Schmoozing

So I was first introduced to this term a few years ago when I attended a APGA conference as a scholarship recipient. My professor at the time was pretty much the only person I knew so, naturally, I clinged to her and was introduced to so many people; I couldn't keep track of all of them. These meet and greets, however, proved to be so valuable in establishing a small network; I was just relieved that I made a decent first impression. It's overcoming that initial feeling of not knowing anyone in the crowd and wondering if you're dressed appropriately and if you'll say the right things, yada yada yada. Man, it's some serious work to work a crowd.

As a blogger for Seattlepi.com and my blog Pacific Northwest Gardens, I was invited to this fancy reception that was held at the Seattle Art Museum on Wednesday. I knew absolutely no one. It was such a surreal feeling walking up the steps to the beat of a DJ spinning a low key, somewhat trancy track as people in business attire mingled, sipped wine and several waiters circled the room offering tasty and delectable hors d'œuvre, and the modern art and furniture, it was quite the setting. I tried to roam the room to see if anyone seemed approachable to chat with, but mostly, I was hoping to find fellow bloggers so we had at least one thing to chat about, but sheesh, it was difficult. Even after two glasses of wine, I stated nothing to anyone until I ran into some ladies who were operating this photo booth thing. So, I was persuaded to go in and take a few pics, but at the same time, I was confident enough to chat it up with them and being far more outgoing than I was, they were introducing me to folks who would walk up to the booth and inquire what was going on. It was so sweet of them and I did end up meeting other people and exchanging a few cards and all, but boy was I uncomfortable.

I asked myself, "How much more of this do I have to do to be a success?: LOL!!
Now, I've schmoozed before, but I've always known someone I could cling to and have as my "net", but if you're thrown into "the big time", it can certainly be quite intimidating.

So yeah, here's one of the least embarrasing photos we took in the booth.