I wandered all the way over to 240 King Street E for the
Ryze business networking event. I figured
that it was worth a shot. Besides, Andrew Plumb likes Ryze enough to
pay for it, so it can’t be all that bad.

I ran for cover just as big raindrops started splattering on the
sidewalk. The guy at the door directed me to the party upstairs, where
I found three people sipping drinks at the bar and having a lively
conversation about different cultures—and in particular, the
late-night habits of people in Lisbon. =) I warmed up to them right
away because one of them was talking about his sabbatical—ah, another
person wandering outside the ivory tower! So I ordered a softdrink and
settled in.

We got around to introductions maybe five minutes into the
conversation. They asked me what I did, and I told them I’m taking
HCI. Some confusion ensued. They asked me what department that’s
under. Even more confusion. Turned out it was a small party for people
from George Brown College. Heh. I couldn’t blame the guy who gave me
directions at the door—I looked like a student!

I eventually found the Ryze get-together. The organizer was already
there. She pointed out a thick roll of green tickets and described the
evening as a business networking event. I nodded—I’d figured out that
much from the website—and then she wrapped up with “…and that’ll be
around $20.”

Now _that_ I didn’t see on the website.

I did some very quick calculations in my head. Even if the thing
included dinner, I didn’t feel that $20 was worth cold-call
conversations in a crowded bar.

I thanked the organizer politely and chit-chatted with the other
early-birds there about social networks. I wanted to get a sense of
people’s energy levels. You know how there are some people who can
make you instantly feel that you know them and they care about you?
Well, I didn’t really get that off the people there. They were more
along the lines of “Hmm, that’s interesting. <change topic>”

It was a toss-up that evening between Ryze and the crochet group at
Graduate House. The crochet group won. (Okay, there was also meeting
up with Calum, but it’s a pity that that invite came a bit late…)

I took one last, quick look at the four people standing around the
tickets, drained my 7-up, and headed back to the dorm.

Transit fare going there: $ 2.50
Softdrink: $2.50
Transit fare coming back: $ 2.50
Realizing that I’m not into networking for networking’s sake: … =)