Barnacle, n. A person who expends significant effort to ensure he does not get separated from some other person in a group social setting. See also puppydog.
I remember a party at which I was polite to one of these for far longer than he deserved. He asked for my e-mail address so we could "keep discussing" what we he had been discussing. I told him I'd be happy to give it to him, but that I should let him know that I was not looking for a new [sexual or romantic] partner right then. He took himself off without another word. Gah, too bad I hadn't thought to tell this self-absorbed pimple that little fact an hour earlier!
It was that kind of party, I suppose. Sad, because it wasn't supposed to be, but there it is. And some people are just that kind of people no matter where they are.
I remember going to an S&M-themed party once where there was not only an official party safeword (safeword, n: the thing you yell to ACTUALLY stop things, when you want "no!" and "stop!" to be allowed in character) but a social safeword. The woman I went with actually used it on someone. Heeheeheehee! (He did deserve it. And he did respect it, too, which raises him a bit in my eyes.) What a great invention!
I can be painfully socially inept. I'm always a good bet for either 1) saying something completely inappropriate (not anything racist or anything like that -- just the wrong thing at the wrong time sort of thing) or 2) spilling something on someone.
*nod*. I've had requests to change the topic before (no! really?) and am well aware that inadvertently grossing people out is not what I *want* to be doing. :-)
OMG! I'm cracking up. Well, I guess I'm not the only one then. I have *definitely* had people ask me to change the topic before, but for a totally different topic of conversation. Now why would a discussion of the tissue damage and repair involved in an anal sphincter tear resulting from a 4th degree episiotomy turn some people off? I mean, gosh, it's fascinating - and people have the nerve to ask me to shut up. LOL!!
I worry sometimes that I may have barnacle tendencies, mainly with whomever I went with to such a group setting, because I don't open up quickly in social situations in which I don't know very many people, and I feel I suck at small talk.
Ah, I figure if you're there together, you're expected to do at least some (and maybe a lot) of social interaction together. Guess my defn was overly broad. A barnacle attaches completely inappropriately. (Y'know, like when a guy pretends to be interested in conversation with a gal when he's never looked as high as her chin.) Hmm, defn needs editing.
That one's definitely a temptation (and I worry about it too, sometimes). These days I try not to unless I'm with someone who feels the same way, in which case it's more symbiotic than parasitic.
I've negotiated stuff like this explicitly with people. "Hi, I don't know anyone at this thing we're about to attend, so I'm going to feel like clinging. What about you?"
I do that often...but then I try not to cling too hard. I find in general that just having someone I'm there "with" makes me less socially nervous, even if we end up spending the whole evening on opposite sides of the room.
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I am perhaps a bit too familiar with the female of the genus, and I've encountered a goodly number of the male variety too.
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I remember a party at which I was polite to one of these for far longer than he deserved. He asked for my e-mail address so we could "keep discussing" what
wehe had been discussing. I told him I'd be happy to give it to him, but that I should let him know that I was not looking for a new [sexual or romantic] partner right then. He took himself off without another word. Gah, too bad I hadn't thought to tell this self-absorbed pimple that little fact an hour earlier!no subject
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I remember going to an S&M-themed party once where there was not only an official party safeword (safeword, n: the thing you yell to ACTUALLY stop things, when you want "no!" and "stop!" to be allowed in character) but a social safeword. The woman I went with actually used it on someone. Heeheeheehee! (He did deserve it. And he did respect it, too, which raises him a bit in my eyes.) What a great invention!
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Sigh!
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Oh Lordy, can I join you over there in that boat? :-(
I don't often spill stuff, but I'd be much more successful socially if I never opened my mouth ever again!
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kthxbye
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