cocoon, sweet cocoon

the morning was cold and breezy today, although it eventually warmed up quite well by the afternoon. i listened to some jack johnson on my way to work this morning. his music really puts me in a mellow mood. i truly dig his style and his low, reassuring voice. it is loose, laid-back, and lilting; you can’t help but let yourself relax, sink down even more comfortably in the driver’s seat, and bob your head to the music.

work is still going ultra-cool lately. i’m still getting along pretty well with everyone i meet – to the point where people are calling me the “social butterfly.”

me? social butterfly? not even!

i just happen to be able to talk with most folks. i don’t stick to one type of people. and it’s not like i’m trying to be a social butterfly. but when people say hi, i just say hi back. and then one thing leads to another, and ta-da! there you go, a conversation gets underway.

but some of the co-workers with whom i’ve gotten to be friends with call me a social butterfly anyway. me, i just call it being polite and friendly.

:-T

because of my alleged social butterfly status, it somehow fell upon me to organize an after-work social event for some of the under-35 and/or no-kids crowd. some of the other rank-n’-file people here who have been here for longer than me have been jonesing for an after-work night out for drinks but just never had the nerve to start getting friendlier with everyone else or ask co-workers if they want to hang out after work.

you know how it is. this being a professional office, all the rank-n’-file people are totally consumed by the daily grind of the 8-to-5 to the point where their personal life – friendships, relationships, etc. – start being affected. i totally empathize, especially as a single, working grrl myself; being at the grind just makes you too exhausted to hang out with your usual crowd, date, and do other types of activities that us single folks should otherwise do.

so that’s why some of these folks here have been jonesing to try to hang out after work. here at the office, we meet all sorts of cool people our age, but it’s a professional environment. plus, in our particular building, all the units are unique unto themselves; there’s not a lot of “mixing.”

couple all that with the fact that they're all rather shy (some of them surprising so, too, like laotian girl! 0_0) and rather passive.

now, i’m truly not a social butterfly. i’m totally anti-social. leave me alone to read a riveting work of non-fiction or my google feedreader or the most recent jcrew, urbanoutfitter, or delia catalogue i've gotten in the mail, and i’m just a happy camper.

but because of my unique status when i first stated working here (being loosely assigned to one of the Important People in the building and having to work with other units), i was able to interact and meet with all sorts of people from various parts of the building, including other Important People and other rank-n’-file peeps around my age. it was eventually noted by some of my peers that i happened to be saying hi to quite a few people in the halls (like, what, i can't be nice and friendly to other people??). so when other people started discussing the topic of “wouldn’t it be cool if we all could hang out over drinks after work one of these days and get to know people better?”, it somehow got delegated to me to do all the arranging and decision-making and inviting.

0_0

but thus far, the task of organizing it hasn't been that hard. i guess.

:-T

i just find it kinda funny. of all the people who have expressed an interest in doing this, i'm the one with the least amount of tenure at that office. and yet i'm the one who sort of got the ball rolling.

should be a fun time, though. we're doing it this week and will just see how it goes. the response has been positive so far, and i do like them all and think they're all pretty cool peeps, despite the cold heart of stone residing in this chest of mine.

my b.f.f. at the office, the viet girl, keeps saying that people just tend to be "drawn" to me. i can't tell whether she's making fun of me or not because she says it with such a straight face. . . .

i'm not a social butterfly.

no, not i.

i'm just a girl who'd rather stay in the cocoon. really.

:-T