Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Personal Diversity Experience
I volunteered for an "I Can Do It!" conference with 30 best selling authors from Hay House Publishing. Margaret, a retired neighbor told me about this event. I figured attending an event with her would have me surrounded by seniors making me the minority in age. But this event is sponsored by a Publisher, so I don't know what to expect. As an engineer I started reading when I started my MBA; needing only the equations to work the problems in engineering, so meeting any authors is totally new to me. Wayne Dyer who I've seen in the PBS fund raisers will be present, so it might be a good way to meet people too, who knows.
I arrived for the volunteer orientation Thursday. Mollie, the event coordinator, said registration was closed weeks earlier, but since I was here she could work me into the schedule. This made me feel kinda stupid. She then explained the duties expected from us and then gave out her cell phone number if anyone had any problems during the events. Gotta promise not to write it on the bathroom wall or give it to any guys, unless they are really cute. Someone asked what we should wear, since we would have to assist the authors directly. Mollie said to wear light airy comfortable cloths:
"Usually with a room full of menopausal women the temperature can get hot"
Another lady smiled while passing me saying how I was the "token male" there. Everyone else was female in their 60's or beyond, except Mollie. She was really cute, in a mini skirt and high heels. It was a room full of women. I recognized Margaret of course. I also saw two other women from a church I went to, "Harmony," both at least in there 50's. I volunteer there video taping so everyone recognizes me. I felt out of place here though. Not just that I was considerably younger than everyone else, but I was also the only guy, the only one in school and the only one employed who didn't know any of the authors coming or their books. Another lady said hello to me out in the buffet line, asking where I went to school. I replied that we likely met at church and she said how she sang at TTUMC.net. That's where we met, as I sang in the Choir there for a while too, soon I remembered her name was Leah.
The conference was all weekend, 12 hours a day starting Friday morning, with a psychic, Sylvia Brown starting Thursday night. Volunteers could attend anything for working 12 hours, or three 4-hour shifts. I got the left-overs assigned only two shifts, Friday at the registration desk 4-8pm and then Saturday as a door attendant from 2-6pm. Mollie gave us a tour of the place and let us go. Sylvia was starting to speak, psychic people kinda bore me, but I could hear she started talking about the secret societies that control this country, which she had in her latest book, so I laughed thinking this might be interesting to listen to and went in.
Course moments after I sat down she was off into something else and started picking registration numbers from a hat to offer personal readings, time for me to go. I arrived back Friday after my class and went into the closest conference workshop near the entrance. It was Colette Reid another psychic lady. I noticed there were a few other men in the room now, but only 2 or 3 out of 50, both clearly over 60, making me the minority in sex and age again. I sat in the last row in the corner. Colette was talking about teaching everyone and asked us to pair off. Interesting enough the one other lady in the last row with me was also from Harmony and recognized me, figures! We did a little guided meditative exercise, and then Collette explained how to understand whatever people saw or felt. She interpreted some referring to several Hay House books on symbolism of course. My new Harmony friend said she saw pink colors and water flowing while we did the little exercises together. Collette said that pink usually is associated with love and the flowing water could be movement in harmony, surmising that I was going to fall in love.
I can go along with that, exactly why I started attending church anyway. I was embarrassed as I saw this room full of women looking at me. She finished and everyone lined up to get books signed and I went up stairs to the registration desk. Once again the only guy with retired women volunteers. The women running the cash register selling tickets next to us even called me Chris by mistake, Chris evidently was the "token male" staff person who flew in from Hay House with them.
It was interesting working there, as I spoke to everyone who prepaid for their tickets coming in after work Friday afternoon. I was surprised to see people who flew in from NY, Canada and even South America for the conference. The only men I saw were tagging along with their spouses. I did meet another lady I knew, Michelle, she had helped Hay House with the marketing so she had a few free passes there checking if her guests had arrived yet.
The next keynote speaker I saw was Louse Hay the founder of Hay House. She said how she could be the poster girl for women in their 80's as she just turned 81. The Hay House mission was to help people improve the quality of their lives. I noticed Leah again directing people into the "preferred seating" in front. I got out a business card and wrote on the back the Pianist, Singer and Reverend at Harmony and then asked if she was still singing. Yes of course, but not anywhere special she said. I gave her the card, saying they lost a few singers at Harmony recently. She said a friend of hers from Harmony gave her the volunteer invite, so she's seen so many coincidences in that direction that she better go visit that church and sing there. Wow, small world I felt.
Saturday Michelle saved a seat for me for the keynote and I met Jaclyn and Jimmie, who as it turned out were also neighbors living within a mile or two of my house. They are older but made it clear that Jimmie hadn't any male friends beyond those lost in the beer and football culture. Another guest of Michelle's came to sit in the handicapped seats she had saved behind us. It was a younger lady, named Holly, maybe even my own age walking with a cane struggling with MS. I asked if she would like to sit closer, and then went to speak to Leah about getting her into a handicapped seat in the preferred section. Leah was happy to help and we brought Holly up front.
I saw how I got a lot of coincidence in the same direction too. Going to the event made me think that I might do better networking more with people I know instead of going to a new place to meet people like another church or some authors conference. God knows, maybe I'll fall in love with Holly or Michelle; never know what to expect, that's for sure! Guess I should read more too.
I arrived for the volunteer orientation Thursday. Mollie, the event coordinator, said registration was closed weeks earlier, but since I was here she could work me into the schedule. This made me feel kinda stupid. She then explained the duties expected from us and then gave out her cell phone number if anyone had any problems during the events. Gotta promise not to write it on the bathroom wall or give it to any guys, unless they are really cute. Someone asked what we should wear, since we would have to assist the authors directly. Mollie said to wear light airy comfortable cloths:
"Usually with a room full of menopausal women the temperature can get hot"
Another lady smiled while passing me saying how I was the "token male" there. Everyone else was female in their 60's or beyond, except Mollie. She was really cute, in a mini skirt and high heels. It was a room full of women. I recognized Margaret of course. I also saw two other women from a church I went to, "Harmony," both at least in there 50's. I volunteer there video taping so everyone recognizes me. I felt out of place here though. Not just that I was considerably younger than everyone else, but I was also the only guy, the only one in school and the only one employed who didn't know any of the authors coming or their books. Another lady said hello to me out in the buffet line, asking where I went to school. I replied that we likely met at church and she said how she sang at TTUMC.net. That's where we met, as I sang in the Choir there for a while too, soon I remembered her name was Leah.
The conference was all weekend, 12 hours a day starting Friday morning, with a psychic, Sylvia Brown starting Thursday night. Volunteers could attend anything for working 12 hours, or three 4-hour shifts. I got the left-overs assigned only two shifts, Friday at the registration desk 4-8pm and then Saturday as a door attendant from 2-6pm. Mollie gave us a tour of the place and let us go. Sylvia was starting to speak, psychic people kinda bore me, but I could hear she started talking about the secret societies that control this country, which she had in her latest book, so I laughed thinking this might be interesting to listen to and went in.
Course moments after I sat down she was off into something else and started picking registration numbers from a hat to offer personal readings, time for me to go. I arrived back Friday after my class and went into the closest conference workshop near the entrance. It was Colette Reid another psychic lady. I noticed there were a few other men in the room now, but only 2 or 3 out of 50, both clearly over 60, making me the minority in sex and age again. I sat in the last row in the corner. Colette was talking about teaching everyone and asked us to pair off. Interesting enough the one other lady in the last row with me was also from Harmony and recognized me, figures! We did a little guided meditative exercise, and then Collette explained how to understand whatever people saw or felt. She interpreted some referring to several Hay House books on symbolism of course. My new Harmony friend said she saw pink colors and water flowing while we did the little exercises together. Collette said that pink usually is associated with love and the flowing water could be movement in harmony, surmising that I was going to fall in love.
I can go along with that, exactly why I started attending church anyway. I was embarrassed as I saw this room full of women looking at me. She finished and everyone lined up to get books signed and I went up stairs to the registration desk. Once again the only guy with retired women volunteers. The women running the cash register selling tickets next to us even called me Chris by mistake, Chris evidently was the "token male" staff person who flew in from Hay House with them.
It was interesting working there, as I spoke to everyone who prepaid for their tickets coming in after work Friday afternoon. I was surprised to see people who flew in from NY, Canada and even South America for the conference. The only men I saw were tagging along with their spouses. I did meet another lady I knew, Michelle, she had helped Hay House with the marketing so she had a few free passes there checking if her guests had arrived yet.
The next keynote speaker I saw was Louse Hay the founder of Hay House. She said how she could be the poster girl for women in their 80's as she just turned 81. The Hay House mission was to help people improve the quality of their lives. I noticed Leah again directing people into the "preferred seating" in front. I got out a business card and wrote on the back the Pianist, Singer and Reverend at Harmony and then asked if she was still singing. Yes of course, but not anywhere special she said. I gave her the card, saying they lost a few singers at Harmony recently. She said a friend of hers from Harmony gave her the volunteer invite, so she's seen so many coincidences in that direction that she better go visit that church and sing there. Wow, small world I felt.
Saturday Michelle saved a seat for me for the keynote and I met Jaclyn and Jimmie, who as it turned out were also neighbors living within a mile or two of my house. They are older but made it clear that Jimmie hadn't any male friends beyond those lost in the beer and football culture. Another guest of Michelle's came to sit in the handicapped seats she had saved behind us. It was a younger lady, named Holly, maybe even my own age walking with a cane struggling with MS. I asked if she would like to sit closer, and then went to speak to Leah about getting her into a handicapped seat in the preferred section. Leah was happy to help and we brought Holly up front.
I saw how I got a lot of coincidence in the same direction too. Going to the event made me think that I might do better networking more with people I know instead of going to a new place to meet people like another church or some authors conference. God knows, maybe I'll fall in love with Holly or Michelle; never know what to expect, that's for sure! Guess I should read more too.
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