A few days ago, there was a signup sheet on the bulletin board at work :
As I was reading this, a coworker asked if I was going. I said that the way I remembered what the Blue Jays were was to picture a bunch of birds. Obviously those small birds wouldn't be able to lift a large ball, so the Blue Jays had to be a baseball team. Now I imagined velociraptors would be pretty good at jumping, what with those long muscular hind legs, so the Raptors had to be a basketball team.
My coworker blinked. "That seems like a lot of effort to remember what the teams are," he said.
"Exactly," I replied, "which is why I won't be there."
I've never watched a ball game in my life, unless you count the one on The Simpsons where Mr. Burns hires a bunch of professionals to play for the nuclear power plant so he can beat Shelbyville. In any case, not many people from work were going. But another coworker - we'll call her Pushy - asked if I was signing up.
Me : No. I'm not really into sports.
Pushy : I'm not either, but I'm going. You should come!
Me : ...uh, why? I won't understand anything about the game.
Pushy : Neither will I, but it'll be fun!
Me (confused now) : How will it be fun when I don't know what's going on? I'll just be sitting there saying, "What's happening? Why is that man running off? Why is everyone cheering? Why didn't I bring a book?"
Pushy : It's not just about the game. The stadium will be packed, so everyone will sing along when there's a song, and the camera will pan around, so when it's on you, you can wave or make a face.
That sounded worse than what I'd imagined. I don't want to be in the midst of a huge crowd of singing people, nor do I want to be on camera unless I've checked my appearance beforehand.
Me : I wouldn't enjoy any of that.
Pushy : How can you just say to people, "I don't like that"?
I was confused all over again. I'm not the most socially savvy person, so now I was wondering if I'd overstepped some sort of etiquette line.
Most of all, though, I had no idea why we were debating this at all. Pushy may well enjoy ball games despite not understanding them, but why is she assuming this will apply to me too?
Me : Look, the tickets could cost up to $30. I'd rather spend that kind of money on a ticket to the aquarium. I like sharks.
Pushy : You could go to both places!
Me : What if I only have $30 in my entertainment budget to spend? Not to mention limited time on the weekends. I want to do something I know I'd enjoy.
Pushy : ...Okay, fine. But think about it. You've got to try different things.
I hadn't realized how frustrating it is to deal with someone who refuses to take no for an answer. If there's any next time, I won't give her any kind of explanations for my decision (not that I owe her any). It'll just be "no", and then I'll change the subject.
Even better? Yesterday Pushy told me she wasn't going either. Because the game is on a Sunday and that's when her church service is held.
I ran off before she could badger me to come to church with her.
As I was reading this, a coworker asked if I was going. I said that the way I remembered what the Blue Jays were was to picture a bunch of birds. Obviously those small birds wouldn't be able to lift a large ball, so the Blue Jays had to be a baseball team. Now I imagined velociraptors would be pretty good at jumping, what with those long muscular hind legs, so the Raptors had to be a basketball team.
My coworker blinked. "That seems like a lot of effort to remember what the teams are," he said.
"Exactly," I replied, "which is why I won't be there."
I've never watched a ball game in my life, unless you count the one on The Simpsons where Mr. Burns hires a bunch of professionals to play for the nuclear power plant so he can beat Shelbyville. In any case, not many people from work were going. But another coworker - we'll call her Pushy - asked if I was signing up.
Me : No. I'm not really into sports.
Pushy : I'm not either, but I'm going. You should come!
Me : ...uh, why? I won't understand anything about the game.
Pushy : Neither will I, but it'll be fun!
Me (confused now) : How will it be fun when I don't know what's going on? I'll just be sitting there saying, "What's happening? Why is that man running off? Why is everyone cheering? Why didn't I bring a book?"
Pushy : It's not just about the game. The stadium will be packed, so everyone will sing along when there's a song, and the camera will pan around, so when it's on you, you can wave or make a face.
That sounded worse than what I'd imagined. I don't want to be in the midst of a huge crowd of singing people, nor do I want to be on camera unless I've checked my appearance beforehand.
Me : I wouldn't enjoy any of that.
Pushy : How can you just say to people, "I don't like that"?
I was confused all over again. I'm not the most socially savvy person, so now I was wondering if I'd overstepped some sort of etiquette line.
Most of all, though, I had no idea why we were debating this at all. Pushy may well enjoy ball games despite not understanding them, but why is she assuming this will apply to me too?
Me : Look, the tickets could cost up to $30. I'd rather spend that kind of money on a ticket to the aquarium. I like sharks.
Pushy : You could go to both places!
Me : What if I only have $30 in my entertainment budget to spend? Not to mention limited time on the weekends. I want to do something I know I'd enjoy.
Pushy : ...Okay, fine. But think about it. You've got to try different things.
I hadn't realized how frustrating it is to deal with someone who refuses to take no for an answer. If there's any next time, I won't give her any kind of explanations for my decision (not that I owe her any). It'll just be "no", and then I'll change the subject.
Even better? Yesterday Pushy told me she wasn't going either. Because the game is on a Sunday and that's when her church service is held.
I ran off before she could badger me to come to church with her.
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