Outgrowing

[feuervogel]

I've been skipping anime club lately, partly because I'm not excited about what's on the schedule, but partly because I don't know any of the people. There's maybe half a dozen people I want to see (one of whom I live with), a couple more that I like talking with, but I don't know any of the undergrads anymore. I'm not really interested in getting to know them, either.

Maybe I'm just getting too old for that shit. What do I have in common with someone half my age? (Aside from liking cartoons, but none of the kids like any of the shows I like. They're too old, too weird, too boring.) The only young-COUPer I can get along with is G, who's 19, but I can never remember she's that damn young, because she acts a lot closer to 25. (And I'll offer her a beer, and she'll say, "I'm not legal yet," and I'll go durr.)

I haven't really enjoyed Animazement in several years, and then I mostly preferred loitering or lurking about with other old farts in the over-30 club. I'm glad that teenaged and college-aged geeky kids can hang out and be exuberant and enthusiastic about Japanese cartoons; I was probably an annoying fan when I first became one. It's a phase, and thankfully most of us grow out of it. I just can't handle that sort of energy and nigh-on obnoxiousness anymore.

This is something I was thinking about on Tuesday, when I decided to skip the meeting again (and just download Giant Killing, which holy shit you guise is totally the German National Team this year, no joke), but when I was invited to a party and was sort of meh on going even though I'm home alone and kind of bored and had the long list of email invitees read to me and recognized like 3-5 of the people as people I consider friends (or at a minimum good acquaintances), another half dozen as people I'd say hey to, and the remaining dozen or more not at all, I decided that was a sign I ought to write a post about it.

Which is another reason I'm less than enthusiastic about the beach trip this year (the other major one being Señora Crankypants and her diabetes.) I'd hang out with LA & D, and I'm not even sure shinshan is going. The rest of the people on the list? I either barely know, couldn't point out in a lineup, am ambivalent toward, or actively dislike.

I need another place to make new friends. Because I seriously don't fit in at COUP anymore.

Comments

[amakarie.livejournal.com]

I can understand your feelings about COUP. Although I haven't been there in a while, there are only a handful of people I really like there (you, Ben, Sean, Kevin, Phil, David, Erin and a few others I'm not sure even go anymore).

I've always liked hanging out with people older than I am/more mature, so I avoided anime clubs for a long time because people would either be my age or younger, and I just couldn't relate. But yeah, that makes me sad, but I can understand. It seems like you have other interests and friends outside of COUP, like your SciFi writer friends, and you go to your weapons class. Maybe you can ask those people if there are clubs or get-togethers they attend?

If I end up going to the beach tho, I'll miss you guys. :( But I understand.

[feuervogel]

Most of my writer friends are in the internet, unfortunately. But like I commented to William, there's a couple SF clubs I heard about from a guy at ReaderCon who lives in Raleigh, so I should poke him.

As far as I know, I'm committed to the beach trip, even if I don't really want to go, though we haven't given Zach any money. But Ben wants to go, so. Bleh.