Meeting people is not easy.
I think history is the primary reason why meeting new people is not easy. Personal histories. I’m so used to living in Houston and in the Bay Area, where everyone knows what I’m about, what I’ve done, who I’ve hung out with, what my various facial hair configurations have been. People there know me and I know them. I know their histories and their ways of living. They know my way of living.
This builds up over time, this kind of unique, intimate history. We tell stories to each other everyday, we build on these stories the following days, and we continue on until we build relationships and other human to human things. We are story tellers, whether we like it or not.
Which brings me to my current quandary. There’s been a so-called whirlwind of activity in my social sphere lately - I say so-called because for me, going from near zero (having only one or two good friends in LA) to more than zero (having more than five friends here) is a mathematical jump of near infinity (try it, its true!) and I choose to classify this as a flurry of the winds. This whirlwind involves meeting new people, people who have no sense of my history nor I theirs. We meet, introduce our names and where we are from, and share similar dissenting interests (’Man, there are tons of people fresh out of college here aren’t there? Yeah, I know - its weird!’).
From there, I am not always compelled to share the rest of my story. This is where I don’t like being a storyteller. I have to explain the work I’ve done, where I’ve lived, what I hope to do, etc. etc. The list of possible stories to share is endless, and that is not the critical point. The critical point is that I haven’t had to share these stories in a LONG time; for at least 3 years or so.
Maybe I feel rusty; I’m just out of practice, that’s all. Or maybe I just miss my good friends and family. Everytime I have to open my history vault to share with someone new, the images of my good friends and family are stamped on the container, reminding me that there are people that will always know you and will always remember how ridiculous you are.
Edit: I made a spelling error that I fixed with this edit. Thanks aw.
dude, that is exactly how i feel sometimes. but i guess i’m going to have to get over it and make the effort. any reason why quandary is spelled quandry, or have i always spelled it wrong?
Left by aw on August 21st, 2006