They don't understand!

[Harvestman]

Working, as I do, in a call centre, I'm surrounded by non-bushcrafty people, mainly female. Some of the questions that they ask me about what I do really frustrate and annoy me.

Such as...

"You just picked that and ate it! Eeuuww. What if it is poisonous?"
- It isn't. I know it isn't, or I wouldn't have eaten it. Do I look stupid?

"But what if it has germs on it?"
- Of course if has germs (bacteria) on it. So does everything you eat or drink, and the air you breathe, unless you live in a sterile environment. That's why we have immune systems. So long as I practise basic hygiene and don't eat anything obviously contaminated or rotten, I'll be fine.

"But what if a dog has peed on it?"
- Let's see. Is it wet? No. Does it smell of urine? No. Then a dog probably hasn't peed on it. Or if it has, it was sufficiently long ago that the urea products have broken down into something harmless (which happens very quickly, incidentally). Besides, I'm not aware that dog urine is especially dangerous. I'm sure there are exceptions, but the odds are in my favour.

"You're going camping in January? Won't you be cold?"
- No I won't. You see, I know it is January, so I'll pack warm clothes and a sleeping bag. I'll check the weather forecast. I'll make a fire and eat a hot meal. And if it gets really unexpectedly bad, I'll pack up and go home. But I'd have to be an idiot to let myself get cold.

"You're mad!"
- This from the person who bought her New Year party dress 2 weeks before Christmas, and then ate so much that the dress now doesn't fit, so she had to go out and buy another dress that does fit, thereby wasting the £80 she spent on the original dress. At least I can plan ahead.

But yes, I am mad

Anyone else got annoying examples?

 

[Mesquite]

You paid to go on a course where you had go find your own food/camp in a wood???

 

[Man of Tanith]

most of my work mates dont understand why i feel the need to go camping with merely a tarpaulin
quote''five star is my idea of roughing it''
they dont understand why it helps me to destress after a hard week to take myself into the woods, cook some simple food and generally not be in a building for a night or so

mind you somel follow football like it is a religion which is beyond me

 

[Man of Tanith]

You paid to go on a course where you had go find your own food/camp in a wood???

that sounds oh so painfully familier

 

[Mesquite]

You paid to go on a course where you had go find your own food/camp in a wood???

I forgot the... you paid how much to do the above??? I could have a week in Ibiza (or other med place) for that

 

[Toddy]

Try being female and doing this kind of thing

cheers,
Toddy

 

[milius2]

Oh my god, everyday I get some silly qiestions about bushcrafting. Like: "what would you do if a bear would come to your tent?"

We don't have bears here fot at least 300 years now.... AND i sleep under the skies most of the time. Tent is too big to carry "WHAT?"

"How would you make electricity there?"

Hmh.......

And the worst part it's a grown up 25 year olds that are asking these things... Most of the time I don't have patience and ignore them

 

[JAG009]

Your going where ! in this weather ! are you mad !

 

[Wayland]

Do not try to understand them, and do not try to make them understand you, for they are a breed apart and make no sense...

 

[gsfgaz]

Your going where ! in this weather ! are you mad !
they need ti get a life ... ...

 

[spiritwalker]

why dont you just use a lighter?...
there is plenty of string in the parcel cupboard...
bags of salad are like a quid...
why would anyone want to kill something to eat...are you enjoying that BLT?
do you really need ten stoves?
there is lots and lots lol

 

[Xunil]

mind you somel follow football like it is a religion which is beyond me

I'm with you there.

I've never understood the obsession (I was going to say passion, but I think 'obsession' is far more appropriate) most football fans exhibit.

Team does well = all's well in the world.

Team does badly = sulks, pouting, much lamenting and game dissection between like-minded friends, colleagues, associates or any member of the public prepared to listen. Lengthy diatribe detailing how the game should have been played (what's that all about ?) and a total inability to accept that in any event where there are two competitors (either individuals or teams) that there will always be a winner and a loser on the day.

Repeated use of the word "we" when discussing ones team, as though the fan in question has risen above mere supporter status and has somehow become an intrinsic part of the team...

I'll stop now before I get stoned in the village square as a heretic...



I would always argue that if it means so much to you that it can adversely affect your daily life then it means far too much to you for your own good.

If I go fishing and catch a fish, that's great; but so is just going fishing...

If I go shooting and bag some ducks, geese, or whatever, that's great; but so is just going shooting...

If I manage to light a fire with a hand drill in horrible weather conditions I'm chuffed to bits to have succeeded in challenging circumstances. The rain and wind don't spoil the event - they simply force you to change your approach and get on with dealing with it.

I'll get my coat...

 

[JonathanD]

When I was working in London I had a DC4 delivered to the office. When folks asked I told them it was for sharpening my knife in the field. A great barrage of questions ensued about which 'field', and why do I sit in a field to sharpen my knife.

 

[georann]

What do you need a knife for?
Why do you need so many knives?
Why do you need a knife that big?
But when are you ever going to need a fire?
But it's raining!
You camped in this, under a tarp, in a forest? Didn't you get wet?
Why do you want to go out, its cold?
Why can't you just drive there?

Oh how the list goes on...

 

[Highbinder]

What company call centre do you work for, if you don't mind me asking? I work in a callcentre too and we have one down in Cardiff. People I work with think I'm mad because I sleep in a hammock. I have a reputation now.. I don't mind.

 

[Xunil]

You're into the whole "hunter gatherer" thing ?

Isn't Sainsbury's the natural next stage of your evolution ?

No wonder we're separated...

 

[Tengu]

People never ask me these things.

Havestman, your problem is they are female, and so inherently strange

 

[silvergirl]

On telling my work colleguges I was going to camp on an island with some blokes I'd only spoken to the internet

"you are taking the whole family with you though?"
No

"But you must have met these people before"
No

"At least its at a campsite with wardens"
No

"What no electricity, how do you dry your hair?"
?



Although, I would never advocate anyone to meet up with a group of strange men they had only spoken to over the internet...

 

[Toddy]

Been there Done that

M

 

[Melonfish]

I'm glad i'm not the only one, i also work in an office and honestly the bloody questions. i've been using my staff to help me get about after the GF as it left me totally wiped out. the comments and questions you get. "whats the stick for?" they ask seeing me lean on it and putting weight on it when i walk. "Hitting idiots who ask bloody stupid questions!"
in 4 weeks i've had 2 people recognise it, first was an old gentleman who said it was missing a hook off the top, turns out he used to be a sheep farmer in his youth and my staff had sent him right back.
other was a train conductor who looked at me in my dan-cam, kiwi pants, karrimors and pack with staff and simply said, "Hiking?" i shook my head, "Ah for balance in the snow?" I nodded, he smiled and we parted ways. it was most refreshing.

in work i'm known as the one who instantly knows which mushrooms are safe to eat (i know a fair few but i'm no mycologist) which plants can cure gunshot wounds, (lol, seriously) i'll eat anything that walks on 4 legs and has a face, or flies and has a beak (mostly true) and according to the space cadets in fraud liaison i "must be in the TA" because i'm "always wearing camouflage..."

It doesn't help working in Irlam/Caddishead which tbh looked at the national curriculum and said "hey this is irlam dumb it down a little eh?" i walk down the street to calls of "Gandalf" and "Oi Ray Light us a fire" etc etc.
its a good thing i'm a Metal head otherwise i wouldn't be used to all this taunting... at least where i live is pretty green and people aren't totally locked in concrete.