When you least expect

Finally I have made some time to blog. I'm not quite sure what I've been doing the past few weeks which has stopped me from writing. I seem to have been busy without really being busy. I've only been out one evening and away for one weekend. Time seems to have been swallowed up in finishing unpacking, shopping for extra bits and pieces needed for my room and lounging around in front of the TV.

Actually lounging around in front of the TV has been nice, as for the first time in ages I'm living somewhere with a communal living room, so I've spent a fair bit of time in there with my female (now ex) housemate (who I'll call The Scientist, because she is one), watching TV and chatting. She has just moved out into a place with one of her friends but she invited me out for a drink one evening last week and I think that's going to be a regular thing. It was just a quiet weeknight drink but good to be out nonetheless and I met a couple of her friends. It seems a shared house is a way to meet people.

My new housemate who is moving in this week is very friendly, and on first impressions appears more bubbly and outgoing than The Scientist. She has also mentioned going out for drinks so things sound promising there too.

I haven't got round to doing any of my regular sporty things, or to joining any clubs yet but hope to do that in the next couple of weeks. I need to get myself into a routine. I am doing a sponsored sporting activity this summer so really need to get training.

As for men...well nobody promising so far, but my job is in a very large workplace and there are rather a lot of men about, I just need to work out how I get to meet them. Chatty Guy made me smile the other week. I had contacted him a couple of times along with some other people to arrange for a group of us to meet up and he'd replied. Then about a week later he texted me one evening, completely out of the blue to ask how things were going. I tried not to read anything into it, but I did find it nice. And surprising.

I have realised recently that I'm surprised when any man shows any interest in me, even if just as friends. Whether it be Sociable Guy, Chatty Guy, A, or someone else, any email or text asking how I am, a mention that they miss me, or that they want to arrange to visit me, any indication that they care about me and want to spend time with me surprises me. I guess it's partly because I've never been in a relationship, and am therefore not used to men wanting to spend time with me. I suspect it may also be self esteem related in that I don't feel I am interesting enough for men to want to be around me (which also stems from never having had a relationship). Whatever the cause, I am always surprised (but pleased) when any man wants to spend time in my company.

On a completely different note, I went to the hairdressers last week and mentioned that I'd just moved, and said something about a new job. Her first comment? "Oh, did you move with your partner?" I was a little taken aback. Was that really the thing most interesting about my move? Not why this city? Not what was so good about the job? Not how am I finding living here? But have I moved with a partner. Is it that abnormal for me not have have a partner? For me to have moved alone? For me to have moved for myself and nobody else? I don't think so, but she seemed to, as her next comment was "Ooh aren't you brave?" Yes it's nerve wracking moving to somewhere new, where you don't know anyone, but I wouldn't describe it as brave. I've done it before when I went to university. And I've only moved an hour or two down the road, I'm not at the other end of the country, let alone the other side of the world.

Well, I’ve finally found a little window of time in which to do some blogging. I have successfully moved to my new city where I’m living in a shared house, which I’m really enjoying after being in a flat for so long. I’m only sharing with two others, which is unusual, as most of the places I looked at were for four or more. It means that the house feels quite roomy as we have extra living space.

My housemates are fine, one is a guy I’ve hardly seen as he’s been working long hours, the other is a woman who I’ve spent a fair bit of time chatting to. The house feels like home already and I haven’t felt uncomfortable living with strangers, which I had been a little worried about. Unfortunately the female housemate is moving out soon, and another woman, who I met briefly, is moving in, so I’ll be starting from scratch again getting to know her. I don’t actually feel too daunted by that, certainly not compared to how I felt when I moved away to university. After my family had dropped me off I spent several hours hiding in my room, listening to my flatmates arriving and meeting each other, too shy and nervous to go and introduce myself. I have definitely moved on since then!

My new job is going okay so far. My colleagues are a mixed bunch but very friendly and some of them invited me out for a drink after work at the end of my first week, which I never knew to happen in my last place. I think the ones around my age and younger do socialise together sometimes and some of them seem to know a lot of people, so hopefully that will be one way to meet new people. My female housemate has invited me out too, so that should be another way. I have yet to join any clubs or do any of my sporting things, but will try to sort something out in the next week or two. One thing I don’t want to do is get into the rut of sitting at home every single evening feeling sorry for myself. At the moment though I am still unpacking , sorting out my room and feeling tired from absorbing so much new information.

I miss my friends from the old place. E and A were wonderful while I was moving and provided a lot of help. In fact I don’t think I could have done it without them. They’re planning to come and visit soon, which will be great.

All in all things are okay at the moment.