Socializationism
My partner left for a trip overseas last weekend, and was concerned about me being home by myself all week. One of her boyfriends, who is also a good friend of mine, invited me out to a Halloween get-together with the rest of the polycule. A month ago, I would have said no, and stayed home to play video games or something. At partner's insistence, I went.
It turns out I had a great time. We did a paint-ball zombie hunt (which was a hell of a lot of fun) followed by a haunted house. Then a late dinner, after which myself and three others went out for drinks. This was about 11:30 and again, my first inclination was to say no because I'm old and tired, but the woman that asked was very insistent. I went out and had a great time.
I ended up dancing and talking with one of the other women most of the night, and we all finally went home about 1:30am. She and I have been texting off and on ever since, and we're organizing a date for this week or next. Partner will be thrilled, and I'm really glad I went out.
With a few hiccups today, partner is having a great time. She's taking a lot of photos, and making friends within the group of women she's travelling with. There have been hot springs and waterfall hikes every day, and hopefully whale watching today. I'm so glad she is doing this.
-DeadTOm