm not anyone's secretary either!!

also, when letting people know that i work with the stirr team, i hate it when some people automatically assume i'm just there as a friend to help and not an organizer. Part of the reason for this is because most of the door staff is always female. i'm getting more guys to help me at the door next time.

entrepreneurship is still very much of a boys club. which is exactly the reason i want to get into it - to prove girls can make large contributions also.