Look me in the eye

I just had the most social-event-filled weekend ever since moving to Philly. It was weird. Before it happened, I joked about how I felt the need to booze up in order to prepare for the social interaction. I really do think I'm getting worse at it. I was one big ball of anxiety about it all weekend.

Friday night, I had a dinner date. Went pretty well. Ate too much.

Saturday night Josh and I had a dinner date with Josh's dad's new work associate. This guy is a 25 year old dentist who is working in Papa-in-law's office. He lives in Philly and somehow Josh and I have never met him. Even though he's been working with Papa-in-law since, oh, July or something. And we were so excited to meet him. He's new in town like us and how rockin' would it be to hang with dental people! So at dinner, Young Dentist is on one side of the table, Joshie and I on the other, with Joshie and Young Dentist sitting directly across from each other. And I might as well not have been there at all. (What's with the grammar there? That felt weird.) It was that whole refusing to look at me while he was talking thing. It was out of control. He just kept looking directly at Josh. And I was making the appropriate responsive noises, uh huh's and really's and the like. But it didn't matter. He REFUSED to look me in the eye. At the end of dinner, I asked Josh if he had noticed. Of course not. But it was insane! I am not even exaggerating how bad it was. I thought I could take off my shirt and he wouldn't have noticed. I just don't get it. Why does he hate me? And then I ate way too much. And probably (just maybe) drank too much sangria.

Anyway, after dinner, we met up with a Friend-of-a-College-Friend for dessert at More than Just Ice Cream. Remind me to take you there some day. Delicious! Anyway, at this point, Josh was aware of the not looking me in the eye situation and said he could sort of see it. It wasn't as bad at that point, but I felt general dislike from him. But he seemed way more interested in FoaCF. He could look her in the eye. Whatever. And I ate way, way too much. I mean these desserts were HUGE! I got chocolate cake with chocolate peanut butter ice cream on the side. And they give you two SERIOUS scoops next to a colossal hunk of cake. And even insaner was the size of YD's deep dish apple pie. Dear Lord, it was bigger than a loaf of bread or something. Seriously! Then we ended up at a bar somewhere for more drinks. That was probably least awkward for me but I was still spazzed about the lack of eye contact. I am sure I told FoaCF about it, oh, a hundred times whenever YD was in the bathroom or coughing or whatever.

Then Sunday we met up for lunch with FoaCF and the rest of the FoaCF gang. I was spazzmatic again. Maybe I actually am okay-ish at social interaction, but I feel so stressed about it. To add to the anxiety, Josh and I ended up getting in a fight about what a freak I am when it comes to this stuff and how I hate to interact with people I don't really know very well and how he's all Mr. Social Interacty-pants. And I ate too much again.

Then Sunday for dinner (see, it was an insane weekend) Young Dentist and a Josh high school friend came over for dinner (Josh made some insane venison roast with juniper berries from the awesomely awesome spice store down the street. He got the venison from a judge at the courthouse who is a bow deer hunter. Apparently somewhere in the suburbs of Philly. Hmmm.). And what happened? I tried to do my usual hide in the kitchen/busy myself with preparing/cleaning stuff up while they were here and it was uncomfortable for me. And they actually put on football. Football. I know. It's almost the Super Bowl. But tell me that you want to watch football and then I won't invite you to my house. But one of them did bring brownies. Delicious, gooey, iced brownies. And I ate too much. Again. Forever more.