Your First Event

This article was originally published on Cache Up NB. It has been mirrored here for archive purposes only.

It was April 8th, 2008. I had only been geocaching for a few months and was really new to the sport. I had only found a couple dozen caches in the Moncton area but was really starting to get into it. FunkyNassau had taken me out the previous Boxing Day to give me the lowdown on caching, it’s types, and things to expect.

As a few months rolled by I noticed that an “event” cache was being held in Riverview at one of the arenas. It was a GSAK potluck event held by Rev Slippery. I had never been to an event for geocaching before and I was interested but also very intimidated.

Why so intimidated? Well, it required me to go out and mingle and meet up with people I had never met before. For me, this is something that is very difficult and very intimidating. I love talking to people, but I’m not very good at “breaking the ice”, or simply just walking up to people and starting a conversation. It has always made me very nervous and shy. I have a very vivid memory of going to an IT social event and sort of standing around by myself because I was too shy to talk to anyone. Some people can just strike up a conversation with anyone but for me, it’s a very difficult thing to do.

So to go to an event filled with geocachers, all of whom likely know a lot more than I do, was a bit intimidating. But, I figured if I didn’t go, I wouldn’t know what it was all about. So, I bought a veggie tray to add to the potluck, and headed on over.

I came in and there were a decent amount of people already there. I didn’t know a soul so I found a seat to sit in and sort of kept to myself. At some point, I noticed this guy talking to someone else about having a hard time getting the internet to work in the hall. I got up and sort of wandered over to see what they were doing, and I don’t recall exactly what I said, but it was something along the lines of asking if they were having issues. Turns out the person I spoke to was Rev Slippery. He asked me if I knew anything about it and I said I could try and fix it. Sure enough, we had internet minutes later.

The event moved forward from there and I met a few other cachers including Ron568, Styk, and a bunch of others. It ended up being a decent event and got me out of my shell a little bit. Four years later, it’s a whole other story.

When I think about events and how many of us enjoy them, I think about how many geocachers are out there that opt not to come to events because they are shy or intimidated in the same way I was. Events have become one of my favorite things about geocaching and I can’t imagine taking part in this hobby without it. Without my interaction with other cachers in the community, outside of just logging their caches, this sport wouldn’t seem as “real” as it is now.

I think it’s important for those of us who are active in the geocachinig community to make sure that all cachers are aware of events, and that despite being a bit shy, once you come out and meet other cachers, it adds so much more life to the hobby. Yes, many folks prefer to be on their own and for them, that’s just fine. But many people just need a nudge to get going. I know I did.