Sunday, December 21, 2008

Joining

During law school, people started making fun of me for joining so many groups. The child advocacy group, the animal law group, the domestic violence group, Street Law, Legal Education Project, even the summer UVA social committee for Philadelphia -- I think it was really that last one that people made the most fun of because of all the people least likely to actually attend UVA social events in Philadelphia I would be at the top of the list (and, in fact, I did not attend the one event that the committee managed to plan that summer).

Since coming to Philadelphia, I may have joined a group or two as well, although most of them have been one-time things. I went to the Returned Peace Corps Association monthly dinner one time this summer. I joined a movie group and so far have only gone once. I became a member of the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society but have only volunteered one time. I've been going to church but have only attended two events sponsored by the church's young adult group. I joined one book club's email list, even read the book, but then didn't go to the meeting (although I have joined another book club that I do attend and intend to continue with). I recently went on one run with the local running club but probably won't run with them again; there's another running group that meets a little further away that I spent all summer thinking about joining but never did. I've recently joined a bike club, although none of their events take place until spring, and I also plan to join the Philly triathlon club. I joined a writing group for people who want to write young adults novels. I tried to join another writing group but the person in charge was too unorganized and I got sick of reminding her to put me on the email list.

Haha, I didn't even realize how many things there have been! I guess I've been a little desperate to meet people in town. Without being in school it's a lot harder to make friends in a new city, so I thought groups might be a way to do it. Of course, that's not true if all I do is go one time and then never go back. Maybe in the new year I should narrow down my list of groups and commit to attending more regularly. Or maybe there's a group joiner anonymous group? Or maybe I should join group therapy????

I hope everyone is getting ready to enjoy the holidays with their friends and family -- my mom is coming to visit which means I get friends and family rolled into one! We're planning to see movies pretty much every day so I'll give y'all the scoop on what to see and what to miss. I just saw Slumdog Millionaire and I can definitely recommend that -- especially if you need a little help believing in happy endings.

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