something out of the ordinary for me.

went out with a large group of people last night for "social social" time and drinks and dinner and neon candlepin bowling. all j.'s friends from high school, plus a czech girlfriend and a fiancee. i'm not used to making new friends nowadays. we get so busy that the free time we encounter goes towards the maintenance of friendships we already love. and even those, lately, i feel have struggled. for when that one good-but-peripherally-good friend calls, i often am too tired to engage with her--letting the message machine pick up and then deciding i'd rather have a quiet evening at home than put in the effort.

so going out with a large group of people who are not even peripheral friends is something i don't really do.

i had fun. mostly i sat quietly and listened as the others talked. but the fiancee was so friendly and the czech girlfriend started smiling if you asked her about the czech republic (i've traveled there) and the boys all were so unawkward and just willing to laugh at themselves, so it was easy. then j. and i played host at the end of the night as the boys all watched a boxing match. it felt good to give what i could and feel like the atmosphere was so pleasant.

i don't know why i'm so intimidated by these new situations. they usually work out just fine.