Friday, January 21, 2011

people just want to connect

Today is one of those rare days at work when I am alone. My aunt slash coworker is out of the office so I get to wear jeans, fart loudly when I want to, and have the radio on to music that she doesn't listen to (note: NPR).

It also means I'm lonely. She and I don't spend the whole day talking, that would be annoying, but we do talk a lot. I've been texting the crap out of people and decided today that I'd talk to every single policy holder that came in and I had something to talk to them about.

Social experiment: connecting, with anyone

Recently a fellow blogger posted a 9 item list about why you should connect with the girl (woman...? am I old enough to be a woman?) next to you. And most of the reasons made sense. People just want to feel remembered, people want to feel worth remembering. People want to feel like they are a part of something positive. If you can give those feelings to someone, and get the same warmth from mutual connectedness, why wouldn't you?

The first woman I talked to about a flower shop business she'd recently taken over. I asked her how things were going and her response was a smile followed by exclaiming that I'd remembered. We talked for a few minutes about that, then she asked me about my drive up here because I work 35 minutes from home and I told her about how I live on a culdesac and they always plow my driveway in and I have to deal with that but once I'm on the main road it's usually fine. She left smiling and I stayed feeling really good about myself because I'd talked to someone and made someone else happy.

The next person came in and we talked about what he wanted and I gave him some professional advice. I love that I can honestly say I give people professional advice. And, after we got all his stuff handled and I convinced him to do what he should do (which is get his car fixed at this awesome shop because his deductible won't go up just because it's more expensive and he'd be so much happier with the work) we talked about what he does for a living and he has a side job of making DVD's for people (which is totally illegal but who cares) and he gave me a list of the ones he has. I have yet to look at it but I might buy one just because it would again be extending emotions out to people and that's my goal here. He left happy, I stayed here happy.

That's really all the further I've gotten today with real life people. The people I've been texting/emailing I can also tell enjoyed my conversations but I already knew them and they don't really fit into my social experiment. I'm going to the gym tonight after work and maybe I'll talk to someone there too. Last night Merry took me to her gym so we would work out together and however gay it sounds... I seriously had so much fun. I am really enjoying getting to know her better. Her older sister was one of my best friends in High school so I've known her for a while but we never really got to know each other well. I'm seeing so much of me in her it's scary sometimes... but that's the best. When you can just be friends with someone and it's easy. I love easy relationships. Ones that just happen. Having her as a work out buddy is going to make this weight loss thing totally do-able (like yo mama).

Are "your mama" jokes out?

Did I ever know what was in?

Do I even care?

Complaining about being lonely and then doing nothing about it was pathetic. I'm really trying to reach out and in return I'm getting great feed back and feeling better about everything. Tonight me and 4 girl friends are going to karaoke and drinking till we find the most mundane things hilarious, which in itself is hilarious. Girl friends are why God invented women. I'm sure of it.

Look at my nephews noodley hand! I love how
mini he is. He's my one true love.

9 comments:

  1. I find that it's really nice to connect with people. You never know when the other person, especially a stranger, needs that connection. Good for you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I spend a lot of time alone so that I don't punch people in the face ::classic introvert::, but I've been thinking a lot lately about the different levels of connection, especially in reference to genuine connections made through the internet. Fun post! (And adorable munchable hand picture.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hook me up with that DVD guy. I need to add to my collection.

    Ah, people connecting with people.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm glad that you're reaching out to people. More people should know how awesome you are. Seriously.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, this is a great post! I used to be more of an introvert than an extrovert. But when I started getting out of my shell and started communicating with other people, I realized that I don't only help them and make them happy, but help myself and make myself happy as well. It really feels good to have company! Strangers will remain strangers unless we start connecting with them. And the next thing you know, that feeling of being lonesome just disappears! Take care! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love it when random people strike up conversation with me while i'm waiting for a train or whatever. It's kind of nice that there are still people who aren't afraid to just connect with you even though they don't know you from Adam.

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's good to leave your room. the isolation can lead to more depression. I've been there.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Talking to people that came into work and offering them advice was one of my favourite things about working in customer service. Sometimes customer service really blows, but it does open up a lot of oppourtunities for human interaction, which actually feels really good at the end of the day!

    ReplyDelete
  9. YES. Trying new things and branching out is awesome. Karaoke and drinking with friends? EVEN MORE AWESOME :).

    ReplyDelete