Do strangers really have candy?

It has been a long time.  I have really neglected my blog, but life has been busy.  There never seems to be enough time to get anything done, but that might be a topic for another post.

It's funny to me that I find that it is often easier to be nice to strangers rather that people I actually know.  It really doesn't apply with my close friends, but to my acquaintances.  I realized it just the other day.

I was in a clothing store and was able to strike up a great conversation with a fellow shopper and a store employee.  I really enjoyed talking to both of them and I felt so great about the conversation.  It wasn't a deep conversation by any means - we just chatted about the items in the store, how to put outfits together, and the discounts we received for our birth month.  It just seemed so much easier to carry on a conversation with these two random people. I felt like I was free to smile and just enjoy being there.

No, of course, it could have something to do with the fact that I was off on a work day and out shopping.  Maybe I was just in a better mood for that very reason.  Maybe it was easier because these two people did not know me at all.   They had no history of me and made no judgments toward me.  I could just be the person I wanted to be in that very moment - a normal, happy woman out for a day of shopping.  If only life could be so easy breezy all of the time. 

To Read or Not To Read

Tomorrow night is my book club meeting. We meet once a month (skipping December and the summer months) to discuss a preassigned book that the whole group has read. Tomorrow, we are reading my picks, Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris, and I am the discussion leader. That sounds all fine and dandy, but I still have about 160 pages of the book to read.

I really love the people in my book group. They are all really cool people, and I enjoy the social aspect of getting together each month. Most of the group is older than me, some are retired. So, everyone has usually gone on interesting trips or done something cool that they share with the group. The only downside to the club is having to read a darn book.

Maybe is it the part about the book being assigned. Maybe it has to do with trying to make an intelligent point about a book. Maybe it is just trying to remember the plot points. I find the whole thing to be full of pressure. All of the members are so smart. They make smart insights and comments while I am left with "I liked it." It is hard for me to find time to read the books as well (or anything else for that matter - you should see the stacks of magazines by my bed!)

So, what should I do? Should I stick with it or should I bow out? Do I go for the pleasure of the company, or do I quit yet another activity that is hard to fit in my schedule? I wish I knew what to do.

MeetIn Fun

Bill and I attended our first official Meet In event last night. We met a group of folks for dinner at a local Mongolian buffet. Mongolian barbeque has long been a favorite of mine, since the days of California. You choose your own meats, veggies, oils, and spices, then hand it over to the cooks to have it stir fried to perfection. Yummy!

Anyway, I am usually not very comfortable in a crowd, but the group that was there last night was so welcoming and warm. Of course, it probably helped that my friend Josh was there to soothe any awkwardness. There were 9 of us for dinner, and we stayed at the table for a little over 2 hours. We chatted in small groups, as a large group, and as individuals. It was fun to meet new people and learn about different places everyone had been. I am glad I joined the site and am looking forward to my next experience already.