That Was Weak

So I went to the holiday party for my condo development.
It was pretty weak.
It started at 6:30, so I figured I’d give it a good 45 minutes or so before heading down there.
Once I got there I was afraid that I was going to find that the only people there were the people who showed up for the meeting to plan it.
I was mistaken; I was the only person from the meeting who was there.
There were only a handful of people there and I didn’t recognize any of them. Most of them were couples/families, with the exception of one unattached woman whom I’d guess to be in her fifties wearing a holiday-themed sweater who quite literally launched herself at an unattached bald man in his fifties, interrupting the conversation he was having with a young couple.
Later, a youngish (married) woman came in and the bald man, again, quite literally, launched himself toward her and away from the woman in the holiday sweater.
Given that I’d gone there primarily to eat and wouldn’t have been inclined to try to strike up a conversation with anyone present even if an opening presented itself, I proceeded to do just that. I don’t really know what to say about the food. It was just sort of…there.
Along with the standard meat, cheese and vegetable trays there was a kind of pasta salad that I can’t really describe even after having two helpings – which should in no way indicate that it was good – and a little make your own taco bar that had topping choices that were a bit unconventional (like mushrooms).
I suppose that I could have stuck around after eating to see if anyone interesting and unattached showed up, but what was I supposed to do in the meantime? I’d snagged one of the few available seats and was feeling guilty about forcing others to stand, but at the same time I didn’t want to have to stand around lurking.
So I left.
Kathleen, who just yesterday was pestering me about how I “need” to socialize more will probably be less than pleased with tonight’s performance, but oh well. I mean, honestly, what more could she expect?
I mean, this is the reason that I don’t go out and socialize because it’s always exactly the same. Anywhere I go I find that all of the associations have already been made, the cliques have formed, and there’s no way for me to insert myself even if I wanted to.
Which is the other problem: I don’t want to.
I just don’t see the point of striking up a conversation with random people who aren’t hot single chicks. Oh sure, there’s the theory that expanding my social network will help expand my options, but I don’t buy it. I mean, the friends I have now have been – no offense – utterly useless when it comes to helping me meet “someone.” I don’t foresee anything different happening just because I add a few more names to my list of contacts on my PDA. I’ve never had friends who have provided any assistance in that area (one guy I knew in Tucson did set me up on a blind date, but that went nowhere fast).
And it’s not like I’ve always been this hermit holed up in his cave. There was a time when I had a pretty large circle of friends during which I went out almost every night. Plus I had the advantage of making use of a social lubricant. What did that ever get me other than jail time and over two months in rehab?
So, I guess that my point is “screw socializing.” I don’t enjoy it, I’m not any good at it, and it’s never really done me any good.

End Of An Era Department:
On the continued topic of socializing, though, I picked Kathleen up from work today for lunch. As I was dropping her off back at work afterwards she pointed out that this was most likely the last time we’d ever meet like that for lunch, as her head goes on the layoff chopping block next week.
To all things there is a season…

Prior to picking Kathleen up for lunch I’d been out in the world doing some Christmas shopping. I wasn’t out long before I realized that I could probably get better deals online, and further that I was pretty much Christmas shopping for me.
I very nearly bought a 37” LCD HDTV for myself, though I successfully avoided temptation. And trust me, it was a very strong temptation, especially after discovering last night while innocently paying my bill online that the credit limit on one of my credit cards has been almost doubled.
That’s just such an evil thing for a credit card company to do at this time of year, though hardly surprising considering that credit card companies are evil.
Beyond that, though, I’m kind of rolling in it a little thanks to all of the worked holiday pay from Thanksgiving and the day after.
Still, I’m doing my best to avoid pissing it all away.
We’ll see how long that lasts.
I did end up buying most of the gifts I was going to get after finding a really good 3 for 1 deal that covers, obviously, 3 of the people I was shopping for, though I still need to do some shopping for my family.
When I got up this morning my condo was a balmy 56 degrees thanks to me forgetting to turn the heat on last night because the Duraflame log had kept things surprisingly warm until it burned out completely.
And it really did make things cozy in here, what with the delicate play of shadow and flame on the walls and the wailing, wintry winds that could be heard blowing outside over the crackling of the artificial log made out of petroleum, wax, and wood fiber.
Ah well, it created a convincing illusion despite being artificial.
In any case, I suppose I’ll put an end to this virtual socializing and return to my normal reclusive ways.