Oscar-Worthy Performance

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No, this not about the movies. Sorry.
This is about me (but then what isn't?) and people like me who have learned to socialise with the best of them.
Actually, I have a dual purpose in creating this thread: My latest article has been published and has become my first FRONT PAGE material. Of course, I am very happy to have my work published at all much less on the cover. But I'm getting ahead of myself....
You see, I am the food and entertainment contributing editor for a local magazine called Bakersfield Magazine. I write about the local food scene, local notables who throw great parties and the like. This requires me to do a lot of social interacting, something I've become quite skilled at emulating. Truth be told- I tend to drink a lot when in those situations so that I can relax enough to stick it out.
Anyway, being social, to say nothing of being a writer about social events, is nothing but pure performance on my part. When I get home I am as exhausted as if I had worked all day in the yard. I adopt a persona I have come to call Party Miles. He's flambouyant, friendly, a skilled speaker with a sharp wit and even sharper tongue. He can breeze into conversations with complete strangers. He is confident and self-assured. He is everything I am naturally not. He is a character I adopt to get me through a writing project. I guess, in essence, he is a lie. My partner has seen him from time to time and asks, "Who the hell was that?"

http://www.bakersfieldmagazine.net/imag ... ebase2.gif

That's me, dead center, wearing (totally fake) glasses holding the plate and smiling like a complete goof.

There. Now y'all know a secret most of my acquaintences don't know. I'm an actor who plays being a normal, gregarious person.

Many AS make excellent actors.

It's a lot to live every day, however.

I'm not really AS, that would be son and spouse, but I was always shy, and I learned to be out going by acting, much as you have.

It is more ad-lib acting, of course. No one hands you a script to memorize.

My son has a very finely tuned taste for food, as well. And an interest in cooking. His bravery level isn't very up there, yet, but I do think he could do well in the area of food if his first love (inventing games and gadgets) fails him.

There's worse ways to make a living Miles.

ha, who'd have thought an aspie would be an social columnist. On with the show!

Yeah- I'm livin' the dream

To clarify, I only publish about 6-7 article per year, so it's not quite a "living". It's more like gas money and groceries. I still have a FT job for the county that actuall (comes close) to paying the bills.

If only I could settle on one alter-ego, I'd probably be better off.
But, there are just so many to choose from.

EV, I know what you mean. I alternate between masks, they're all the same to me, but people must be confused.

Nocturnal, you convinced me on the photo, you do look the part!

Yeah the photo makes it seem credible, like Truman Capote or any number of others like him, people will accept a gay man in that kind of role and write your oddities off as 'gayness' or something, it's like your allowed to be a bit shocking or outrageous in that perception.