Overreacting

Did you ever have one of those times where you're in a place, and you're supposed to be there, but it's a place that not everyone is allowed to go, and you're not normally there, and then someone official sees you, and you feel like you need to launch into a 10-minute explanation of why you're there, and that you're allowed to be there?

I'm doing a "girls in engineering" thing tomorrow at a local high school, and today was the set-up. So I wandered around until I found the classroom I'll be in, so I could put all the supplies there. Now, when I was in high school, I was often in school after-hours. Between theatre and a half-dozen other clubs, most of the teachers / administrators / custodians at least knew me by sight, and knew that if I was going into a classroom or supply closet it was probably for a legitimate purpose and no cause for alarm. But that was a decade ago, and this was not my school. No one there knows me. So I'm stumbling around, looking for the light switch, when I see this very professionally-dressed woman coming down the hall. Oh no - a teacher?? She probably knows the teacher who works in this room, and is wondering what the heck I think I'm doing, and here I am in jeans and a sweatshirt (that I realized, upon arrival, had stains in about 6 places...I should have just taken it off but I was cold DON'T JUDGE ME). Looking like some kind of vagabond, and not at all like a reputable engineer preparing to encourage young ladies to explore careers in math and science.

It was a moment of panic.

Luckily, she was a fellow presenter. And did not question my right to be in someone else's classroom, at all.

(This post doesn't really have a point, sorry. I'm waiting for my friend to call me; we're going to watch Rocky Horror Picture Show and eat chocolate ice cream because we've both had a bad week and nothing cheers you up like Tim Curry in fishnets and a big bowl of ice cream. So I'm blogging to keep myself occupied. Also, we don't actually live near each other, so we'll be watching the movie simultaneously and messaging each other to keep a running commentary. It's an experiment!)