half a date night

[mizarchivist]

quiet_elegance and I have been going to salsa classes at CCAE for the past few weeks. Tonight we ended up bailing. QE's energy: quite low. Class content: merenge. Eh. Not a winning combination. It's like glorified line dancing. Once you have the basics, that's good enough. No need to re-learn that with folks who've never done it.
So, home we are, and it is good. While waiting for the T at Harvard, I noticed a young woman in major distress: ie, crying like a crying thing. It was heart-wrenching. But that's a delicate thing. Most of the time one doesn't want random strangers saying "are you ok? Do you want to talk about it?" etc. But I had a bundle of tissues, so I gave her those and a squeeze on the shoulder. I hope whatever's upsetting her is not so bad soon.

Comments

[drwex]

karma++

[mizarchivist]

Exactly. I still wish I could have done more for her. If ever someone was in need of a hug, it was that girl.

[drwex]

Possibly. One presumes that people will respond to such hugs in the way we do. On the other hand, a hug from a stranger - even one as nonthreatening as yourself - might be taken TOTALLY wrong, especially by someone in a distraught frame of mind. I think you probably did about all a total stranger could od.

The archivist will not fall victim to geek social fallacy

[mizarchivist]

Again: precisely. I do my durnedest not to project my boundaries onto people not me/not us.
And hell, sometimes even *I* don't want a hug from those I know and like when distraught.
Hence instinct: reigned in. Even if I'd not made that saving throw as such, I'd not have hugged w/out permission.

Re: The archivist will not fall victim to geek social fallacy

[drwex]

Your Clue Fu is great. Also, I'm totally amused that you've adopted the "made my saving throw" idiom.