Observations

With what's happened to me, I can't always participate in certain activities when I'm out with friends. Usually, that means sitting out and observing the social interactions around me.

I went out two nights ago with a group of friends to an Italian restaurant that offers live music and a dance floor. I will post photos in my gallery shortly. Although I couldn't participate, our group was on the dance floor a lot and they were dancing much better than anyone else in the restaurant. It didn't go unnoticed. One of the women at the table next to ours said, "your girls look gorgeous," on their way out. I also noticed a couple dancing in a corner, and the guy did not look comfortable. The girl was trying to help him out, but he looked nervous and with no confidence in himself. It's frustrating to see people who can do better in life but won't venture outside their comfort zones to do so. Later that night, it occurred to me that any of the guys at our table could have walked up to any girl in that restaurant, invited her to dance, and be greeted with a "yes" and a big smile on her face.

Last night was New Year's Eve, and the final party of the night was at Rob's. I noticed this one guy with a goatee who seemed really out of place at the party. Later that night, I was talking to one of the girls who mentioned that he was creepy. "Creepy" is one of the worst labels to be given by a girl, along with "annoying" and "nice." He just lacked confidence. He would try to dance closely to a girl but never talked to any of them, and never stopped clinging to the drink in his hand. His physical appearance was also lacking (and this is something completely under his control). Putting extra time into looking good leads to feeling good, and reduces the feeling of self-consciousness. His glasses were way too big and out of proportion for his face; contact lenses would have looked better. He needed to trim both his goatee and his hair. His T-shirt and pants were a size too large. He would have been better off wearing a collared button-down shirt like everyone else there. I hope one of his buddies points these things out to him. Perhaps it seems offensive, but feedback like that is good and leads to self-improvement.

There was also a really drunk guy who wouldn't stop staring at Becca and I when we were sitting on the couch chatting. Then he got on his cell phone to invite his buddies to the party, but he was too drunk to figure out where he was and give them directions to the house. I thought that was hilarious. It's really interesting what I see when I sit back and watch people interacting around me.