Frohes Neues!
I am back in Madison after spending a fantastic Christmas with Patrick's family in Cleveland. He's still there, and I get super weird when left alone for too long, so I've been trying to see friends as often as possible. Luckily, I have a large network of awesome friends and acquaintances here, and many of them are in town for the holidays!
Lovely & wonderful evening earlier this week with friends Amanda and Matt. It's never been just the three of us hanging out before, but our mutual love of making things led to both awesome discussions and nearly 100 chocolate truffles in various flavors! The birthday book was busted out, and we proceeded to test its accuracy through a series of poorly-controlled experiments. The profiles seem largely based on which famous people were born on that day, and as I share a birthday with Margaret Thatcher and Lenny Bruce, my profile can basically be summarized as "You're a nasty, cold-hearted bitch, but you do such good work that people have to put up with you." Upon hearing this, both Matt and Amanda were surprised; they declared the book was highly inaccurate for me, and neither of them thinks of me that way at all.
This was something of a shock. For years now, I've been operating under the assumption that I'm naturally a highly unpleasant person, difficult to get along with. Friendliness is something I put on like a coat, something I work extra hard at, to compensate for my natural spikiness. But here are two close friends, saying I'm kind and my company is enjoyable, to the point where they consider them characteristic of me. Perhaps my simulated friendliness has been practiced so much that it's now a part of me? I know it's possible; though not I'm not naturally very physical, being with Patrick the cuddle-octopus has opened me up to the point where I seem a lot huggier to everyone else. I hope it's working in terms of friends as well. For the first time, I'm questioning that assumption that I'm generally unlikeable, and that's a step forward for sure!
Future plans with friends have been enhanced by my acquisition of a sled that is LARGER THAN I AM. I know this is not difficult, but seriously, this sled is FIVE AND A HALF FEET LONG. I had remarkable difficulty carrying it home, but will now be able to have incredible sledding funtimes! I will let you know how many people we manage to cram in there!
Lovely & wonderful evening earlier this week with friends Amanda and Matt. It's never been just the three of us hanging out before, but our mutual love of making things led to both awesome discussions and nearly 100 chocolate truffles in various flavors! The birthday book was busted out, and we proceeded to test its accuracy through a series of poorly-controlled experiments. The profiles seem largely based on which famous people were born on that day, and as I share a birthday with Margaret Thatcher and Lenny Bruce, my profile can basically be summarized as "You're a nasty, cold-hearted bitch, but you do such good work that people have to put up with you." Upon hearing this, both Matt and Amanda were surprised; they declared the book was highly inaccurate for me, and neither of them thinks of me that way at all.
This was something of a shock. For years now, I've been operating under the assumption that I'm naturally a highly unpleasant person, difficult to get along with. Friendliness is something I put on like a coat, something I work extra hard at, to compensate for my natural spikiness. But here are two close friends, saying I'm kind and my company is enjoyable, to the point where they consider them characteristic of me. Perhaps my simulated friendliness has been practiced so much that it's now a part of me? I know it's possible; though not I'm not naturally very physical, being with Patrick the cuddle-octopus has opened me up to the point where I seem a lot huggier to everyone else. I hope it's working in terms of friends as well. For the first time, I'm questioning that assumption that I'm generally unlikeable, and that's a step forward for sure!
Future plans with friends have been enhanced by my acquisition of a sled that is LARGER THAN I AM. I know this is not difficult, but seriously, this sled is FIVE AND A HALF FEET LONG. I had remarkable difficulty carrying it home, but will now be able to have incredible sledding funtimes! I will let you know how many people we manage to cram in there!