Social Interaction

While last night's episode may not be a prime example, I'm continually amazed at the genuinely good points South Park makes. Yes, they're foul-mouthed, yes, Cartman is the anti-Christ, but you know, there are all sorts of pearls of wisdom throughout the show. The one I've been thinking about lately is a point that was made at the beginning of the Scientology episode where Stan wants to save up for a new bike so he doesn't want to spend money while having fun with his friends. They respond with "Stan, don't you know the first law of physics? Anything that is fun costs at least 8 dollars." Well, if your friends are not into playing sports, there isn't much you can do that allows you to hang out with your friends and shoot the shit for free. Even if you invite them to your house, the host generally provides snacks or dinner. If the host rotated, it would even out, but that requires a certain amount of coordination that most don't really seem to care for, plus things come up, etc.

Since this is the case, it is very difficult to establish and cultivate friendships. Another reason this seems so difficult to me is because I don't go to church. That is one of the most fundamental places people establish friendships and just meet people. There is no such place for atheist/agnostic/secular people to do this. The possible exception to this is a coffeeshop/bar, but, at these places, there is no guarantee that you have anything in common with the other people there (i.e. you both don't believe Jesus Christ died for your sins). So you have to search for things in common based on superficial dialogue. If you talk to someone once or twice you may never realize there is a topic you haven't explored that you totally agree on. I'm sure the same problem exists at church and there are times where one could feel like an outsider there as well, but I can't help but think perhaps it's more difficult for non-believers (or non-church-goers).

The summary of the above discussion really amounts to, "I am a socially awkward person", but I continually try to find a way out. When I went to college I thought joining a fraternity would help. Well, that didn't really work out as I deactivated after about three months as I realized I had no desire to be friends with 100 people simply because they wore the same letters, of which maybe 4 or 5 of them actually understood the meaning. After that, I began my current addiction to going to coffeeshops to find people to talk to. It's been 8 years and I'm getting burnt out on it. I can't stand going to bars because of the smoke and the fact that I quit drinking.

Are there any other places to go hang out that cost no money? The park? I suppose a cookout is always nice, but the coordination of such an event always seems to lead to 4 people showing up that don't really want to be there. I think the library should be open late so you could go hang out and read but there should also be a discussion room, where you could hang out, and perhaps they could sell booze even. I suppose tax payer dollars paying for that might not be the best thing though...

P.S. Please don't answer "the mall" as I will throw up.