Last night was the first real meetup for the DC0 members, a chance to bring together a number of the people in the area to meet one another. And, of course, to task.

Since many of those attending didn't know each other already, much less trust one another, it was clear that we should start by building some trust. We did three trust exercises:

Trust Fall: A group exercise. One person climbs up on a four-foot pillar, above concrete. Everyone else gathers below in two rows, arms stretched before them. The person falls backwards and trusts that the group will catch them.

Trust Run: Everyone is paired up. In each pair, one person wears a blindfold, the other is sighted. Holding hands, the sighted person leads the blindfolded person around, beginning with a slow walk and ending with a full run. The blindfolded person trusts that their partner will guide them safely.

Trust Gauntlet: Everyone stands in two parallel lines, facing each other. They raise and lower their hands, forming a gauntlet of arms moving like knives. One person runs through this gauntlet, trusting that everyone will raise their arms in time for them to make it through.

Everyone did each trust exercise, building trust in their fellow DC0'ers.

The best part, though, was that (after luring them in with Calvinball), we convinced two random strangers to climb up on a post and fall backwards into our arms. This was a most amazing thing, that we could convince them to trust us, so soon and so completely.

Tonight, we built some trust. SF0 is a place which encourages trust, and encourages us to work together. We in DC0 hope to move forward in that same spirit.

Some personal impressions:

Spidere:
I was first to do the trust fall from the concrete pillar ("Well, I'm scared, so clearly I need to fall."). Once you start to fall back, the sensation of falling kicks in and you realize you're headed for concrete below. Then in a flash, you are caught and safe. Fantastic.

Also: although we'd actually first met some time ago, it had been ten years since I'd last seen Fizzbang. He was my guide for the trust run. We started off slow, and I definitely felt what everyone had talked about: constantly feeling like you're going to walk into something, worrying about what's coming up. But as we moved around, I realized that Fizzbang wasn't going to let me run into anything; by the end, I felt like I was really running, with total trust. I trust Fizzbang. I trust DC0.

duckmonster:
I'm terrified of heights. Heights are scary, especially with concrete below. I didn't want to do the trust fall AT ALL, but I did (peer pressure :)), and I survived (I think). So, uh, yay, I can trust dc0!

Shannon:
I rock climb a bit, so I'm used to falling -- even falling backwards -- without getting hurt. I'd thought that this would prepare me so that my heart wouldn't STOP for that suspended second. I guess the sympathetic nervous system knows the difference between a spongy mat and concrete, and a rope and nothing. But the landing was soft and proof that I could trust DC0 as well. It was harder to commit to a full run while blindfolded, even though I knew Kprime wouldn't let me crash into a concrete wall or a tree or anything -- I sort of kept my posture shifted back -- but there were a couple of brief moments when said nonconscious brain bits stopped worrying so much. By the time we got to the gauntlet, my trust was total and I wasn't worried at all about getting a palm to the nose (even though that did end up happening, but very very lightly). I tend to be an anxious person sometimes, and it's fantastic to experience a complete lack of anxiety. And fun to experience it with others.

Fizzbang:
This was my first time meeting about half of the DC0 crowd, but after we shared a brief meal and some postprandial bullshitting, they felt like fast friends. I wouldn't just fall backwards into any group of 10 random folks, after all - a boy has to have standards.

Even so, there were occasional moments of pants-dampening terror. Apparently, there was a minor camera glitch just as I was falling - hearing someone let out a frustrated curse at that point gave me a brief spike of fear. And I discovered, both as blind runner and sighted leader, that nothing is as terrifying for a blind runner than accidentally leading them over a metal service grate that clanks loudly and unexpectedly.

But both of these sudden flares of fear were quickly extinguished by the trustworthy support and guidance of my DC0 companions - including the new friends we accidentally made later in the evening!

Endless Mike:
As the largest person at the meet, I was reasonably a bit afraid, but all went well. Even though I screwed up on the whole "don't bend" thing. But I was caught in the trust fall and all went well! The blindfold running was easy, although I'm completely lost without sight. Unfortunately, my other senses didn't compensate as well as they could.


Eccoglyph:
I can be somewhat paranoid about the safety of others. But trust exercises are all about using the strength of a group to safely perform otherwise frightening feats. I was thrilled. My excitement turned to horror quickly as we were preparing to do our first catch from the pillar and I realized the group had absolutely no idea what they were doing. Eep. A bit of tweaking and we at least looked ready, though my confidence level had dropped significantly. Talk about a learning curve, though! We had only met an hour previous, yet we worked as a seamless unit. Everyone large and small managed a practically perfect fall. Methinks I caught a glimpse of a future riddled with overwhelming tasks thwarted to pieces by the creativity and blind ambition of DC0. Oh - and possible jail time.