10 Mar 2010, 11:15 pm
So last night I went to my churches Young Adult Group(since all the college kids are gone this is what's it called).
Each night before we get into anything they have these "ice breaker" games. Normally I can get through them no problem, but last night was awful. I forgot the name of the game but it started with everyone in a circle and we all had to make up some sort of motion as our signature action. You have to know the persons motion to "pass". One person stands in the middle and has to ask the person they think has the "ball". To throw the middle person off you do their phrase, but you must do the person you are passing to in secret, because if the middle person finds out you have it you have to go in and start the game again.
I've never ever liked these sort of mess with your head games because I have never been able to get through them without getting mad and walking out to get away and calm my nerves down. Well, this was in an enclosed room so I had nowhere to go.
I was getting angry and was starting to break down, but I finally got the person because the people were going in diagonal motions so it took a bit of time to figure that one. People were noticing and when the person got to me to figure out I had the "ball", other people were going in for me, which helped. 
I have anxiety when talking with people for a long time. The more people there is, the quicker I break down and have to walk away. This is part of the reason I prefer being an audio technician.
But after wards I got back to the sound booth as quick as possible so I could be alone and do my thing for them, and get the videos and other techie stuff going for them.
Has anyone ever done a game like this before? How did you handle it?
11 Mar 2010, 9:15 pm
That sounds awful. If I couldn't leave and felt compelled to participate I could probably hack it. The problem is that people cheat at these things. I am observant enough to usually notice these sorts of signals iff they are not planned or otherwise communicated in advance. Many people engage their friends with signs or symbols that bear some preexisting meaning. I am also notoriously bad at overestimating my ability to function in social environments -- I am always surprised when I lose this sort of thing!
I would suggest avoiding these youth groups and enjoying your high frequency hearing while it lasts. I am now a quarter of a century old. I hope it is merely allergies and sinus pressure but I have been hearing a couple high frequency tones non-stop for the last week. I understand this symptom precedes the loss of hearing at those frequencies. Put on a nice set of monitors and enjoy yourself. I can tolerate 128kbps mp3s these days, yuck.
