OK my bad! i'm on it!
Fall 2004 (Continued)
So this event I go to - clearly I'm looking forward to it. I get there kind of late (RA duties and class... can't skip those) but the event is in full effect. Crazy, but ALL D9 was there, even if it was just one member.
Each organization had a table set up, like a science fair. All sorts of paraphernalia, cool stuff, sign-up sheets and information on display, and an added bonus - each organization had a sign of which chapter they were and what area or school(s) they covered. GREAT!
A member from each organization goes to the podium to talk a little about their GLO - who they are, what they do, etc. I can imagine about 90% of the people in attendance were interested members, as they appeared to be on their "best behavior," many dressed either as if they were going to an interview or a formal dinner. I was business casual in a white sweater, brown pants, and boots. nice, as it was late fall. People are taking notes like it was a lecture - weird but whatever floats your boat.
The event was right before the 2004 elections and the theme was on voter registration, so there was voter registration going on, and various members were talking about how their organization contributes to voting registration and their involvement in politics overall. Many of the organizations said the same things over and over and honestly i was kind of bored.
Later in the evening, refreshments are served, and i go to grab a drink. Problem: there are a vast array of plastic cups in different colors, all coinciding with the organization colors. So me being Ms. Paranoia, takes about 10 minutes - no joke - deciding what cup to take. I'm SURE it wasnt that big a deal, but hey, i don't know the "rules" so i have to choose carefully.
I decide on a white cup - that's neutral right? The only drinks they have are red punch and Coke. hmm. i go for the Coke, which i don't particularly care for and make my way around to mingle. It's kind of cold in the venue, so i put my jacket on... which are the colors of
Morning. Now i know that this will cause some sort of drama, but dammit im cold!
Anyway, I make my way around to each table - introduce myself, smile, all that jazz. I get a tap on my shoulder - some guy i don't know introduces himself - he's a member of... i dunno, i'll call his org
Late Morning. So we're talking and he says "So who's your favorite organization so far?"
Umm... am i supposed to answer this? "Well, i'm just here to meet people." Safe right?
Late Morning guy says, "Oh come on you can tell me, i'm a guy, i have no business in sorority matters. Who do you like here?"
As gullible as a fish, i take the bait - "I really think
Night is cool. One of the girls goes to my school i think."
This piques
Late Morning's interest. He says, "Have you checked their table out?"
Me: "Nah, maybe later."
LM: "Come on, i'm cool with some of them, i'll come over with you."
Me:
I know this can't be good. I am dragged over to
Night's table and forcefully introduced. One of the girls IS from my school, and baerly says hello. I get one half-hearted hello and that's about it. So LM guy and I are just standing there in awkward silence and he says, "Well, aren't you gonna talk to them, this is your chance!" Loud enough for everyone to hear. Great.
THEN he says, "Ok you're a little shy, i get it. Hold on." He says, "Hey ladies, i was just thinking about how nice tld221's jacket is... oh, north face, nice!"
ALL of the Night ladies look at me, and then him, and one of them says, "yeah, she looks good in those colors." and then they go back to their conversation.
Hmm ok. can i get a
in [size=7]?
One of LM's frat brothers calls him and he's like oh, i'll be right back. Of course he doesnt come back, and im standing there all alone. Now you would think, "Well, it was just one bad incident..." but no, this was one bad incidents of quite a few bad incidents with
Night, including a full out argument earlier in the year with a member over a misunderstanding and being stood up by a member who agreed to meet with me for lunch. Why was i busting my hump to stay warm at
Night when they were being so cold?
I'm pretty defeated at this point. My undesirable Coke is flat and warm, and now im burning up in this dayum jacket and sweater. I sit down and regroup then get back in the game.
I go over to
Morning's table and because of lack of tables, they are sharing with
Late Morning. Because i had spent so much time trying to know
Night, I didn't know much else about anything else. Morning's table is sparse, and while they were nice, they seemed kind of boring to me. Ok, boring isn't really the word, but they weren't enticing you know? I wasn't excited by them at all. They also "comment" on my jacket and at this point i'm laughing it off.
I check out
Afternoon last. There are a LOT of Afternoon's here, and they were a little warmer than
Night, but again, wasn't really excited. I was mixed as to whether i could actually see myself as an Afternoon. I couldn't imagine it at all. They had a LOT of paraphernalia in their area, including a huge framed print of their crest on the wall. Very nice.
In any case, I make my way back to
Night's table because i'm so determined. A different Night member is attending the table and is very curt with me in conversation - no bueno. Maybe i came off as insincere, because she would scoff at almost everything I said and would answer my questions with questions. The final straw was when one of her sorors called her over for a picture and she practically knocked me over getting over there - no excuse me, nothing. Was it intentional? I want to believe not. But then in that moment - oh man!
I'm totally defeated by night's end - and that is exactly what it was - the end of
Night for me. I see a guy from my school (who knew all these people from NYU were looking for NPHC like me?) and we chat for a minute. He mentions that one of his cousins is a Sigma Gamma Rho and he just wanted to be a Kappa (LOL so much for discretion - but he actually becomes my sands!).
Me: Who's Sigma Gamma Rho? :me looking around:
Guy: the sorority by the door. They're the blue and yellow one. They presented in the beginning.
Me: Oh, i thought they were all Zeta Phi Beta too. I wasnt here earlier.
Guy: Nah, they just both have blue. There's only one of them here though. You need to do your research LOL
Me: Shoot i thought i did! Ok let me holla at you later.
So I'm ready to leave but since theyre by the door, i figure, let me put my game face on and just say hi.
The table, a little sparse, but nicely decorated nonetheless. The member - professionally dressed in a blue suit. We talk for a minute, and asks me how i liked the event. We talk some more and I tell her I missed her part of the presentation, so we talk some more and I was like "wow, she actually put a spin on the theme and made it interesting!" I felt like i got more out of that one conversation than that whole evening.
We exchange information but i'm skeptical because ALL the orgs give out their information - and you end up with an outdated website, an email address that bounces back, nothing that's really helpful. She gave me her card, email address and the chapter website.
I head out and as i walk to the elevator, she comes out of the restroom and says "Bye, tld221, hope to see you soon!"
Wait? She remembered my name? This must mean something...
I was excited to get home - i'd hit another fork in the road and i felt like i was taking the correct turn.
Spring 2005
Me and
Ilana (the member i met last semester) have been in touch all semester. She always sends me emails just to say hi, and invites me to events. Not just greek events, but parties, poetry slams, museum openings, movies... I've seen more of this city than i have my whole life living here.
We're getting along great, and i feel no pressure. I meet some other interested ladies. They go to school all over and we try to keep in touch as much as possible.
The end of the school year is here and still no signs of being greek. I feel like i can taste it but then again i can't. What's going on?! I want to be an SGRho so bad and it's not happening! I meet more members as time goes on, and in particular, one member's face is AWFULLY familiar. I can't remember where, and i'm too scared to ask.
Summer comes and goes, and one particular afternoon i receive a phone call... who's on the line? :shrugs shoulders:
Fall 2005
I'm doing my makeup in a cab that's speeding across the Brooklyn Bridge. I'm wearing a black dress, black pumps and pearls. My hair is fresh and i feel great! I walk into a dim room of women dressed in blue suits. Finally, I'm here!
I am embraced by many familar faces - and some new ones. It felt like a family reunion. The familiar face is there. I say, "I KNOW we've met before, or i've seen you somewhere..."
She says, "I'm
Ava - we met at a barbeque 2 years ago. You hung out with me and a couple of sorors because you looked like you were upset. I guess we made some impression huh?"
I don't remember that at ALL but she sure did. And that meant more than anything... except my new letters of course!
So with that, on Nov. 26, 2005 i became a member of
Early Morning, or as my sorors would understand, the
Aurora - Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc!!!!!!!!
I'm the chick on the right
For someone who supposedly has been on GC before she should know better. (Assuming I believe her of course)
Congratulations SoRHOr!!
Linear Mode
