The Friday Five are late, but clearly not because they were enjoying Guinness yesterday

[magnetic_pole]

1. Are you Irish? Possibly a bit. (I don't know that much about my ancestors. One side of the family immigrated relatively recently (early 20c) from Sweden; the other side's history is more nebulous and might include some Irish among the Germans and Scots.)

2. Do you like Guinness? No. Don't really drink at all, in fact.

3. Do you know what the symbol of Ireland is? The harp?

4. Have you ever watched Father Ted? I haven't even heard of Father Ted.

5. Do you believe in leprechauns? No. Wow, I'm really failing this Irish quiz, aren't I?

In other, non-Irish news, the last out-of-town guest of the spring break has now departed, and the regular work week is on the horizon. Big take-aways of this last visit? If you're mid-forties-ish and you've been keeping up with someone since college, you've actually known each other for longer than you hadn't known each other, and long enough to have forgotten entire episodes in your relationship. (Or maybe my memory's just getting worse very quickly, and folks are being polite with me.) Also, the Obamas are still the hottest ticket in town. We had to wait in line to see their portraits at the National Portrait Gallery.

Comments

[delphi]

I was kind of relieved to have St. Patrick's Day fall on a Saturday this year, because I work with many people who are really into it and every year someone insists that I must have some Irish ancestry, everyone has some Irish ancestry, if your ancestors were English or Scottish there's always going to be—what do you mean you don't have any British ancestry? And then cue a long and awkward interrogation about my ethnic origins. It's been eight years and I still haven't entirely adjusted to living in a city where someone like me is considered "exotic."

Also, I'm not at all sure how Father Ted holds up, but seeing that question made me smile. It used to play late at night on public television when I was a kid, and it was my gateway into staying up and watching strange offerings from abroad. Definitely formative to my sense of humour. :D

[magnetic_pole]

Oh, oh! Sorry I missed this earlier!

Yikes. I'm sorry you face that on St. Patrick's Day. I'm always surprised/horrified by how often white people make non-white folks' accent/ethnic background/family histories the subject of small talk or intrusive questions. I've watched it happen over and over with the better half, who's Asian American with an name that suggests another race/ethnicity, and folks who have just been introduced will often say "That's an interesting name," in the way that implies they think it doesn't fit and are waiting to hear an explanation. (If they haven't said things like "Where are you from?" or "You speak English really well," of course.)

Funny how watching things at a certain age imprint them on the memory! M.

[delphi]

Honestly, to my own eye I'm as white as you get in every sense except for the fact that one of my grandparents wasn't - but there's something about seeing black hair and a hard-to-place surname that makes a certain kind of person refuse to rest until they know exactly how to mentally categorize you. I get a lot of "So are you...Italian?" or "Where is your family from? No, originally. No, originally-originally."

[magnetic_pole]

I get a lot of "So are you...Italian?" or "Where is your family from? No, originally. No, originally-originally."

There was period back in the 90s when you'd come out to someone and they'd ask you about your sex life, right there, to you face, with no shame and the clear expectation of getting an answer. There's something horrifying/fascinating about what aspects of each other's privacy we feel entitled to violate. M.