the most interesting people…

…have the most interesting quirks and hobbies. one thing i really enjoy about my job is the variety of people i interact with. unfortunately when i spend 4 months on one client, i do see repeats of a specific type, but lately i’ve had the chance to mix it up and it’s been fun. i was browsing resumes again today and noticed some of the hobbies people list at the end (yes END. if you feel the need to note how you’re interesting, please don’t put it above the education section).

so this morning i was looking for ph.d. level candidates and i noticed how their hobbies were much more involved than “running, blogging, facebooking and pseudo-gardening”. they go spelunking or study the mating rituals of rare birds. stuff that involves, well… skill.

i have found that they also know lots of stuff. not just how to formulate dog food into nutritionally-correct and yet flavorful morsels (which, btw, H thanks you – he had his first handful this evening). they just know how stuff works.

i work with a man named dan. i refer to him as dan who knows everything. because, well, he does. he’s part computer geek / part wildlife outdoorsman hunter / part gourmet chef (who grows everything himself / part party guy / part world traveler. i have yet to find a question this man can’t answer. every time i stop at his desk it’s a half hour endeavor because i can’t pull myself away from the conversation.

tonight i was at a gathering of people (*extrovert hangover rising*) and i sat near those who were quite hilarious. i was literally LOLing much of the evening. i felt like quite a voyer as i’m not really “friends” with them (aquaintences – fb friends with one at best), but their hilarity pulled sucked me in. it’s not that ph.d level of interesting, but a snappy, bright humor that makes you want to listen into their phone conversations.

so it has made me reflect on how un-interesting i am. i have “theories about everything” but know very little. and what i do know i am generally regurgitating from when someone else told me. if i don’t cite my source it’s because i already have 3 times and now i’m just claiming it as my own. but it’s not my own.

so, i guess the moral of the story is, if you can’t be interesting with interesting quirks and interesting hobbies, than at least surround yourself with interesting people so you can still have a great party story. how does david sedaris say it – “if you can’t be cute, you might as well be cleaver”…