Thursday, November 05, 2015

Etiquette Lessons for the 21st Century

Tonight I went to an alumnae 'do at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (aka "the Penn Museum"). Frankly I thought we were going to get to see something of the museum, which is very good and you should try to visit if you're in town. (Well, not anywhere near as good as the UBC Museum of Anthropology which you should absolutely visit if you make it to Vancouver.) But we were crowded into the loudest room ever and then herded into a room with a stage to hear the president talk. She's new to the position, and it was part introduction to her and part precampaign warm up speech. (Campaign as in fundraising, not run for political office.)

It felt oddly like work, and in fact, I ended up talking to a lot of the development staff. But they're also the reason I felt completely comfortable going alone not knowing whether any other people I knew would be there. None of your colleagues are going to leave you hanging, even if you do have to talk shop with them. I almost skipped out--I'm so tired from being so busy at work. And if I had, I could have written about something much more interesting, but the events person at work told me I had to go. And it's true, once you RSVP, you should go.
 

That's it, The lesson I was meant to bring you tonight. Show up. Just show up. It won't kill you.

4 comments:

Robin said...

So true. Sometimes getting yourself out the door is often more painful then the event.

Mary said...

"Only connect..."

Mary in MN

Beth W said...

And did the new director make a great first impression? I hope it was interesting for you, in some capacity (in addition to connecting with more development folks).

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

I'm glad it turned out to be an OK evening for you.