Friendship, or lack thereof.

The Boyfriend (yeah it's official, it's actually a cute story, I'll write it at the end of this blog entry) has been out of town for a week-long series of work-related conferences and I'm bored. I mean really bored. I've been working tons of hours and I've even managed to finish the first half of my thesis while he's been away... So now what?

I was walking home from work today when I realised that I don't have very many friends. I'm kind of a loner. The Pizza Guy (who will hereforth be known as 'The Boyfriend') has tons of friends and a few really good ones and with me being, well, friendless, I quickly latched onto his friends like they were my own. We have group outings and dinners, it's lovely to be in a crowd sometimes. Then The Boyfriend says,

"So, Porsch, you've met all my friends now. When am I gonna meet yours?"

Hmmm, I think to myself. I dunno when, Darling, but if I make some, you'll be the first to know.

I recently got an email from the managers of the student housing complex I live in. It seems there are some major shin-digs coming up, an "American Style" Halloween party and an End of Semester bash. Everyone who lives in the Student Village is invited to attend and bring people with them. The End of Semester Bash is supposed to be a blow-out as it is every year. It's a shirt-signing theme where everyone brings an old white t-shirt and a marker and they get their friends to sign it like a yearbook. It's supposed to commemorate the friends you've made whilst living in student housing.
But I haven't made any friends.
Not really. And I don't know anyone's name, other than my neighbour's. Maybe I can just buy a white t-shirt and write notes all over it in different handwriting and show up to the party like the most popular girl at the disco. Is that lame? I'm twenty-three and considering forging friendships.

Let's take a step back here. People love me. I'm fun and generous, considerate and sweet, easy-going and all-around lovely. My workmates and I get on so well, we all hug and kiss hello and goodbye. We laugh and high-five when it's necessary. We all sit back and have a few drinks after work, it's good. But those are workmates, not friends. Not people you choose to be around, people you go out of your way to enjoy the company of, people you call when you feel like crap or when you feel like celebrating.

Back in The States, I have AMAZING friends. I honestly couldn't ask for a more loving, sincere, and wonderful group of friends. But I'm not in The States. I've been here in Australia for over a year and still don't have a solid group of girlfriends... and it sucks. What do you think? How do I go about making friends with people, or turning the acquaintances I have into real friendships?

***********

The Pizza Guy picked me up for breakfast one Sunday morning (which actually happened to be his 24th birthday). We went to a cafe and had our usual breakfast.
His: 2 scrambled eggs, buttered toast and sautéed mushrooms.
Mine: 2 poached eggs (must be runny or I will send them back, much to his embarrassment), grilled tomato and dry toast.
Then he told me he had plans for us after breakfast, but first he needed to know something. He pulled a note from his pocket and reached across the table and handed it to me. The note contained the sweetest poem filled with inside jokes exclusive to the two of us. The last line asked me to officially become his girlfriend. It was just pure, corny sweetness. I loved it.

Prior to that, I'd been saying how I'd like to get my nose repierced. I had to take the piercing out last summer because of my last job but where I'm currently employed allows piercing and visible tattoos.

I said yes. I was tired of the in-between stage we were in. Our relationship had been exclusive since we'd met and we weren't fooling anyone with the whole, "No, we're not together, we're just seeing each other" thing.

We kissed, got into his car and he started driving toward the city. He pulled into a parking lot adjacent to a tattoo and piercing parlour.
"You ready?" he asked excitedly.
I smiled, a bit unsure of what was going on.
We left his car, he grabbed my hand, and we entered the parlour. We met the sweet girl at the front counter, face bedazzled with piercings.

"We have a 12:30 appointment for Porscha," he said confidently.

Awww, I thought. He's put so much thought into this.

The pierced girl looked at her clipboard and then returned her eyes to mine with a smile, "Alright, Porscha. We're piercing your nose today."

So now my nose has been repierced for about a week and a half which is exactly how long I've been in this official relationship. Isn't that cute?