Misconceptions people have

[Maggie_the_Ocelot]

About people who work Renaissance Faires (on my mind because we’re in rehearsal now)…

1. We all think we really are our characters (Nope, we’re actors, and we know the difference between fantasy and reality. If you play a noble during the day, you don’t expect anyone to kneel to you after gate closes.)

2. We dress/live like we’re at Faire all the time (A lot of us are in high-tech jobs - things like hoop skirts and bodices don’t work well with that. Also, for just about all of us - the gate closes for the day and the costume comes OFF. It’s a hobby, not our lives.)

3. We all wish that we lived back in Renaissance times (Nope, we tend to really like things like indoor plumbing, regular showers, and controlled fertility. Not to mention having all our teeth and living past age 50.)

4. We all love history, and know a lot about it. (Nope. We probably know a little more than most people about that particular time period, but again - we’re actors. I personally know just enough to be able to convey my character well on the streets.)

5. After-hours at Faire is nothing but one big wild party/orgy (Nope, I’ve been working it for over 20 years and have yet to see or hear recent rumors of an orgy. We do throw some awesome parties, though.)

[Ludovic]

@Maggie_the_Ocelot

5. After-hours at Faire is nothing but one big wild party/orgy (Nope, I’ve been working it for over 20 years and have yet to see or hear recent rumors of an orgy. We do throw some awesome parties, though.)

That’s sort of the opposite of a misconception about “trivia bashes” (i.e. sort of like Dopefests but for trivia games.) No, we don’t just sit around and play trivial pursuit all day: it’s a Real Party (but unfortunately not an orgy.)

[surrounded_by_literalists]

[quote=“Dogzilla, post:21, topic:574844”]

I don’t think the vet should charge nothing to fix little Muffin, but I do hate to pay the vet to whack my little Muffin. I think the “put-em-to-sleep” visit should be free. They can jack up the costs on all my other shit, but when the day comes, I don’t want to have to fuck around with paying the bill. “Oh, great. Here’s $75 for killing my dog.”

My 14 yr old dog (a practice dog; to see if we were capable of raising children) had a stroke at 2:00am on a Sunday morning. At 8:00 am he met us at his office, looked over our “first child” and patiently waited for 45 minutes while we came to terms with putting her to sleep. For the midnight call, the Sunday morning visit, the time it took for us to accept the inevitable and the actual procedure **would **have cost a fortune…If he had bothered send the bill.

My husband works full time for the Federal Government. People think that he must be well paid; we are $20 over the annual income limit for food stamps. Our medical insurance is good, but we have no dental coverage or vision coverage. Two of my kids need glasses we can’t afford. I am having teeth pulled instead of repaired at an alarming rate because its the only kind of dental care I can afford.
When he is in the public eye, its amazing how many of the public will start to berate him about everything they see wrong with the government.

[Illuminatiprimus]

@Maggie_the_Ocelot

5. After-hours at Faire is nothing but one big wild party/orgy (Nope, I’ve been working it for over 20 years and have yet to see or hear recent rumors of an orgy. We do throw some awesome parties, though.)

So that’s not really a misconception is it? If you leave the orgy bit aside.

[Justin_Bailey]

@Illuminatiprimus

So that’s not really a misconception is it? If you leave the orgy bit aside.

I always figured the orgy stuff was exaggeration but I’m not surprised the “eat, drink and be merry” stuff carries on after closing time.

[WhyNot]

@Maggie_the_Ocelot

5. After-hours at Faire is nothing but one big wild party/orgy (Nope, I’ve been working it for over 20 years and have yet to see or hear recent rumors of an orgy. We do throw some awesome parties, though.)

Heh. I found one my first weekend there.
(But you’re absolutely correct that it’s not “one” big wild party/orgy. If I had walked down the *other *path, there would have been a casual after-dinner drinks type atmosphere (with NO ACCENTS!) at the tavern. And down the *third *path, all the vendors’ kids and a decidedly family friendly party. But yeah, the orgies are there as well!)

[kidchameleon]

@Sampiro

I was surprised the first time I saw bananas on the tree. The bunches grow up instead of down from the branch- looks kind of odd.

A misconception some people have is that bananas grow on a tree. It’s actually a plant, not a tree.

[Alessan]

A flower, you mean.

[WhyNot]

@kidchameleon

A misconception some people have is that bananas grow on a tree. It’s actually a plant, not a tree.

Nitpick: trees are plants, too. I think you mean it’s an herb. (That is, it doesn’t have the woody structure needed to qualify a plant as a “tree”, so it’s simply an herbaceous plant.)

[Canadjun]

@rachelellogram

The misconception that people lacking teeth are rednecks. Many non-redneck Americans don’t have dental insurance, or health insurance. (it sounds like you’re maybe talking about Canada, since you said province not state, but just saying)

The misconception among some Americans that because Canada has UHC everything medical up here is free. The “universal” means “available to everyone”, not “everything is included”. Dental work isn’t part of UHC, so people get dental insurance up here too (assuming they can afford it or it is provided by their employer). Similarly for prescriptions outside of an in-patient hospital setting. Many other things that would be considered health-related are also not free and would need optional supplementary insurance if you wanted them covered.

[Cat_Whisperer]

@Canadjun

The misconception among some Americans that because Canada has UHC everything medical up here is free. The “universal” means “available to everyone”, not “everything is included”. Dental work isn’t part of UHC, so people get dental insurance up here too (assuming they can afford it or it is provided by their employer). Similarly for prescriptions outside of an in-patient hospital setting. Many other things that would be considered health-related are also not free and would need optional supplementary insurance if you wanted them covered.

Ain’t that the truth - I don’t remember when my eyes and teeth got detached from my body, but yup, they aren’t covered in my healthcare.

[CanvasShoes]

@WhyNot

I can’t speak to how it used to be, but with two kids, I was recently told that I “might” get as much as $300 a month, but that I’d either have to find a job (which they’d try to help me with) OR work volunteer work 30 hours a week for the cash. Which, honestly, makes utter and total sense, and seems like a really good plan. Unfortunately, I don’t have 30 hours a week these last two months of nursing school, but if I can’t get a job right away when I graduate, I’ll gladly work the job or volunteer hours. But still…$300 for 120 hours of work? Not exactly riding high on the gravy train, are they?

There was a woman in the next cubby over who gets $19 a month in cash. Yep, that’s some welfare queening going on! :rolleyes:

And yeah, I felt like a total asshole moocher going into the office in the first place, and probably annoyed the hell out of everyone there constantly repeating, “I just need to get through the next three months!” And, as it turns out, they can’t help me with the cash anyhow because I am a full time student. Still waiting to hear on LINK (food “stamps”).

Let’s see, if my ancient memory serves me right, my cousin’s last kid “aged” her off of the system around 2002 or so. So I’m guessing some of these folks were grandfathered in?

As I said, it was a hell of a long time ago since I experienced it first hand, but having seen firsthand, some of the “cheaters” it’s not hard to see where people would get that misconception.

How’s that old saying go? “It takes a LOT of attaboys to erase one ‘oh shit!’”