Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Still Here

Often times, I wake up and expect to be in our house in Billings. Then I open my eyes, and lo and behold, we are in Chicago. Sometimes I try to wish us back to that house in Billings, but I keep opening my eyes and keep seeing Chicago. We've lived here for 7 months now, you'd think this would stop.

It's not that I regret moving here, I don't. It's just that things were so much MORE comfortable in Billings, and I know I'm a broken record, but this town just takes so much MORE effort to exist in. I guess it just doesn't fit with my laziness. Then again, if we had just a few friends, things would feel fine here. That's what it comes down too, I miss having friends.

I keep trying different things to make friends, but I keep failing miserably. Folks just seem to have no interest in my witty banter and self-depricating humor (seriously, I'm much more charming in person, it's true). I think we're just in the wrong part of the town. Folks here are mostly yuppie couples with toddlers. We're mostly not. I think we're just misfits who prefer the company of other misfits who like dive bars and liberal politics. Whatever, we're just weird.

However, I am beginning some volunteer work at a local no-kill shelter, in attempt to become part of the community. Brett and I used to be heavily involved in volunteering in Billings, and it was both super annoying and rather fulfilling. That's the things about volunteering, they use and abuse you, but it's for a good cause, so you can't get mad. The place we volunteered with in Billings LOVED Brett and had him preparing to run for city council and become a big fish in a little pond. Here, we can only be little fishes in a HUGE pond, and maybe that's better. We'll see.

7 comments:

Jess said...

I like your "we'll see" attitude. Volunteering should be good, or at least interesting if also slightly painful. Hopefully you'll meet some people who feel the same way.

Tess said...

Uck, this is how I feel about Texas. Sometime I wake up all, "Really? I'm still here, really?"

I've thought about volunteering at a shelter, but I don't know if my delicate emotions can handle it. WAH!

artemisia said...

I also feel like it is hard to make new friends. I have to very, very good friends that still live back East. In the back of my mind, I am afraid I think "I have friends. I don't need any new friends." But I do - I need friends that I SEE and TALK with.

I've thought about volunteering. This is a small town, and that shit can bite you in the ass later.

I'd love to work at the animal shelter, but damn if I wouldn't have a 10-acre backyard full of pets...

Good luck!

Ok, Where Was I? said...

I didn't realize you were in Chicago. I don't know why I just typed that b/c there's no reason for me to have known that. I'm sort of near there--west about 65 miles, where the corn starts. I love dive bars and liberal politics, and surely there will be some others that eventually surface. I always hated that part about moving--waiting for that comfort level to be there and when you have friends that are really good friends and not just people to see a movie with. It always took me a long time, but the wait has always been worth it. Could I sound more like an annoying fortune cookie?!

Anonymous said...

Are you acutally in the city or in a suburb of Chi-town? I'm just across the border of IL/WI but work close to the city, and not only do I love self depricating humor, but there is just nothing better than a dive bar and, so, I live 20 feet from one. But in Wisconsin...where we can still smoke.

Becky said...

I don't live in Chicago, and I don't know you, but I think you should totally meet my friends Matt & Nicole. They live in Chicago - he's from Washington State (so also far away from family and friends) and she's from a remote area in Minnesota - Roseau...heard of it?? Anyway, from what I read on here I think you would get along. But what do I know...I'm just some stranger on the internet. ;-)

Either way, good luck with the making friends. That part of living somewhere new totally sucks.

Flibberty said...

Becky, tell Matt and Nicole to email me! Seriously. I'm from MN and I've discovered that us Minnesotans are kindred spirits.