Interesting discussion about finding queer communities in small towns v. big cities: Building Queer Community (or The Queer Migration Myth, Redux)Hm: Are Organics A Healthier Option? Perceptions and Evidence
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Training: I did my last long pre-marathon run today, 20 miles! It actually felt pretty good - usually I hate the first few miles but I took it slow and steady and felt ok. The last few miles though I felt a little sick to my stomach. Maybe I'm still getting used to eating while running (a Shot Block every 4 miles or so), something I'm trying to perfect before the big day...
Last night I had dinner (Mexican, yum) and a movie (Lincoln Lawyer) with my wonderful friend Jill. I thought the movie was pretty good, actually, and I'm not even a Matthew McConaughey fan.
On a somewhat related note, I notice that I'm finally getting comfortable with socializing sans alcohol - it's harder than you think (or maybe you would think it would be hard - many people seem horrified at the idea). Not because I'm necessarily reliant on alcohol to be social (although it helps), but because so many people in their 20s and 30s (and probably older), focus most of their hanging out around drinking. It's been a great excercize to really look at what sort of time I want to spend with people and what I want to be doing - I do a lot more activities with friends now (biking, movies, etc), instead of just sitting together and drinking, which I enjoy. It remains to be seen how this will work when I start dating again, however. (There was actually an article about dating sans alcohol in this months Marie Claire, which was cool to see.)
2 comments:
Since moving to Portland I have noticed that I socialize with alcohol way more than I am used to. Coming from Alaska, ringing up your friends and saying, "Hey, do you want to hike Dude Mountain today" or "Do you want to go snowshoeing and then get coffee?" was always much more heard and expected than getting a drink together. It makes me kinda sad here and is one of the reasons why I'm going back to Alaska for the next six months. I need to get outside and my friends here just aren't the same (not that there's anything wrong with that, obviously, it's just something I grew up needing and not them!).
Hey Brittany, thanks for sharing your thoughts/experiences. Its definitely true that it takes some effort to have a social life as a 20/30 something that doesn't center around alcohol. And it's easy for that to become the routine, and then feel trapped in it. I stopped drinking for the most part about 10 months ago, and I'm still adjusting (socially, not like physically or anything)....
Where in AK are you headed back to? I grew up in Fairbanks.
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