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I need more friends. Any suggestions?
A decade ago, things were going pretty well for me. I had my share of medical issues, but I was dealing with them. I was at MIT, on track to becoming a biomechanical engineer. I was kicking around plans to build an artificial pancreas and had vague plans to one day look into building a better dialysis machine. I was going to be productive and help people and make a real difference in the world. I had friends on campus and friends online (thanks to said medical issues, most of the friendships in my adult life have been primarily online). Life wasn't perfect, but it was pretty darn good.
Then medical problems got worse and my life has been on hold ever since. Medical science has helped as much as it can for now, but it's not enough. My sleep/wake schedule is constantly shifting, cycling around the clock every few weeks. I can't concentrate on anything for any reasonable length of time. Some days, I can walk a few blocks at a time, some days (due to wooziness, fatigue, weakness, and/or pain) I can barely get off the couch.
I've lost interest in old hobbies, but haven't really replaced them. I still enjoy reading and watching a variety of things, but I'm not interested in fandom discussions. I've lost touch with or drifted apart from old friends. I've lost the ability to write fiction. My life, my world has gotten very small.
Most of my social contact these days is through Twitter. What thoughts I have seem to fit into 140 characters, for the most part. LJ seems to be becoming a ghost town. DW wasn't a good fit for me. FB makes me queasy. I have no interest in tumblr or G+. Hardly anyone bothers talking to me on IM or Skype. My RPG group is on indefinite hiatus.
I've tried joining MeetUp groups in my area, but the stars have never aligned for me to actually go to any of the meetings I might have been interested in. I've looked into working with my local Habitat For Humanity chapter and the local theater group and such, but those didn't pan out.
I've tried getting to know Twitter pals better. Looked at blogs, managed to have a lovely dinner with a couple who turned out to live not so far away (hope to repeat that sometime in the next few months), tried to stir up interest in a #Maddow get-together, asked directly for a way to build a more solid friendship. It hasn't gotten me too far.
Every few weeks, I manage to spend a few hours with my nieces and nephews. Most worthwhile part of my life. Otherwise... I watch the world scroll by on Twitter, watch old TV shows on Netflix, play games, read (when I have the mental stamina to actually follow the story)... while away the time so I don't notice it passing.
I need friends. I need people to talk to, things to do. I'd like to build on the friendships developing on Twitter, but I don't know how. I'd like to find something more, but I'm out of viable ideas to explore. And I'm awfully tired of ramming into the brick wall of my limitations.
I think that covers the situation. I'll answer just about any question you're willing to ask.
What I'm asking you is: Can you help? Do you have anything you can offer? Friendship, advice, ideas, suggestions? Comments open, even if you don't have an LJ (or OpenID) account. (The email address in my profile works, too.)
If you've gotten this far, thank you.
A decade ago, things were going pretty well for me. I had my share of medical issues, but I was dealing with them. I was at MIT, on track to becoming a biomechanical engineer. I was kicking around plans to build an artificial pancreas and had vague plans to one day look into building a better dialysis machine. I was going to be productive and help people and make a real difference in the world. I had friends on campus and friends online (thanks to said medical issues, most of the friendships in my adult life have been primarily online). Life wasn't perfect, but it was pretty darn good.
Then medical problems got worse and my life has been on hold ever since. Medical science has helped as much as it can for now, but it's not enough. My sleep/wake schedule is constantly shifting, cycling around the clock every few weeks. I can't concentrate on anything for any reasonable length of time. Some days, I can walk a few blocks at a time, some days (due to wooziness, fatigue, weakness, and/or pain) I can barely get off the couch.
I've lost interest in old hobbies, but haven't really replaced them. I still enjoy reading and watching a variety of things, but I'm not interested in fandom discussions. I've lost touch with or drifted apart from old friends. I've lost the ability to write fiction. My life, my world has gotten very small.
Most of my social contact these days is through Twitter. What thoughts I have seem to fit into 140 characters, for the most part. LJ seems to be becoming a ghost town. DW wasn't a good fit for me. FB makes me queasy. I have no interest in tumblr or G+. Hardly anyone bothers talking to me on IM or Skype. My RPG group is on indefinite hiatus.
I've tried joining MeetUp groups in my area, but the stars have never aligned for me to actually go to any of the meetings I might have been interested in. I've looked into working with my local Habitat For Humanity chapter and the local theater group and such, but those didn't pan out.
I've tried getting to know Twitter pals better. Looked at blogs, managed to have a lovely dinner with a couple who turned out to live not so far away (hope to repeat that sometime in the next few months), tried to stir up interest in a #Maddow get-together, asked directly for a way to build a more solid friendship. It hasn't gotten me too far.
Every few weeks, I manage to spend a few hours with my nieces and nephews. Most worthwhile part of my life. Otherwise... I watch the world scroll by on Twitter, watch old TV shows on Netflix, play games, read (when I have the mental stamina to actually follow the story)... while away the time so I don't notice it passing.
I need friends. I need people to talk to, things to do. I'd like to build on the friendships developing on Twitter, but I don't know how. I'd like to find something more, but I'm out of viable ideas to explore. And I'm awfully tired of ramming into the brick wall of my limitations.
I think that covers the situation. I'll answer just about any question you're willing to ask.
What I'm asking you is: Can you help? Do you have anything you can offer? Friendship, advice, ideas, suggestions? Comments open, even if you don't have an LJ (or OpenID) account. (The email address in my profile works, too.)
If you've gotten this far, thank you.