I took a 2-day presentation skills class this week. My class was unprepared, evidently our list of instructions was lost in the mail (or never sent out, which I am betting on the later given the level of organization of the presenters). Therefore none of my class knew that we were to prepare a 10 minute presentation to the group on something we were knowledgeable in. They weren't going to alter the schedule and so we were asked to "wing it".
Many times I don't actually feel knowledgeable in most anything. In my group, 10 out of the 12 people presented their research, off the tops of their heads, with no poster or charts to refer to. I knew I would *die* doing this. So I presented about my mother in law and a vacation we took together. Evidently I should leave my career in science for a career as a comedian.
Given that this was a ten minute talk, I only made it through a small portion of the actual vacation. Here is my talk.
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I took a social styles class about 6 months ago. One thing I learned in my social styles class was that I was not only an "analytical", but I was the extreme, an "analytical analytical". One of those ultra-organized, list making, never taking a risk, task oriented, non-people person individuals. I have known this since I hit kindergarten and realized that not everyone was like me and my mom. Part of the point of social styles was to also learn how to identify the styles of others so that we could better relate to them. I can't for the life of me peg my husband, one day he is analytical "just like me" (smile). Other days it is "man you are a driver" or "could you be anymore amiable?". Other days it is "You are expressive, JUST like your mother".
Yes, my mother in law is the only person I have been able to peg so far. She is the epitomy of "expressive expressive". Which also means that she is the exact, far reaching opposite of myself. When I plan a dinner party I invite one or two couples and have a menu planned out, if you have Outlook you will probably receive your invitation via Outlook. I love entertaining, I am just very methodical about it. My MIL on the other hand invites everyone she happens upon and it isn't a party unless the house is filled and there is enough food to feed 3 houses full of people. And her parties ARE fabulous.
Another difference is that I plan a camping trip. My mother in law, who also likes to camp, plans a camping trip with grizzly bears. You see this might not be all social styles. My husband is an Alaskan through and through. He is one of those people that identifies himself first as an Alaskan and then as an American. My MIL is also an Alaskan. In order to be an Alaskan (or an honorary Alaskan in my case) you evidently must go camp with grizzly bears. My mother, however, was concerned of ulterior motives when she heard that we were all going camping in the Alaska bush with grizzly bears.
So my MIL books the trip and soon after starts telling us what to bring, what not to bring, things to be aware of, etc. I started getting a little worried when she told me that even though we are camping for 5 days that I cannot bring toothpaste, shampoo, deoderant, anything. My initial thought was 'well no one will notice if I sneak a little along', then my brain got the better of me as images of a bear tearing through my pack for a 5mL container of toothpaste came to mind. (I would have been so busted and lost my honorary Alaskan status.) She told us tales of cooking behind electric fences and also reminded us that we would be flying in on a float plane and that weight is an issue, so pack light. (I went out and spent a fortune on light, packable camping gear and got everything in my backpack. I was so proud of myself.) The last thing that concerned me a wee bit was that from the time you step off the plane you are in bear country and can see a bear, therefore you must abide by all the rules immediatly like no food outside the electrical fence.
So here we are in Anchorage getting ready to head out on our adventure. I have my bag, Hans has his bag, we have another bag with our gear. My MIL had not one, not two, but 8 pieces of luggage. I should probably take responsibility for one of the coolers out of 4, but nope, I won't. Eight pieces of luggage to get on float planes for 5 days of camping in the bush. Yes, the kitchen sink was in there somewhere.
We are at the airport, right before boarding our plane to King Salmon when my MIL takes off. She returns with her wonderful smile with a BOX of Cinnabons! Who wants one? She asks? None of us did. I still remember the look on my FIL's face, lol. You would have had to have been there. So she carries the Cinnabons onto the plane.
In King Salmon (bug city) we board a small float plane to Katmai National Park, Brooks Camp. The float plane experience was fabulous. You could see everything. At first I was terrified, but there is something about a float plane that is surprisingly reassuring.
We arrived at Brooks Camp and they sent the plane back to get our luggage, all 13 pieces of it for the 6 of us. My MIL "arranges" (read bribes) for the rangers to bring our luggage to the campground. We are told to walk about a mile or so to the Orientation center, no stopping at bathrooms along the way, nothing, straight to the orientation so we can learn about bear country. I had my eyes peeled, looking for grizzly bears and thinking about everything I am supposed to do...
yell and wave my arms if I see a bear...
make myself look big...
don't run...
and by all means don't ever have food outside of the electrical fence...
and by all means don't ever have food outside of the electrical fence...
Food... I am getting hungry, that was a long flight without food, man there are a lot of bugs here, I can't wait to get my bug spray. Oh yeah, I am hungry. Well thank goodness we have the Cinnabons!!
THE CINNABONS!
I look back and there is my MIL, bringing up the rear quickly, carrying the coveted box of Cinnabons through a grizzly bear infested forest. You have smelled those things right? In the mall? You can smell them a mile away. You walk into a mall and yes, there is a Cinnabon stand here. You can smell nothing else. And here is my MIL carrying a box of these things through the forest.
Well you can't just ditch them! So she said, "let's hurry!" We hurried through to camp (already known as the people with a ton of luggage), now add to it, "those yahoos with the ton of luggage and the Cinnabons".
We got to the orientation center where the ranger eyed us suspiciously and said, "you know that
you aren't supposed to be carrying food?" Yes, we knew my MIL piped up and she went through how she bought them, no one wanted them on the flight, so then we got here and she didn't know what to do with them... and here we are. The ranger says fine, but they can't leave the station. (Ulterior motives anyone?)
And here is my classic MIL. She turns to my husband, "Honey, there is a dining hall down the road a little, you can't have Cinnabons without coffee, would you go buy a few coffees?"
I thought the ranger was going to flip her lid as Hans got up and went to find coffee down the road.
It was a really fabulous trip, we saw some amazing sites, the grizzly bears, the land of 10,000 smokes, the grizzly bears, the salmon... I could talk for hours about the experience, which was definitely one of the best of my life. But I won't now. I will wrap up by saying that it would be awfully boring in life if we were all of the same social style. Every social style is valuable. Sometimes it is a challenge to get along with other styles, and other times, as in the case of my MIL, it isn't a challenge at all. You just go with the flow and look at it all as entertainment.
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Ok, hope no one is mad at me!! I love you Charlene!
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