Recently The Boy and I had one of those discussions. The sort that begins with “You don’t get out enough. You should go find some groups to join.”
He is probably right, of course. I don’t get out enough, as is probably evident from the glee with which I pick up any invitation that comes my way.  And so this week I have promised to begin the long and arduous process of hunting for something to do.
Problem one: I appear to be in one of those phases of ennui where nothing seems particularly exciting. Perhaps this is the weather, which has been stultifyingly sticky and motivation-crushing.
Or perhaps not. There is also the part where if one is very bored very consistently for a very long time it becomes difficult to get excited about things.
Problem two: I am naturally a somewhat shy person, and the idea of going someplace all by myself and talking to a bunch of strangers is a front runner for most terrifying evening’s “entertainment” ever. I am not partial to loud, crowded places, so just wandering down to the pub and schmoozing isn’t really something I’m keen on. Never mind that I am not dating, just looking to expand my social circle.
Problem three: It’s difficult to justify to myself the notion of taking part in any new activity that does not seem to have some immediate relevance to my job hunt. Of course, on the other hand, it’s probably not conducive to mental health to spend as much time as I do obsessing about that, either. Does having more fun make you more likely to get employed? I wonder.
Still, I have gamely plowed through all thousand-odd meetup groups on meetup.com, and found a couple that might maybe possibly be kinda sorta interesting, except then we get again to problem one. It’s hard to imagine myself getting brave enough to overcome my shyness without being really interested in whatever is going on out there.
It’s a heck of a first world problem to have, I suppose. I am not starving or homeless or hiding in a war zone from people who would like to massacre me and my family. I am just under-stimulated. The other day I was told “Your brain is like a greyhound cooped up in a tiny apartment; it needs to get out and RUN.” This seems accurate.
Frustratingly, the thing I feel most like doing is rounding up a friend or two and working on something creative together – writing an adventure or something, perhaps, for fun.  Unfortunately this is impossible, as my social circle is so busy as to make it just this side of impossible to arrange contact, and anyway most of them are going through some Very Bad Things right now and aren’t feeling up to much. Hence the need to meet more people, and we are back where we started.
How does one go about auditioning for friends? I always met people through people, before.
And why is there not a more convenient listing of all the social groups there are in a place? Someone should get on that.
Those of you who prefer it when I just post things: Please enjoy this man’s loathing of Bella Swan, which mirrors in many ways my own. (via The Boy)
Alternately, there is some amusing video game nostalgia here at Kotaku, and the art of cheating has apparently gotten much more high tech than I remember it – or so sayeth Neatorama. Still not doing it for you? Try this list of weird things stolen from hotels (via Apartment Therapy).