If you know me, chances are we've acted out this scene together:
The setting: a bar in Brooklyn or Manhattan
The cast: yours truly, and a few friends/acquaintances
Work Guy: Man, today sucked. I'm really glad we came out.
Me: Yeah, me to. I'm going to drown my sorrows in guacamole.
Work Guy: Give me the biggest beer you've got.
Work Friend: Hell yeah on that guacamole.
Work Girl: God, XYZ is such a bitch.
Work Guy: Man, everyone we work with totally sucks.
Work Girl: Yeah, what a bunch of ass-holes.
Me: (removing hook and half-made hat from oversized purse) Mind if I crochet?
Work Friend: Cool, what are you working on?
Work Girl and Guy: ...
Fin
Here
is why I crochet in bars. It's not that I'm not interested in
conversing with you -- I am. It's not that I don't want to get to know
you better -- I do, or else I would have gone home. It's not that I'm so
anxious about social occasions that I have to keep my hands busy
(although admittedly, that has something to do with it). It's this: I
really like to crochet. In fact, I freaking love to crochet. I love that
it makes me feel productive. I love that it allows me to create
something tangible. It gives me a sense of satisfaction that I can't
find in my work, because me work does not produce anything tangible,
ever.
It's been interesting to discover that a lot of
the people that I know professionally do not have any hobbies. Granted,
being an attorney does not leave you with a lot of free time. I'm always
really excited to learn about other people's unexpected non-work
activities. Some people gently mock an older, somewhat awkward colleague
for being involved in community theater. The other day, I found myself
deep in conversation with this gent about the relative merits of Crazy
For You versus My Fair Lady. And guess what? It was delightful. He
morphed into a newly animated, considerably less awkward person. This
guy probably would have understood why I crochet in bars. He sneaks off
into vacant hallways to sing show tunes between trials.
Maybe I'll design a hat called the Eliza Doolittle. We can talk about it over a beer if you like. I'll multitask.
P.S. New inventory coming soon!
