Restless Musings

We’ve been in Chicago a month, now. I’ve been in my job three-and-a-half weeks. And something is becoming painfully clear:

I need a form of social interaction.

As much as I am an introvert and can tolerate loads of alone time, even I need to connect with other humans sometimes. Being around groups of people for long periods of time is draining, but if I don’t have enough things outside of myself to focus on, I end up way too stuck in my head. This is the situation in which I’ve found myself:

• I work in a back hallway where I rarely see people. Particularly at this point in the term, when it is not the beginning and still not-quite-finals, there isn’t a lot that people need in terms of office supplies. I’m lucky if I get a cumulative half hour of social interaction a day at work.
• Because of this, the majority of my social life is made up of Dragon and the people who go to the two knitting circles we go to each week. Dragon is wonderful, and I love hir very much, but I firmly believe one’s social life should not revolve solely around one’s partner, no matter how wonderful they may be. Knitting circles are wonderful as well, but they’re an activity that Dragon and I share. Which is great, and I have no intention of changing this aspect of our lives, but again, I don’t think it’s healthy for partners to be so enmeshed in each other’s lives that they have to do absolutely everything together.
• I have some other non-knitting friends here, but they were Dragon’s friends first. They are all wonderful human beings and I look forward to getting to know them better, but all the same it would be nice to have some friends here who were my friends first.

I want some form of social interaction that happens regularly, preferably on a weekly basis, and that is mine rather than ours.

Ideally, I would take a class or join an ensemble at the Old Town School of Folk Music, but that costs money, and as our financial situation for the beginning of next year is looking like it will be pretty shaky, I need to be saving money, not spending it.

Unfortunately, there don’t seem to be a ton of other options on the music front aside from one or two bluegrass jams, and while I love my mandolins, I’m not really a bluegrass player.

I did find a writing group that appears to meet a couple of nights a week on Meetup, so I’m hoping to check that out next week. Beyond that, though, I’m not sure what to do. I like Chicago a lot, but I’m missing the communities I left behind in Minnesota.

What do other people do to make new friends? I do not have the sort of personality to just meet people I run into at coffee shops or bars; there needs to be some sort of activity/common purpose involved for me work up the courage to get to know new people. I would be grateful for any suggestions people might have.