Where is Everybody?

Quite a few friends of mine are getting married this year. I attended a provincial wedding for two college friends last May, a previous relationship of mine is having her wedding next month, and another college friend has gotten a commitment from me for this December. On top of that, there was a wedding last weekend that I unfortunately missed; to this day, I have no idea how it slipped my mind.

I mean, did everybody suddenly decide to tie the knot this year? There must be something about the local planetary alignments right now...

What galls me, however, is the possibility that I've remained out of touch. I've had my nose buried in work for the past few months, much to the point that I haven't seen anything of my circle of friends. On top of that, I've had some looming writing deadlines for August and September, and, well... you get the idea. It's the same old excuses, really.

Maybe I just need to get out more often. I mean, I've concerned myself with the prospect of maintaining a life outside my work for years and years now. Despite that, however, I don't seem to have much to show for it. Even worse, I seem to have missed out on a few monumental events that have occurred -- say, that wedding last Sunday. (I do wish you all the best, Diane and Mark.)

I suspect that my non-sociable side is popping up again. This is actually rather ironic, as I've been attending a couple of events -- a few conventions, a couple of tournaments, an open gaming meet -- recently, all of which were in the company of relative strangers. On the other hand, these weren't personal gatherings, and were more like get-togethers for a bunch of like-minded enthusiasts. They don't exactly compare to an afternoon where you hang out and shoot the breeze with the people you know and love.

The phone's right next to me, I suppose. I need to set up more junkets, or at least find reasons to get a few people together. This current lifestyle isn't as healthy as it looks.