Today I had the most interesting conversation with a stranger at a friends child's birthday party. Left me speechless for a short time till I really could think of a way to handle it.
Picture 400lb + man, 38 years old, jobless since 29, SAH-father of one, wears a knee brace, and has an inhaler that he uses about every 20 to 30 minutes when walking to the counter for food and back (buffet style party). Conversation starts after initial normal chit chat of family, and other things. Man has already started to boast and brag most of his way through initial meeting. So conversation starts to veer wildly leading to this next statement:
I am a Tai Chi Master, I mastered it in a year, mainly to help me with balance, form, and poise during my Mock Star Wars Light Saber Battles"
<crickets chirping, no wind is blowing, entire table of 10 people can not seem to figure out what to do next>
So I led off with "oh ummm, ah, well, yeaah umm well do you find it helps lessen the chance of injury while doing Light Saber fighting?" (remember dummy me forgets the fact he has a knee brace on)
Answer: "well not really, since its a full contact battle, we just don't use the lasers"
My reply: "Dangerous stuff, I think that it should be left for the professionals"
to which one man, broke out laughing so hard, he left the building to get composer. Well it was NOT my intention to make fun of him, but seriously I just didnt even know what to say, or where to go to from there, I just excused myself to the bathroom and to check on my kids, and switched tables.
OMG, have you had a similar experience? how did you handle that?
Dad: I think I left the house without my "Grace under Pressure" Necklace. I used to play WoW, and though I never made it a point to tell people of my conquests and level status. I do know when I heard people talking, boasting, or bragging about it, I would get super red in the face, and want to come back with something like "well my level 63 Night Elf Archer would have taken your blah blah blah Orc out in a heartbeat" LOL I usually opted to stay quiet and anonymous.
Think I left the best part out, at some point after this convo, he went to a store down the street and bought 5 lbs of WI cheese curds, he brought them BACK to the party and sat eating them the entire time, he offered me some of the overly warm, greasy treats but I had to refuse. He said that Cheese Curds help him take his mind off wanting to get back on the Battlefield. <wow>
This is so hilarious.
My gawd... you handled it well!
High five!
I would have done the same thing, and have!
Holding back my laughter!
I have met some real eccentric parents.
Ya never know, what one person's reality is... or what Matrix they live in.
You had a cool poised mannered neutral.... response to him.
Classic.
I would have busted out laughing before I could even form a response. :p
I mean, come on! Dude had to have some idea the response he was going to get.
I'm sure I have, but I can't think of any right now.
I might have said, "Oh like the ones in Star Trek?" and watched him completely freak out. Dinner and a show.
MartyMOMMA you just landed yourself in my Mamapedia Hall of FAme. reserved only for those post that will never never leave my mind.
I could literally picture this whole unbelievable event playing out in my head.
I sure think you handled it just fine and i give you props for even engaging in the conversation at all. I don't do well with strangers and this is why.
It takes all kinds to make this world go 'round, amature Tai Chi master starwars dudes and all.
I have not had a similar experience discussing leaving light saber fighting to professionals...
But I do know people involved with role playing games where they do "battle" with taped up sticks and homemade armor. Nice people - but yeah, one of every 10 conversations becomes very awkward when the conversation turns to their "world".
For example: How was your weekend, Fred?"
Fred: I am so tired - first the Dargonite Princess was captured, so that led to a quick posse raising, but Noah was camping - so we had to get the double headed light saber, and the foper out of its cage. I almost suffered a mortal wound from foper scratch fever!
We got the princess back, but my friend Noah died in the battle. Stupid elf. He should have known better than to leave the house without his invisibility necklace!
Me: That's sounds exciting - sorry to hear about Noah.
oh gosh I can never keep quiet in these scenarios. I would have made a similar comments and then have been so engulfed in conversation with him for the next 40 minutes. I'm always the one at the party talking to the person in the odd costume or something else odd trying to learn about them. I do always feel bad because friends ussually come up and giggle and ask for details at points and its not my intention to mock them. I really am interested in the person that has something diferent going on.
I mean what else are you going to do chat about your friends kids poop?
Oh man. I cannot imagine what I would have said or done in that situation. You really did handle yourself well. That must have been very difficult. This man definitely lives in a different reality than the rest of us. I think I might have had to pretend I got a call on my cell and excuse myself! Yikes!
probably-and I most likely asked, "Did someone say cocktails?"
I know I shouldn't be laughing but I am!! I can't even imagine trying to keep a straight face at this party. In my brain I would have been thinking...I wonder what century he was doing this light saber stuff because it certainly isn't this one!!!
Seriously tho, I think you handled the situation just fine! The guy that got up and left because he was laughing so hard, did too, actually!
As for me, this is the exact reason why I prefer to be a wallflower at parties. I am so painfully shy around people I don't know (and sometimes even people I do!), everything always comes out wrong and/or I get choked up on the words.
Usually I will just shake my head and agree and/or throw in some agreement sounds - I don't know how to write those - and then quickly move on to someone/somewhere else.
Thanks for putting the picture in my brain of the 400+ lb guy playing with the light sabers!! I'm going to go pray for forgiveness now for laughing!! That is, if I can stop!!
That is hilarious! I'm not sure what I would have said, but I think you handled it just fine. I usually just smile and nod with a few Hmmms, or How interesting comments sprinkled in until they come up with another topic to talk about.
reminds me of the guy on extreme make over weight loss edition last night. i had to turn the channel when he stated (with no shame whatsoever) that he drank FOUR BOTTLES of juice per meal. yeah let's give THAT guy a free life makeover and a tv show.
usually my "speechless" moments come when new temps do stupid things they were told not to do less than a week ago, like yapping on their cell phones in the hallway, or getting on the internet. i mean seriously...if you're told not to do something, it's a new job, you expect us to give you a paycheck...and to top it all off, you don't see ANYONE else doing those things...why the H*** would you think you were so special?
but that's just me. what i do is bring the hammer down. and it doesn't happen again.
i don't think i've ever been in THAT kind of situation...normally though i just play to peoples' egos (unless it's my job) and nod and smile. i probably would have done/said something like "wow, that's crazy". and let him interpret it how he wanted. HOW awkward!
I would have guessed he meant Online games!!! LOL!!
It sounds like perhaps because of his extreme weight, he hasn't learned good social graces. There could be a little bit of Asperger's going on with him too. I think you handled it as well as could be expected. Knowing me, I would have started asking him serious questions before figuring out that the whole thing was ludicrous.
I admit that I feel sorry for him, not having anything else in his life to talk about.
Jennifer S's comment really made me laugh, though. Jennifer, that reminds me of the movie with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts called "Larry Crowne" when Julia Roberts remarks about the guy's classroom speech being about "Star Wars". He was wearing a Star Trek outfit and waxing on about the difference in Star Trek DS9 and the other Star Trek series. If she hadn't been his teacher, I think he might have blown a gasket!!
Dawn
BWAHAHAHHAHAAAAA!!!!!!!
:D
:D
:D
khairete
delighted S.
Wow. Just wow.
Well, you thought of SOMETHING to say.....
I think I would have said something like..."is that hummus....?" while making a break for the buffet table.
Sounds like my husbands friend. He used to be 400+ lbs and would say off the wall things that people didn't know how to respond to.
I know it isn't him because he lost over half of his weight. Anyway, he would strike conversation from a picture on the wall and carry on. It was kind of funny to watch how quickly people try to back up and get away from him.
I don't think he does it anymore, but what an imagination!
Hopefully this guy was joking and wasn't nuts.
hahaha, it IS almost a full moon!
Dont talk about stuff you dont know about, like light sabers, ;)
You did fine tho for what you had to work with.... sounds pretty crazy.
Sometimes being at a loss for words means we probably shouldnt say anything.... I think you will probably be more careful next time someone brings up something so strange. You were trying to be friendly and interested, but it only got worse, lol.
OMG - I didn't know my prior co-worker done up and moved to MN! It didn't matter what you had/did/etc - he'd been there done that ...twice! ROFL!!!
