Something Different

I am jazzed about attending Hamvention next week. The opportunity to live as a woman full-time at an event I truly enjoy is one of the highlights of my year.

A lot of the things I do during the Hamvention are routine: Thursday evening is my group's board meeting, daytime Friday and Saturday I am a “booth babe” at the convention, and Friday night I attend my group's banquet.

Saturday night is different. In 2010 and 2011, I attended the Contest Dinner, a banquet hosted by a ham radio contest club that attracts a huge contingent of famous radio contesters and wannabes. In 2012, I attended a cook-out hosted by one of the other directors of my group.

My comfort level the first year attending the Contest Dinner was very good because I was sitting with my editor and her friends. She watched my back just in case, but everything went smoothly.

My comfort level the second year attending the Contest Dinner was very good because of my experience the year before. However, I was on my own (my editor did not attend) and I sat with a group of strangers, who turned out to be a bunch of idiots. They treated me as a lady (no problem there), but they were loud and obnoxious (possibly drunk), and it was embarrassment sitting at their table.

At the cook-out last year, my comfort level was extremely high because I already knew most of the people in attendance.

I thought about attending the Contest Dinner again this year. The meal was excellent in the past and they give away so many prizes that half the attendees win something. But always looking to push the envelope, I decided to do something different this year and I am attending a banquet hosted by another ham radio group on Saturday evening .

Perusing the guest list posted on the Internet, I know only one of the attendees, an officer of the host group, who I have exchanged e-mails with in the past. (Maybe I will drop him a note to let him know I am coming.)

So my comfort level is zero, I will be a little nervous, but I will be breaking new ground and that's the way I like it.

 

  

The femulating cast of a local production of Pageant, The Musical.

 

Wearing Elle Tahari.