New friends (AM)

I've been thinking lately about how it's good to make new friends. Other than the self-evidence of the statement, there are actual reasons too, like when you hang out with people other than the people you've been hanging out with for the last 20 or 30 years you get a new perspective on things. You talk about different things or the same things in new ways and you learn things and it's great. I can't recommend it highly enough. Except I rarely do it. The last friend I probably made was Pickle* and that was at least 8 years ago and is highly embarrassing because she has probably made about 45 friends since then. A year.  

"Why doesn't J make new friends?" You may wonder? "She seems so terribly amusing, if a little too obsessed with her hair," you're probably thinking. But it's not my hair obsession that's the problem, it's a bunch of other things. Like I'm pretty shy and I tend to think that people don't have room in their lives for new friends. And I kind of feel that I don't have room anyway.  Although I see people making new friends all around me, so I guess the latter is not true for them. So if I face the truth, it's probably just the stupid shit I tend to say to people that puts them off.

The other day I told a woman I barely know how great things had been at home because Baby had finally gotten into Harry Potter and I love Harry Potter. I mean, it's kinda cool. I guess. Whatever. I had to backtrack somewhat cause she looked at me as if that statement was totally kookoo. That is to say she seemed to think I was a total loser. 

A few weeks earlier I'd found myself having lunch with a bunch of complete strangers and after remarking on what an enjoyable show The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was someone asked "Do you guys like Amy Schumer?" But his emphasis was weird and I thought he'd pronounced a word funny, so I repeated what I'd heard "Amish humour?" At which  we all laughed, them thinking I'd made some funny joke and me wondering  what the fuck was going on, until the conversation carried on and I realised what had happened and that we weren't talking about Amish humour at all.  

That same day, like some stalker, I'd asked another complete stranger what street in Brunswick she lived. Not because I'm a stalker but because I am curious. But it did come across pretty weird.  

So how do I know that making new friends is cool? Well I don't but Kimmy Schmidt seemed to enjoy making friends on that TV show so I guess it is. 

*Not an actual true fact. But not far off.