Sherry, I knew it b/c of where she was, that there were other people looking in the same direction, and...I just could tell. And what's funny is that as I type, DS is finishing up watching HSM3, which is on Kids Encore. He spent the whole movie copying Troy's "cool moves". He even went to the sink and got his hair wet so it would look sort of like Troy's.
I swear, HSM follows people around. Well, the thing is, is that they run the floats around just to advertise for the next "show", so it really does come by often. Either that or they run the show every half hour.
As for friends and their artistic endeavours...it's multi-faceted.
I get embarrassed "for" people easily, and I get really uncomfortable. I have the problem while watching sitcoms, I call it the "three's company" problem, where there's a misunderstanding and people get embarrassed, etc etc. Rather than finding it funny, I find it nearly impossible to deal with. DS has a bit of it; he'll run out of the room during scenes like that! Since he's been watching some Hannah Montana, and they do a LOT of that, I'm not sure he's seen the entire episode of some of the shows.
So anyway, I have an overactive embarrassment thing. And for whatever reason, I find it really hard to watch people who are putting themselves into that position. What's STRANGE about it all is that I wanted (ha, past tense is wrong, I WANT) to be an actor, and I was in theater all through high school
(interrupting myself to say that DS just restarted HSM3 omg how will I survive?). I had plenty of friends in there. But even in Drama class, I couldn't watch my friends. I would look at the scenery rather than at them. It sucked! But I have tried watching the person and it sucks even more.
I did see one friend in a production; I have a friend who is the youngest son of a now-late bigwig in hollywood, and while I think he's given up his acting dreams (never wanted to use his last name, but never changed his name either), and he was in a local production of one of the "sister" plays to Biloxi Blues. He was good, but I spent the whole time not watching him, worrying that he was going to mess up, etc etc etc.
When friends have given me their stuff to read, they want to share it with me, discuss it, be touchy feely....aughhhhhh, third level of hell for me. Especially poetry, I am NOT into it. I remember this one friend who kept asking me to look at her stuff, she'd stare at me as I read it, watching for every nuance of my expression/feelings. And then if I didn't get it...that was bad. If I got it, but got it "wrong", bad. ETc. She'd want commentary on the deep meaning, and I'd tell her about a typo, or something awkward in a phrase, etc.
After going through college doing that, I gave it up!
Although strangers sometimes think I'm angry b/c of the natural set of my face (and this icky wrinkle that took up residence shortly after starting to plan a wedding), my friends can see *everything* on my face. And I can't lie. And I don't see the point of lying about someone's artistic endeavors...I mean, if your old buddy Brett had made a horrible song and wanted your opinion before releasing it, it wouldn't have helped him if you said it was great, right? And I think that about all artistic stuff.
My friend here in town is part of Revels. Last year she said she was too busy for it so she only introduced the production. (turned out she was REALLY sick with her chronic condition and she had a liver transplant only 3 months later) I went with her that year, b/c she wasn't in it. She was in it, again, this year, and I coudln't go. I don't like watching anyone sing, not really, and especially not choral type stuff, and I wouldn't have been able to enjoy it at all.
The friend that I lost partially b/c of it says I'm immature and need to get counseling to get over it. She might be right. All I know is...it takes an incredible effort for me to do it, and then I don't enjoy things. So if she wanted an empty shell to listen to the music she and her husband made (gag) that's fine, but call me crazy, I think it's better for me to skip it, rather than to just sit there blankly and LIE to her at the end.
So that's my stupid quirk.
HSM3 makes me SO so so so so glad I never had a serious boyfriend in high school. The whole nonsense of choosing college based on where someone else would be....not my cup of tea!