(no subject)
After a long day of moving and helping others move yesterday, I drove Christina, jcreed, Emilie, Drew, and Kyle to Charlie's sushi party. Fortunately, my car wasn't too crowded, since I drove Kyle over after everyone else and Drew & Jason went home with others. In the last two months I've rediscovered my love for driving, so I've been offering people rides left and right, as well as helping a bunch of people move. I had forgotten just how satisfying and calming driving can be. I think much of my enjoyment stems from the degree of control an attentive driver has on his vehicle. It's like programming, but more visceral (and real time). I don't think I'm explaining this very well.
The party took an unexpected turn towards the end when after a few hands of bridge (this was the expected turn) most of us devolved into a back rub chain. Giving back rubs is another activity in which I take a great deal of satisfaction, though I think I'm not nearly so good at it, relatively speaking, as I am at driving. Yet I almost never offer back rubs to my friends; I ask for one even more infrequently. One reason must be the complete absence of touching in my family while I was growing up. I didn't even begin giving back rubs casually until senior year, when I was all too happy to consent to Katie's grinning imperative: "Nick wants to give me a back rub, right?" So now I get a great deal of pleasure just in being able to do something for somebody. It's hokey maybe, but it makes me feel better about myself than I'm accustomed to feeling. Of course, it's in my nature sometimes to regard my strengths as weaknesses (and possibly vice versa?): I find myself worrying occasionally whether I've become too ingratiating (generous). It makes me question my motives.
(The party itself was a success. I ate more sushi in one evening that I ever had before, and not a single one of my rolls fell apart completely upon slicing. I think everyone enjoyed themselves, though Kyle was allergic to Charlie's apartment.)
The party took an unexpected turn towards the end when after a few hands of bridge (this was the expected turn) most of us devolved into a back rub chain. Giving back rubs is another activity in which I take a great deal of satisfaction, though I think I'm not nearly so good at it, relatively speaking, as I am at driving. Yet I almost never offer back rubs to my friends; I ask for one even more infrequently. One reason must be the complete absence of touching in my family while I was growing up. I didn't even begin giving back rubs casually until senior year, when I was all too happy to consent to Katie's grinning imperative: "Nick wants to give me a back rub, right?" So now I get a great deal of pleasure just in being able to do something for somebody. It's hokey maybe, but it makes me feel better about myself than I'm accustomed to feeling. Of course, it's in my nature sometimes to regard my strengths as weaknesses (and possibly vice versa?): I find myself worrying occasionally whether I've become too ingratiating (generous). It makes me question my motives.
(The party itself was a success. I ate more sushi in one evening that I ever had before, and not a single one of my rolls fell apart completely upon slicing. I think everyone enjoyed themselves, though Kyle was allergic to Charlie's apartment.)