Jane's Social Networking Adventures Part One

Now that I am single again and being the anti-social introvert that I am, putting myself "out there" is always sometimes an agonizing process. But if I don't want to turn into the crazy cat lady, which is tempting believe me, then I have to make the effort to be somewhat sociable. But...doing what...and with whom?

Don't get me wrong - I have a lot of fun with my kittens! Why, just 2 minutes ago I caught Lily carrying around a red twist tie in her mouth - she looked like she had a fu manchu moustache! We I had a good laugh together as I put it in the garbage.

So last night I went to a "games night" that takes place at a nearby elementary school once a month. Though it was touch and go throughout the day. My inner dialogue went something like this:

"you should go, you'll have fun"
"but I could stay here and watch something on Netflix"
"I won't know anybody"
"and you'll continue not to know anybody if you just stay home all the time"
"but what if I don't know how to play the games, what if I make stupid mistakes?"
"there's going to be PIZZA!"
"what if I walk in and everyone is playing a game and there's nowhere for me to sit?"
"it's a cheap night, $5.00 for pizza, a toonie for a 50/50 draw, and if you're not having fun you can always LEAVE!"
"I might have fun"
"I don't need more friends"
"yes, you do"
"what if nobody likes me?"
"what if they do?!"
"sigh..."
"just try it once and see what it's like"...

I changed my mind about 100 times. And then I just got ready and went.

When I walked into the gym full of tables many games were already underway. I was greeted by 3 different people who showed me where to put my coat, where the washrooms were, where to sign up and pay for pizza and which table could use another player. Boom boom boom, just like that!

I knew a couple of people in the room as they are also in my hiking group so that helped. And when I joined into the game of "Hedbanz" where players wear a red head band it reminded me of this guy...

...Karnak! We had to place a card at the front of our headband and ask yes/no questions to figure out what, where or who we were! Believe me, sitting at a table full of people wearing red head bands breaks the ice quickly!

Then we played "Cranium" - which I love! - the highlight of which was when I had to sculpt an umbilical cord out of purple playdough! And my partner guessed it correctly - woo hoo! The last game we played, after gorging on pizza and chips and squares and pop, was "Balderdash". I've always loved that game since we used to play it as kids way back before it was a "real" game. We used to use dictionaries and either make up a meaning or write down the correct one of obscure words. Now it's become a real board game and we had a hilarious time, I killed myself laughing and we can't wait to play it again next time.

This morning I made myself go on a hike (in the rain) and it was fun reliving those hilarious moments with the two hikers who were also at the games night. And tonight I'm getting together with my oldest friend, Jules, to see the movie "Interstellar".  So that is one action-packed weekend. I will feel NO GUILT staying home with my feline friends during the upcoming week! Though, if the weather is decent, I will try to get out for hikes on Tuesday and Thursday :)