studentdriver

Had a few visitors at work last night, which was weird. One after another, actually, for several hours. I wonder what it was about the night that made friends and acquaintances think "hey, wonder what Robert's doing?"

Ryan was among my visitors, someone I hadn't seen for a few years. Last time I'd talked to him, in fact, was when he was leading a fight club at his school; he was on academic probation, had shaved his head, lost many of his teeth, had a considerable record for such a short period of time. I'd heard he'd been put in prison for a while shortly after, and never thought I'd see him again.

I guess his head's on a little straighter now; working as a baker and delivering pizzas, with plans to start over from scratch at a new school and go for an accounting degree. I didn't ask him about the fight club stuff, but kept looking at his partials...

...

I think I'm doing better, at least for a while, with being around people and being social. For the time being. Much can be said about being proactive, but it's hard... but without actively trying to maintain contact with people, it's too easy to weave a thicker and thicker cocoon around me. Some insulation is good, but I take it too far and end up shutting down.

Many thanks are due to Kali for having me come over and watch a couple of movies over the weekend. A simple gesture, and a simple act, but it was the kind of no-pressure thing I needed to remind myself that not everyone sucks. Chilling out is something I rarely do, so it was great to have someone essentially making sure I did exactly that.