Meet 'n' Greet

There was a convention in town last week. They took over all the hotels in downtown, and some of the faces became a bit familiar.

Thursday night, after our bar had closed, a group of Bostonians wanted to go to another bar. I got the hotel van and took them to a place that would be open till 2:00, and then came back to pick them up when it closed. One of them mentioned french fries, so I took them to Sonic. They thought this was really cool, because they don't have Sonic in Boston. In, fact, they were texting friends back home to tell them about it.

One of the guys and I hit it off really well, and he invited me to come hang out in his room for a while. That's actually against the rules, and I had a task to do, but when I had finished I went and got him and took him on the tour of the hotel. I really enjoyed his company, but I felt restricted by the job.

I was off on Friday (very unusual), so Gaby and I went out to the club. While there, I noticed a young fellow who didn't seem to know anyone, so I introduced myself and Gaby, and it turned out that he was a lot of fun to talk to. He was part of the same convention, visiting from a town near San Antonio. I introduced him to a couple of other guys, and whenever we ran into him during the rest of the evening, he seemed to be having a good time.

On the way home, Gaby remarked on how easy it was for me to just walk up to people and say hi. I told that it had started after I met him. It seemed like when we became a couple, suddenly I wasn't afraid of rejection from other people.

That was a rather sweeping statement, though. The truth is that I can still be apprehensive about meeting people. However, being part of a couple has made me bolder. It's kind of easy to walk up to someone and say, "Hi, I'm Ron and this is Gabriel," and expect a positive response. And when a simple introduction turns into a good conversation, that's terrific. And for this guy, I was just doing what I would like someone to do for me.

At my job, I am the face of the hotel after 11:00pm, and I take that role seriously. I welcome the guests, introduce myself and the front desk staff, offer my valet and bellman services, and let them know that I'm available for whatever needs they might have overnight. One cannot be shy doing my job. But conversation is generally small talk and discussing the hotel's history and services.

I meet an awful lot of people at this job, but once in a while I meet someone I'd really like to get to know. The Bostonian was one. He and his friends together in the van were a lot of fun, and by himself he was really nice, and fun to talk to. It would have been nice to sit and have a long conversation, but I was at work, and my time was limited by the tasks I need to complete on my shift. Plus, he was a hotel guest, and it's my job to offer my services as a hotel employee, and not to socialize on a personal level.

Similar situation, a couple of weeks ago, I got to talking to a fellow from Washington D.C. as he was having his evening cigarette, and it turned out that we'd read the same books, and were interested in the same historical topics. We could have talked for hours in other circumstances, but I was at work, and, well, you know.

Now, I'm not naïve enough to believe that I'm actually going to develop a lasting friendship with someone from across the country who I happened to speak to for a few minutes one night. Nor am I blind to the fact that I wouldn't meet them in the first place if I didn't have the job that I do. It's just that the barriers are frustrating me.