Coffees and Parties and Lunches, Oh My!

I was on a roll for a bit, with hosting two parties in two weeks (one was the ladies night of wine and chatting, and then we hosted a party for my husband’s law school classmates, a few of whom have some potential for the FFFE as well. The only problem there will be how to get them to hang out when they ever have any time!

In addition to the parties, I was grabbing Sunday coffees, doing mid-week biostats phone consultations, and generally living it up for a while – effortlessly doing the FFFE thing, living the goal (or trying to) of networking and meeting people on a regular basis and building relationships based on that.

But now what?

Busy, Busy, Busy

Where has my time gone?  Where have the invites gone?  Where has the will gone to keep checking MeetUp.com for a chance to spread my wings a bit?  And again, where has my time gone?  Work, school, an internship, some volunteer work, a house, a husband, and a dog are surely time consuming enough for two people, but before it was working out relatively well…right?

Is it too much to ask to have time for friends and everything else?

Taking Stock of the Friends Forever Friendship Endeavor

How feasible is it to have routine outings with friends when life is so hectic? I feel like this project has helped me adapt to a new city and find friends perhaps more quickly than I otherwise would have. At the same time, however, trying to plan and organize the endeavor of finding and making friends can add stress to an already overwhelming schedule.

So after all of my hemming and hawing, I want to know what you all think about undertaking a concentrated, organized effort to be active in the friendship world. Enter Quiz #1 for the FFFE.

An Article with 50 Suggestions for Making Friends

I was looking for some extra tips on making friends, and I found this article on meeting people pretty useful!

It goes over some basic but interesting stuff, like bringing up things previously mentioned by them in conversation to ask them more about it, etc.  It’s got some good pointers, so I’m going to try a few!

Sweet Success!

So perhaps it’s cheating, but today I went to a few orientation events for the grad program I’m starting at OSU.  And, surprise surprise, I probably struck up a conversation with at least 1/2 a dozen other grad women.

I’m divided as to whether this counts or not – after all, they were all there to meet people and get to know the program, too, so we weren’t wholly disinterested parties with no need or motivation to meet each other besides being friendly.

Regardless, I met a ton of new people and started some promising relationships, so I’m counting it on the Friendship Meter!

I can definitely sense who I may like to keep getting to know (some more  so than others!) and I’m looking forward to a few opportunities to do so.

All in all, a successful day of friendly chats and promising starts.  Now for rekindling some old friendships (which can be even more awkward than starting new relationships out of the blue)!

The Friendship Endeavor September Plan to Make Friends

So here is the plan for the first month of the Friends Forever Friendship Endeavor I will be undertaking.

September: Talk to people!

– I figure you can’t make friends if you never talk to anybody. So no more ignoring calls on my phone, smiling but avoiding conversation with people on the street or at Starbucks, and deliberately sidestepping opportunities to chat and be friendly just because I feel awkward or pressed for time.

My first month’s plan involves a true commitment to just being friendly, giving myself and others a chance to become friends.

As part of this plan, I vow to:

1. Strike up a conversation with 5 ladies out of the blue (but as naturally and normally as possible!).

2. Call three separate friends I have fallen out of touch with.

3. Go out of my way to learn something new about a co-worker (or two or three).

4. To record my successes (and inevitable failures) herein.

Wish me luck! 🙂