Networked

I took the day off to attend a grant writing workshop in case I want to apply for a position where that skill or, in my case, a general knowledge of how to write one is desired.

The speaker was excellent and the material rich and dense. I scribbled until my fingers cramped. By noon my head was so full of information I had a hard time paying attention to the small talk occurring at my table during lunch. The afternoon was tough. By midafternoon I needed caffeine so badly the Diet Pepsi on the refreshment table tasted amazing.

Generally, I don’t speak to people I don’t know because small talk is not a gift I have. Today people kept approaching me, and I slipped into the chatty me that usually only comes out when I’m on vacation. Things I spoke about ranged from the role animal behaviorists play at zoos (turns out a good gorilla story is universally appreciated) to this March Madness business, of which I know nothing but was able to briefly speak about because of something I heard on the radio this morning.

I was ever so glad when it ended at 4:45. All I wanted was to get to my car, turn on the symphony channel and be quiet. As I left the building a guy ran up from behind. He fell into step with me and asked if I thought the information was worthwhile. “I’m Marcel,” he said, smiling.

“Hi Marcel.” He had an accent, French I think but not from France. More like the accent from a Caribbean island. He looked expectantly at me. Oh I thought a cue to speak. I told him my name. We exchanged why we had attended today. He’s hoping to apply for an NIH grant. I’m hoping to avoid being unemployed. (I didn’t say that to him.) He asked if I would consider working freelance to help develop/write a proposal. Perhaps, I said. He requested my business card. And just like that I networked. Wonder if I can work that into the resume too.