The who's going to hug Hal thread

[UnrepentantSinner]

Girl6 in the shy thread wrote:
Oh, and since I'm also a Latina, I tend to hug people when I see them. UnrepentantSinner can testify to that!

Which reminded me of an astonishing admission by Hal in PalTalk the other night. He's a big hugger. I know, I was suprised to hear that as well. So let's find out who's going to Hug Hal at TAM2.

[MoeFaux]

If a person looks like they're going to go in for a hug, I hug.
But I'm usually a firm handshake person unless I know someone very, very well. I hug my close friends.
But I voted to hug Hal with the information that that's his style.

[arcticpenguin]

I voted "firm handshake". I'm a guy. That's with a "u".

[kittynh]

well, I plan to hide in a corner, or duck under the table where I'm helping Linda when ever Hal comes around.


I may come out for lunch....

[UnrepentantSinner]

Originally posted by kittynh
well, I plan to hide in a corner, or duck under the table where I'm helping Linda when ever Hal comes around.


I may come out for lunch....

So which option did you chose for the poll?

[Zep]

A firm handshake - I hardly know the guy and he wouldn't pick me from Adam.

His subordinates give him crisp salutes. They'd better...!

[kittynh]

None, you didn't have the hyperventilate and hide option

[The Central Scrutinizer]

I don't hug guys. I'm not gay.

[UnrepentantSinner]

I'm curious as to why hugging is thought of as being gay. I don't like touching other people that much in the first place and don't really like touching other men, but I don't automatically think a hug is a indication of homosexuality.

God forbid you should have to greet an Arab or Russian some day.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Originally posted by UnrepentantSinner
God forbid you should have to greet an Arab or Russian some day.

Arabs and Russians are gay.

[Monketey Ghost]

I'll give him a kiss on the lips.

Or maybe he'll just allow me to kiss his ring. "Don Bidlack, you honor me greatly on this occasion...":D

[hal bidlack]

um... let me be real clear about this...

I don't hug, ever, unless you are family.

no hugs. EVER!

none!

no touching, no back slapping, no nothing!

And USA, I'll have a special gift for you in Vegas. Think of it as a special 'hug' from me to you... ;)

(touch another person?? shudder....)

:eek: :eek: :eek:

[Supercharts]

I'm sitting here wondering - could this call for support be any more of an obvious suck up?
Golly, I don't think so.
But I could be wrong.
[Ignore is always an option - investigate it and decide]
But on the other hand is there anyone out there with a really good fried chicken recipe?

[UnrepentantSinner]

Originally posted by hal bidlack
And USA, I'll have a special gift for you in Vegas. Think of it as
a special 'hug' from me to you... ;)

:roll:

If you consider a right cross to the face followed up by a kidney punch a "hug," I can see why you're so averse to them. ;)

And I'd pay money to watch you try and rebuff Girl6. If she'll plant a smooch on Randi's forehead I doubt anything you say will hold her back. She's the Huginator!

Originally posted by Supercharts
But I could be wrong.

You are. This thread is a little practical joke based on some joking around in PalTalk last week. Try not to read too much into things like this o.k.?

Originally posted by The Central Scrutinizer
Arabs and Russians are gay.

Oh come now. They'd have much better fashion sense.

[Girl 6]

Originally posted by hal bidlack
um... let me be real clear about this...

I don't hug, ever, unless you are family.

no hugs. EVER!

none!

no touching, no back slapping, no nothing!

And USA, I'll have a special gift for you in Vegas. Think of it as a special 'hug' from me to you... ;)

(touch another person?? shudder....)

:eek: :eek: :eek:

:roll:

Someone's going to get a SPECIAL hug from me! :D (although, I remember hugging you the first time around, but you might not remember since I may have caught you off-guard)

By the way, I can't wait until TAM2 to hug ALL of you! :D And, yes, I smell good... ;)

G6

[Luciana]

It's a very curious cultural thing.

I had been in the company for 2 years. My boss's boss entered my room and my jaw dropped - he was wearing JEANS! I had never seen him wearing JEANS! So I got up, gave him a big hug and said "you look soooo cute in jeans!!!" He blushed uncontrollably, he was such a sweet guy anyway.

I think that in the US I might be sued for sexual harrasment, or something like that. :D

Invasion of personal space. Brazilians just squeeeeze, and don't think nothing of it. In the US and in Europe people really get apart, specially in elevators. At TAM a guy at the airport brushed his arm against mine, and he *apologized*. Here, no one would care about apologizing unless there was some harm done. Just brushing the arm is not even worth noting.

[CFLarsen]

Originally posted by hal bidlack
um... let me be real clear about this...

I don't hug, ever, unless you are family.

no hugs. EVER!

none!

no touching, no back slapping, no nothing!

And USA, I'll have a special gift for you in Vegas. Think of it as a special 'hug' from me to you... ;)

(touch another person?? shudder....)

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Yeah, yeah....now, throughout the meeting, you'll be hugged, cuddled, slapped on the back, having your cheeks pinched, hair tussled, ears nuzzled, bum pinched.... :D

[hal bidlack]

hum...pretty women want to hug me.


let me think about that... NO!

but, I will have my handsome 19 year old son with me, you can hug him instead. ;)

[SkepticScott]

Originally posted by Girl 6
(snip) By the way, I can't wait until TAM2 to hug ALL of you! :D And, yes, I smell good... ;) (snip)I thought I was psyched up for TAM2 before, but now WOW! :D

"I have nothing against hello hugs. I have another demon friend named Tananda ... whose hello hugs are high points in my existence."
-- Skeeve, in Robert Asprin's "Hit or Myth"

(I knew all that reading would pay off one day!)

[Girl 6]

Originally posted by hal bidlack
hum...pretty women want to hug me.


let me think about that... NO!

but, I will have my handsome 19 year old son with me, you can hug him instead. ;)

{evil laugh}

As if!!! Okay... I can hug him and you... :D

G6

[Chaos]

Originally posted by Girl 6


{evil laugh}

As if!!! Okay... I can hug him and you... :D

G6

If Hal doesn´t want your hugs, don´t force him. I´ll take them instead ;)

[Monketey Ghost]

After reading Hal's no-touchy response, I've changed my mind.

Now I'm going to slime him.

[kittynh]

Hal stick to your guns. I really enjoy a firm handshake, especially from a man my age. Younger men, I'm better with as I'm like their aunt. Even so, I think I'll just shake your sons hand. And I'll take some pics to send on to Kitten (she's single now...). She actually wanted to come to TAM2, but can't take time from school.

[MRC_Hans]

I voted for bearhug, because thats what I feel like. Not going to the TAM, of course (am on other side of planet).

Hans

[Brown]

In some areas of the country, a man is expected to greet a woman with a kiss. This sort of greeting is very uncomfortable for me. Even if the woman is nice to look at, there's something about having her abruptly swing her cheek up to my face that seems to be an invasion of my personal space.

[Girl 6]

Originally posted by Brown
In some areas of the country, a man is expected to greet a woman with a kiss. This sort of greeting is very uncomfortable for me. Even if the woman is nice to look at, there's something about having her abruptly swing her cheek up to my face that seems to be an invasion of my personal space.

Well, the air kiss is okay. :)

I kiss as well, but I've gotten a lot of really uncomfortable reactions from that. So, I now limit my kissing of someone's cheek when I meet them to people that don't mind that.

G6

[Pirate_Lad]

Unless you catch Hal wearing his uniform, you're not supposed to salute him. And even then, he has to be wearing his uniform cover (hat) in order to return the salute. And you can only wear your cover out of doors. Unless you're under arms, in which case you do not remove your cover.

See how confusing all of this gets? Better stick with the handshakes, folks.

[Lisa]

I forgot how to salute on 02 Apr 01. (Retired from USAF on 01 Apr 01)

[Wyvern]

Originally posted by Lisa
I forgot how to salute on 02 Apr 01. (Retired from USAF on 01 Apr 01)

But it didn't stick since it was April Fool's Day!! :D

[UnrepentantSinner]

Originally posted by Girl 6
Well, the air kiss is okay. :)

I kiss as well, but I've gotten a lot of really uncomfortable reactions from that. So, I now limit my kissing of someone's cheek when I meet them to people that don't mind that.

G6

How do you feel about tongue?




She can't be bargained with.
She can't be reasoned with.
You can't distract her with chocolate.
And she will never, ever stop.

Girl6 is the Huginator.

[arcticpenguin]

Originally posted by UnrepentantSinner

You can't distract her with chocolate.

Not true.

[UnrepentantSinner]

Originally posted by arcticpenguin
Not true.

I thought that was the case myself... until I encountered the Huginator. She hugs first, then goes after the chocolate.

[Brown]

Originally posted by Girl 6
Well, the air kiss is okay. I'd guess that most greeting kisses like this have been air kisses. Most of the women tend to be quite a bit shorter than me, so as they extend themselves (sometimes on tiptoes) to give me a place on their faces to kiss, I have to lean down and make contact. There's little or no lip contact. It's really awkward for both of us.

There are some very good friends of mine (all women) who I greet with a hug, but not a kiss. I'm happy to say that their husbands don't seem to mind.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Originally posted by UnrepentantSinner

Oh come now. They'd have much better fashion sense.

I rest my case.

[Patricio Elicer]

Originally posted by Brown
In some areas of the country, a man is expected to greet a woman with a kiss This is a widely spread custom in my country, and I'm fairly used to it. Even when you are introduced to a stranger woman, she would expect a slight kiss in the right cheek as a greeting. I can't tell I always feel comfortable with that, but WTH!, it's well within our customs.

[Wyvern]

Originally posted by Patricio Elicer
. . . Even when you are introduced to a stranger woman . . .
Stranger than what/whom? :confused:


:D

[Patricio Elicer]

Originally posted by Wyvern
Stranger than what/whom? :confused:


:D Well, a little grammar problem,... but you got the idea :D

[Luciana]

Patricio and Brown - you'd be horrified to find that, in some parts of Brazil, neither one nor two - THREE kisses are required upon meeting a person, except for men, who will slap each other's back and then shake hands firmly while holding a large smile.

In Rio, it's just two kisses. Cheek-to-cheek, not necessarily lip-to-cheek, unless it's someone you're intimate with (read it as, probably, that extrovert coworker).

You get used to it fast. Brazilians shower very often so there's nothing to worry. :D Politicians, however, get the worst of it: they have to shake hands, hug and kiss hundreds of person in a single day.

I'm used to this proximity, therefore my personal space certainly is much more limited than that of some people here. Actually, if you're not sitting in my lap :D I won't mind the human heat. :fg:

[Brown]

Originally posted by Luciana Nery
Patricio and Brown - you'd be horrified to find that, in some parts of Brazil, neither one nor two - THREE kisses are required upon meeting a person, except for men, who will slap each other's back and then shake hands firmly while holding a large smile. I am indeed horrified. Horrified. Oh, the humanity.

Seriously, it all depends on what you're used to. If you're used to kissing, it's not that big of a deal. I'm not opposed to kissing anyone of the opposite sex, of course; it's just that the practice isn't all the common where I live. And being a person of my size sometimes makes the practice inconvenient for both parties, while a handshake of a backslap doesn't suffer as much from the size differential.

I'm surprised that one of the options in the poll isn't "bow." When I was planning my visit to Japan (which was eventually cancelled), I learned a good deal about the etiquette of bowing and greeting. Even so, there is more subtlety and meaning to the Japanese system of greetings than most Westerners grasp.

Accordingly, I could greet Hal (and others) with a bow and: "Konnichi-wa! Watakushi no namea wa, Chairo desu."

[kittynh]

Wasn't in "day of the Jackal' that the assasin missed De Gaul as he bent down to kiss someone on the cheeks? The Jackal had it all planned, but forgot that important bit of culture.

I have to figure out if Hal outranks Pool boy and can make him salute over and over again during TAM2....hehheheheheheh

[NoZed Avenger]

Speaking as a non-hugger, I'd have to say: please don't hug if they really don't want a hug.

That kind of greeting from people I don't know makes me uncomfortable. If no one knows my preference, then I feel that I must grit my teeth and bear it with good grace. But I don't voluntarily put myself into those situations.

Of course, many people have pointed out that with my looks, I should be grateful anyone gets within earshot, much less arm's length, but that isn't the point.

[hal bidlack]

amen, brother. I *hate* it when people try to hug me, especially when I don't really know them. That's been happening quite a lot lately, and I just smile and secretly clench my teeth till it's over.

[SkepticScott]

Hugging someone that doesn't want to be hugged is definitely "nyet kultuni" (sp?).

[UnrepentantSinner]

Originally posted by hal bidlack
amen, brother. I *hate* it when people try to hug me, especially when I don't really know them. That's been happening quite a lot lately, and I just smile and secretly clench my teeth till it's over.

Awww. Sounds like you need a hug...

[renata]

Originally posted by SkepticScott
Hugging someone that doesn't want to be hugged is definitely "nyet kultuni" (sp?).

LOL!
Ne kulturni :)

Yes, Americans are very huggy. Russians are supposed to be also, but I am from the North, so I am not a hugger. In the beginning I was rather unpleasantly surprised when Americans started hugging me left and right. Strange thing was that people of authority did it- teachers, bosses- very strange. The most awkward thing is when they go in for a hug, and you don't want to, but then you realize it is rude, so you go and lean in, and they already leaned back, and you are suspended mid-lean....Ick! The problem is that it is very hard to tell people you don't want to be hugged, one gets a reputation of being cold, icy.

The best thing in an introduction is a handshake. Smile. The end.

Hugs are for family, friends, warm females (Hi Luciana! :)) or drunks. Of course by the end of TAM I will like everyone so much I will be hugging all indiscriminately, most likely. :D

[UnrepentantSinner]

One thought on hugs, in light of some hugs I got from an old female friend of mine. Be careful with the pelvic tilt. It's very powerful.

[Jeff Corey]

Originally posted by renata
LOL!
Ne kulturni :)
Horrorshow Russki slovos!
That means "not cultured or low class ", n'est pas?
Actually, New Englanders don't hug all that much. Exceptions include more recent European immigrants and French Canadians :}

[Girl 6]

{sigh}

I'm hugging ALL of you... Get over it! :D

G6

[Chanileslie]

Originally posted by Girl 6
{sigh}

I'm hugging ALL of you... Get over it! :D

G6

That is fine with me. I like being hugged, but the cheek kiss usually disconcerts me. Especially if it is a big wet one!! I ran into my former assistant recently and he gave me a big hug and a big sloppy kiss on the cheek. I was stunned! I have not been around many people who kiss upon meeting unless they are intimately related.

[SkepticScott]

Originally posted by Girl 6
{sigh}

I'm hugging ALL of you... Get over it! :D

G6 OK, Girl 6, I'll accept a hug.

But just from you.

Err, from just you and MoeFaux.

Wait a second. You, MoeFaux and Renata.

I'd better make that you, MoeFaux, Renata and Linda.

You, MoeFaux, Renata, Linda, Luciana, kittynh, and trish, and Lisa, and ... *

OK, OK, I concede. You're worn me down. I'll accept hugs from any women at TAM2.

Men get firm handshakes. Only.

* The order of names listed should not be construed to indicate preference, nor should the omission of a name be construed as dislike. I just typed names as I thought of them for the purposes of the joke.
The above statement is to be known as the "Scott attempts to avoid the wrath of the skepchicks" statement. :D ;)

[hal bidlack]

clearly I'll need to wear my barbed wire vest, and stand on a platform surrounded by a moat, with sharks with laser beams on their friggkin heads. Or sea bass, ether works.

[Girl 6]

Originally posted by hal bidlack
clearly I'll need to wear my barbed wire vest, and stand on a platform surrounded by a moat, with sharks with laser beams on their friggkin heads. Or sea bass, ether works.

Clearly, you have NO idea that I fight dirty... ;)

Give it up, Hal... I'm hugging you. Just give in to the "dark side".

:D

G6

[MoeFaux]

Don't worry, Hal, I'll fight her off for you.
When she goes into hug me, I'll latch on and wrestle her to the ground and you can make your escape.
And I can make some extra money from that scene on the side. :D

[hal bidlack]

well, just in case she breaks through, remember, I look like this...

http://www.newgenevacenter.org/portrait/ford-grld.jpg

[MoeFaux]

But he's so huggable!!!






You aren't fooling anyone, sir. We all know what you look like. Because not very many men wear a full wig.

[Girl 6]

Originally posted by MoeFaux
Don't worry, Hal, I'll fight her off for you.
When she goes into hug me, I'll latch on and wrestle her to the ground and you can make your escape.
And I can make some extra money from that scene on the side. :D

Gotta admit that the girl is good... ;)

I'm willing to split the proceeds with you, MoeFaux! :D Of course, it's all for the JREF cause. ;)

G6

[kittynh]

Hal, anyone remember Donna Rice and Gary Hart? (no, kitty and that's because you are OLD!)

well, I'm wondering if we'll make headlines with the G6/Moe fight, or is that just too ho hum for Vegas?

[Girl 6]

Originally posted by kittynh
Hal, anyone remember Donna Rice and Gary Hart? (no, kitty and that's because you are OLD!)

well, I'm wondering if we'll make headlines with the G6/Moe fight, or is that just too ho hum for Vegas?

It won't be a fight! :D It will be a show! :D

G6

[AtheistArchon]

- Fight! Fight! Fight! Raaaaa!!