Adventures in Friend Making

Happy New Year! I know it's a little late, but, whatever.

This year I made a goal of being more social. If you know me, you know I don't like to meet new people, and they don't usually like to meet me either. I have decided to be more active and to build more of a life here in Houston.

I am attempting to do this by saying yes to everything I am invited to, even if I don't want to go. This was going well, except I can't do things on friday night because I have early long runs on Saturday, and now I have my foot in a boot which makes it a hassle to do anything.  Anyway, here are some of my attempts.

1. Cake Decorating

I have wanted to do this for a while, so I finally signed up. I figured it wouldn't hurt to do something I love and meet people at the same time. Good in theory, until I showed up to class. My class is full of grandmothers and moms. Technically I could be "mom age," but I am referring to ladies 30+ with kids. No offense to these ladies, but I don't want to hang out with people that could also be my mom's BFF. There is one girl around my age, I think she's 15. I sit by here in class and we have fun, but she makes me feel soooo old.

I really enjoy cake decorating. So far we have learned how to decorate with butter creme and royal icing. We have focused on the basics: boarders, flowers, and basket weaves. The worst part about cake decorating is that my poor little hand mixer can't take the heat of mixing royal icing, and it has now been retired to the dump. Bummer. Luckily I have a special edition Daniel mixer who know takes care of this fun task for me.

2. Team in Training - The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

I previously participated in Team in Training (TNT) back in 2007 when I ran the Rock n' Roll Marathon to raise money for LLS. I met some fun people last time, so I figured I would give it a go. What's better than raising money for a good cause, physically and mentally challenging yourself, and meeting new people? Nothing!

I was so excited to meet everyone at my first team run (and hopefully scout a new BFF), only to realize that everyone on my team joined with someone they already knew. WHY??? I figured I would force friendship upon these people, like I do most of my current friends. This plan had potential to go far until I fractured my foot. How? Did I do this running? No. I actually did this walking in a very low (1.5" wedge) on flat ground while I was in a rush to the airport. Long story short - I had a terrible day with my swollen foot shoved into my little shoe. So now I have a fractured foot that keeps me away from training with my team. Instead, I am restricted to aqua jogging. It's a great workout, but boring.

Anyway, I have now switched marathons and am training for one in October. I look forward to reconnecting with and befriending my team as soon as I am released by my physical therapist.

Visit my fundraising website for more information and to make a donation. Thank you in advance.

These are my two main attempts. I can't really say that I have found any new BFFs yet, but I'm working on it.