The other day, I got an Evite from my agency, inviting the talent pool out to a local eatery for an appreciation happy hour. Personally, I like these things, because it’s a good way to network with my fellow designers, as well as the occasional former client, who may or may not inquire about my working status, and make nice-nice with the agents that it does me good to be on their good side, and the hopeful off-chance that there will be some attractive like-minded snarky design nerd girl that I can shamelessly flirt with.
Looking at the Evite, which was obviously sent to well over 100 people, the ratio of yes/maybe/no was easily 30/40/30%. The yes responses are fairly simple, people exclaiming their looking forward to the event, if anything at all. The maybe responses are a little more snooty, with people obviously being non-committal to the event as a whole, and probably seeing it as a third-option, in the event that nothing better comes along to consume two pre-dinner hours of the afternoon. But it’s the no responses that I find the greatest amount of amusement in. Whereas a lot of people are pretty short and to the point when saying yes or maybe, when it comes to saying no, all these designers, grunt workers and other snobs really need to let everyone else know why they can’t make it to this pedestrian, plebeian happy hour.
“I can’t make it because I have tickets to So You Think You Can Dance“ – look at me everyone, I’m a slave to a shitty reality television show, and someone shelled out actual currency to be a live audience member!
“I would really like to, but I must rest.” – Life is so hard and exhausting, I know.
“sorry. scheduling conflict.” – sorry. I have to jerk off to creativity ads.
“I would come, but I don’t think I’m going to get out of work in time.” – Jesus Christ, get a new job then. I don’t understand why designers so often times have to make themselves sound like they’re pushing boulders up mountains, when in reality, they’re building lame assets in Photoshop, and needing to email PDFs. I know there’s this popular martyr belief that designers are the dregs of the working world, and that WE ALL are the only ones working long hours and slave labor, for meager wages, but such perceived self-importance doesn’t always fly with other designers.
The bottom line is that when there is a large audience presented in front of people, people really love to flaunt their status, their importance, their busyness, or why they simply can’t spare the time to gather with like-status individuals. The same thing happened when an informal Evite was sent out to my graduating high school class – maybe 30 people simply clicked yes, but at least 100 people gave the most elaborate no’s I’ve ever read in my life, and since the vast majority of the names were revealed or obvious, most people knew whom everyone else was, and it ended up turning into one gigantic pissing contest of where so-and-so is now, and what they’re doing, and why it’s so important and time-consuming that they can’t possibly be bothered to show up to a piddly reunion.
My response? I put down a maybe. Because I am being arrogantly non-committal, and would most certainly show myself at this happy hour soiree, that is if something else that captures my attention doesn’t whisk me away first.
