unexpected benefits: a brag on Kirby
[email protected]
Last week the kids and I went to Colorado. Kirby was staying with a girl
he'd met at an anime convention three years ago, and he's visited the group of
Denver-kids he met there another time before. (The rest of us were elsewhere
doing elsewhat.)
They had a group of friends like Kirby has a group of friends. Most of
theirs are high school seniors. Most of Kirby's is homeschoolers.
One thing he did was play Magic at the girl's house, with her deck. She had
two decks and asked if he knew how to play. He said sure.
He reported all this on the way home. He said they played with 80 cards
instead of 60 and instead of playing one card at a time, they started with seven
cards and played five at a time. She assured him that all the kids at her
school play it that way. He went along with it. He said once she said, "You work
at a gaming store and you didn't know that rule?"
He kinda laughed and said he had only said, "Oh; my bad," and played it her
way.
Now it's not that he's intimidated by her, nor was he trying to put the make
on her. He was just trying to be friendly and play her "house rules" to be a
good guest.
One day another friend of hers was over and he was invited to play. He said,
"I could beat you if I had my own deck," and said a couple of things that
caused Kirby to believe he was current on Magic-the-Real-Game. So Kirby said
"She has some weird rules," and left it at that.
I asked him at what point did he admit to her that he proctors/judges Magic
tournaments? He said he didn't. I asked if he had worn any of his Magic
shirts. He said no, he had just taken solid-color T's and "Make 7 / UP Yours."
Maybe it will embarrass her someday when she knows, but he can be pretty
charming and will probably soothe the awkwardness. She wants to come and visit
here next summer, with another of the kids they hung out with up there, or two.
She owns a hearse and wants to road trip down and hang out with Kirby here.
Half of Kirby's t-shirt wardrobe consists of black t-shirts he has been given
when he worked at a Magic Tournament. There are pre-release tournaments
(where participants get cards which aren't yet for general sale) and regional
tournaments (where kids come from several states around and the shop rents a big
hall of some sort for it) and Kirby has the t-shirts to document two years of
this work. They say "Staff" on them. I think one says "Judge." There are a
dozen, at least, with large Magic-card art on the back and logo-fronts and
company sleeves sometimes.
But he didn't reveal any of this to his hostess, and he played her way.
At one point they went to a movie. She and two friends, both he said dressed
dramatically goth-like. And Kirby was wearing yellow pants. There was a
skating rink in the place where the theater was, and two hockey-players, sticks
in hand (no skates, I presume <g>) taunted the boys. "Go back to the circus"
or something. One of the girls was encouraging the boys to respond in kind,
and Kirby said (sweetly and laughingly, the way he reported it to us), "They
have sticks. They could kick our asses!"
I think a hockey player on skates could kick Kirby's butt. I think Kirby
could disarm a hockey player on solid ground, because he's studied Japanese
weapons for years (not sword, but bo and karate-related stuff). If Kirby got the
stick, the hockey guy might be in trouble. He didn't mention that to any of
them.
My interpretation is a guess, but I think he's confident enough that he can
impress them without bragging that he found no need to defend or inflate
himself, even when it wouldn't have been any exaggeration at all to just casually
mention what he does regularly at home. He met them through his interest in
anime, which is his third or fourth interest, and let them think there wasn't
much more to him.
I was impressed.
Sandra
he'd met at an anime convention three years ago, and he's visited the group of
Denver-kids he met there another time before. (The rest of us were elsewhere
doing elsewhat.)
They had a group of friends like Kirby has a group of friends. Most of
theirs are high school seniors. Most of Kirby's is homeschoolers.
One thing he did was play Magic at the girl's house, with her deck. She had
two decks and asked if he knew how to play. He said sure.
He reported all this on the way home. He said they played with 80 cards
instead of 60 and instead of playing one card at a time, they started with seven
cards and played five at a time. She assured him that all the kids at her
school play it that way. He went along with it. He said once she said, "You work
at a gaming store and you didn't know that rule?"
He kinda laughed and said he had only said, "Oh; my bad," and played it her
way.
Now it's not that he's intimidated by her, nor was he trying to put the make
on her. He was just trying to be friendly and play her "house rules" to be a
good guest.
One day another friend of hers was over and he was invited to play. He said,
"I could beat you if I had my own deck," and said a couple of things that
caused Kirby to believe he was current on Magic-the-Real-Game. So Kirby said
"She has some weird rules," and left it at that.
I asked him at what point did he admit to her that he proctors/judges Magic
tournaments? He said he didn't. I asked if he had worn any of his Magic
shirts. He said no, he had just taken solid-color T's and "Make 7 / UP Yours."
Maybe it will embarrass her someday when she knows, but he can be pretty
charming and will probably soothe the awkwardness. She wants to come and visit
here next summer, with another of the kids they hung out with up there, or two.
She owns a hearse and wants to road trip down and hang out with Kirby here.
Half of Kirby's t-shirt wardrobe consists of black t-shirts he has been given
when he worked at a Magic Tournament. There are pre-release tournaments
(where participants get cards which aren't yet for general sale) and regional
tournaments (where kids come from several states around and the shop rents a big
hall of some sort for it) and Kirby has the t-shirts to document two years of
this work. They say "Staff" on them. I think one says "Judge." There are a
dozen, at least, with large Magic-card art on the back and logo-fronts and
company sleeves sometimes.
But he didn't reveal any of this to his hostess, and he played her way.
At one point they went to a movie. She and two friends, both he said dressed
dramatically goth-like. And Kirby was wearing yellow pants. There was a
skating rink in the place where the theater was, and two hockey-players, sticks
in hand (no skates, I presume <g>) taunted the boys. "Go back to the circus"
or something. One of the girls was encouraging the boys to respond in kind,
and Kirby said (sweetly and laughingly, the way he reported it to us), "They
have sticks. They could kick our asses!"
I think a hockey player on skates could kick Kirby's butt. I think Kirby
could disarm a hockey player on solid ground, because he's studied Japanese
weapons for years (not sword, but bo and karate-related stuff). If Kirby got the
stick, the hockey guy might be in trouble. He didn't mention that to any of
them.
My interpretation is a guess, but I think he's confident enough that he can
impress them without bragging that he found no need to defend or inflate
himself, even when it wouldn't have been any exaggeration at all to just casually
mention what he does regularly at home. He met them through his interest in
anime, which is his third or fourth interest, and let them think there wasn't
much more to him.
I was impressed.
Sandra
J. Stauffer
<<I was impressed.>>
I am impressed too.
Julie S.
I am impressed too.
Julie S.
>
[email protected]
In a message dated 03/29/2004 1:12:07 PM Eastern Standard Time,
SandraDodd@... writes:
When I was a very young, female professional in a world of men's men,
I was often mistaken for a secretary. It was much better to just go along with
it than to correct people. We Southern ladies always used to tell each other,
"Always let them underestimate you!" It was like the scene in Top Gun where
Tom Cruise is bragging to Kelly McGillis in the bar about being a pilot, and
she lets him go on and on and just bats her eyes at him, when the next day she
turns out to be the expert instructor for the class he's there to take.
Then when they do realize and are embarrassed, you get extra points
for graciously letting them off the hook <G>. I hope Kirby discovers that part
is especially fine. JJ
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
SandraDodd@... writes:
> My interpretation is a guess, but I think he's confident enough that he canGreat story. It impresses me too!
>
> impress them without bragging that he found no need to defend or inflate
> himself, even when it wouldn't have been any exaggeration at all to just
> casually
> mention what he does regularly at home. He met them through his interest
> in
> anime, which is his third or fourth interest, and let them think there
> wasn't
> much more to him.
>
> I was impressed.
>
> Sandra
>
When I was a very young, female professional in a world of men's men,
I was often mistaken for a secretary. It was much better to just go along with
it than to correct people. We Southern ladies always used to tell each other,
"Always let them underestimate you!" It was like the scene in Top Gun where
Tom Cruise is bragging to Kelly McGillis in the bar about being a pilot, and
she lets him go on and on and just bats her eyes at him, when the next day she
turns out to be the expert instructor for the class he's there to take.
Then when they do realize and are embarrassed, you get extra points
for graciously letting them off the hook <G>. I hope Kirby discovers that part
is especially fine. JJ
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/29/04 11:20:45 AM, jnjstau@... writes:
<< <<I was impressed.>>
<<I am impressed too. >>
I forgot to remind those who havne't been following the Tale of Kirby that he
was a furious kind of explosive games player when he was little. Games had
to played EXACTLY RIGHT and it was best if Kirby won. Video games needed to go
well within his window of patience, or that controller was going to be sorry.
He did NOT accept variance. He didn't like furniture rearranged. I used to
mess with him in this too-cruel way:
I would sing the songs to The Jetsons theme song to the tune of The
Flintstones. He would WAIL for me to STOP IT as though I were torturing the dog.
When I stopped laughing (and now I probably wouldn't mess with a kid that way,
but it was just so funny to me and Keith that he couldn't stand it; we're older
and better parents now) I would say Okay, okay. And I'd start the Jetsons
theme "right" with the "Doo dee dee, doo dee dee, doo dee dee, doo dee doodle
deedle DOOOOO! " And about the time he was calm again, I'd get to the part that
went, "Meet Fred Flintstone. Doo dee dee, doo dee dee, his dog Dino, daugher
Pebbles, Wilma his wife..." Kirby hated it.
But now he can go three days without insisting the world should be otherwise.
Sandra
<< <<I was impressed.>>
<<I am impressed too. >>
I forgot to remind those who havne't been following the Tale of Kirby that he
was a furious kind of explosive games player when he was little. Games had
to played EXACTLY RIGHT and it was best if Kirby won. Video games needed to go
well within his window of patience, or that controller was going to be sorry.
He did NOT accept variance. He didn't like furniture rearranged. I used to
mess with him in this too-cruel way:
I would sing the songs to The Jetsons theme song to the tune of The
Flintstones. He would WAIL for me to STOP IT as though I were torturing the dog.
When I stopped laughing (and now I probably wouldn't mess with a kid that way,
but it was just so funny to me and Keith that he couldn't stand it; we're older
and better parents now) I would say Okay, okay. And I'd start the Jetsons
theme "right" with the "Doo dee dee, doo dee dee, doo dee dee, doo dee doodle
deedle DOOOOO! " And about the time he was calm again, I'd get to the part that
went, "Meet Fred Flintstone. Doo dee dee, doo dee dee, his dog Dino, daugher
Pebbles, Wilma his wife..." Kirby hated it.
But now he can go three days without insisting the world should be otherwise.
Sandra
pam sorooshian
On Mar 29, 2004, at 10:28 AM, jrossedd@... wrote:
sewing and stuff like that?"
(I'm an econometrician - statistics applied to economics.)
And - yay for Kirby, he's Mr. Cool! <G> I love it when these kids are
so centered and confident in themselves.
-pam
National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.
> When I was a very young, female professional in a world ofI was constantly asked, "Home economics? Do you teach cooking and
> men's men,
> I was often mistaken for a secretary. It was much better to just go
> along with
> it than to correct people. We Southern ladies always used to tell each
> other,
> "Always let them underestimate you!"
sewing and stuff like that?"
(I'm an econometrician - statistics applied to economics.)
And - yay for Kirby, he's Mr. Cool! <G> I love it when these kids are
so centered and confident in themselves.
-pam
National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/29/2004 4:18:03 PM Mountain Standard Time,
pamsoroosh@... writes:
I was constantly asked, "Home economics? Do you teach cooking and
sewing and stuff like that?"
(I'm an econometrician - statistics applied to economics.)
========
Another friend of mine works for the state of New Mexico in traffic research.
Once at a party she was asked what she did at work. She was starting to
explain it, but right after "statistical modelling" someone interrupted and said
"OH, you're a model?"
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
pamsoroosh@... writes:
I was constantly asked, "Home economics? Do you teach cooking and
sewing and stuff like that?"
(I'm an econometrician - statistics applied to economics.)
========
Another friend of mine works for the state of New Mexico in traffic research.
Once at a party she was asked what she did at work. She was starting to
explain it, but right after "statistical modelling" someone interrupted and said
"OH, you're a model?"
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
pam sorooshian
On Mar 29, 2004, at 3:43 PM, SandraDodd@... wrote:
-pam
National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.
> She was starting toOnly in my dreams! <G>
> explain it, but right after "statistical modelling" someone
> interrupted and said
> "OH, you're a model?"
-pam
National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.
Anita Bower
>My son was like Kirby in this way. He is almost 15 now, an avid Magic
>I forgot to remind those who havne't been following the Tale of Kirby that he
>was a furious kind of explosive games player when he was little. Games had
>to played EXACTLY RIGHT and it was best if Kirby won. Video games needed
>to go
>well within his window of patience, or that controller was going to be sorry.
>He did NOT accept variance. He didn't like furniture rearranged.
the Gathering player (is going to the JSS Champs in Kansas City this
summer). He still corrects people if they do this "not the right way,"
but, I think he's easing up on it a bit. This morning he was telling me
of the different rules for Monopoly used at his friend's house, and he
wasn't implying that they were incorrect.
Anita B.
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/29/2004 9:25:11 PM Eastern Standard Time,
pamsoroosh@... writes:
Only in my dreams! <G><<<<
You are a model for ME!
And thank you!
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
pamsoroosh@... writes:
Only in my dreams! <G><<<<
You are a model for ME!
And thank you!
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]