| Monday April 22nd 2002 Not being a a morning person, Mondays are not an ideal day for me to take weekly French class; particularly 8-12 AM. On the plus side, the courses are free (work pays for them) I have the best instructor (in my opinion) that the school has to offer, and I actually feel like I may learn a thing or two, unlike my last three or four attempts. So, I'll make sure I get a pick-me-up hot chocolate on breaks and we'll see how it goes. Had a friend over last night and he said something unusually deep (unusual for him that is - shhhhhh!). Maybe he didn't even realize it. He asked how I was liking the single life, and I was honest with him; although there's things to like, it's pretty lonely. I'm used to the presence of someone else 24-7 (even if I wasn't talking or doing things with her 24-7). He said the solution is to keep your friends close. Okay, so maybe that isn't so deep, but it does relate strongly to some of the things I've been doing - expanding my social circles at every opportunity, making friends if not dates out of women I'm meeting, etc. To me, there's more advice there than just 'hang out with your small circle often so you're not so lonely'. I think it also means opening yourself up to meeting new people and helping them get to know you in return. I used to be a very closed person; I'd keep everything about me close to my chest except with a privledged few, and even they wouldn't know everything. Now, I'm pretty open to talking about pretty much any subject and I feel a lot more comfortable about it. It hasn't been an easy progression or an overnight change, but there's a lot to be said for trusting people you don't know with information about yourself in order to draw them closer and form a bond with them. I'm not so distant anymore - I'm well within pretty much anyone's reach these days, actually. Which means I'm getting a whole lot less reading and writing done. Now that I've tackled French, maybe it's time for some time management skills... |