Hi Scott. It’s not you. I’ve been in Seattle two years and haven’t made a single friend. I’d settle for someone I actually had a second conversation with!!! I think it’s the lonliest place on the planet. I was down at the New Year’s Eve fireworks thinking MAYBE, just MAYBE I would meet someone. You’d think in such a large group I’d come away with a phone number or a real conversation. I walked around for 8 hours taking pictures, smiling at people trying to get a reaction, some interest at all. I did manage to talk to a few people but I really had to try hard to illicite the conversation. It turned out everyone I did manage to strike up a conversation was visiting from somewhere else. They all said the say thing about Seattle, it’s emotionally frigid and afraid of commitment. Anything beyond a casual hello comes off as an agressive attack. Well, as the crowds at Seattle Center formed I noticed people really didn’t interact. There were little pods of people, really no more than 5 bodies huddled together in circles. Many on cell phones or listening to I-pods. They really didn’t even talk to eachother although they were together. It was New Years Eve for goodness sakes. Isn’t that the time when people are wishing everyone around them “Happy New Year?” There is usually hooping and hollering. There wasn’t even a count down to the fireworks. People pretty much just stood around sipping on coffee and staring at the sky – well, and taking pictures with cell phones of the fireworks. Here I was in a crowd of the most people I’ve ever spent New Years Eve with and I never felt more alone in my life. I think you either accept that this is how it is and die emotionally yourself to fit in or you die of utter lonliness, but it’s not you dear, it’s Seattle. If you want someone to talk to, just drop a line.

Enjoyed reading your blog. ; )