I just got back from Starbucks a bit ago. I was there for about 3 hours. It's funny -- I can almost see that Starbucks becoming by next Insomnia. That Billy Joel song, with the lyrics "They're sharing a drink they call lonliness, but it's better than drinkin' alone" comes to mind. Just hearing the people talking made me happy. I think I need to keep working to fight my reclusive urges -- it's my natural inclination when I feel emotional pain to withdraw from the world, and that's the worst thing I could do. It's like jerking your hand back if it gets bitten by an Iguana -- if you try it, you're gonna get hurt and you're NOT gonna win. The best thing to do is stay calm, and gently open its mouth.

I was looking through the Pittsburgh City Paper magazine, and there's a lot of cool things to do! I circled them, and copied down the best ones onto a piece of paper I had with me. Here's the list:

• 20th - Socrates Cafe - meets every tuesday at the North Hills Borders - a philosophy discussion group
• Red Meat - actually a comic that I used to enjoy, that I found an 'episode' of in CP
• Nowhere in Africa - a film I want to rent or see
• Duckboat Tours - A weird military-designed car-boat thing in which they offer tours that go over sea and land. $16, but definitely worth it sometime
• Photography Museum - On the north side, has historic photographs. Monday-Saturday 10: to 16:3
• Cathedral of Learning Tours - Part of the Pitt campus, has different rooms in the self-guided tours that cover different historical eras. Weekdays only, always while I'm at work. Maybe I'll skip lunch sometime?
• Hedwig and the Angry Inch - Live on the south side until 8 June. Might as well see it while I still can.
• Great Pittsburgh Auction - Held by the post-gazette online? Not sure what this is, but will check it out. Ahh, it's here .. and it's not really exciting. Oh well.
• Weird Al - 25 July, at the Chevolet Ampitheatre at Station Square.
• Movies I might see
• Freddy vs. Jason - Might amuse. 15 Aug
• Bruce Almighty - 23 May
• League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - 11 July
• Pokemon Heroes - Yeah, I like Pokemon. 25 July
• 28 days later - 27 June. Maybe I'll see it on my birthday instead.
• Butterfly exhibit - In the Phipps Conservatory until 17 October
• Art Gecko - Also in the Phipps conservatory, until 3 August
• Highland Games - In Ligonier. I can hear bagpipes. Bleh. But maybe there'll be something interesting. 6 September. Website here
• Stargazing - South Park area, 9pm on 11 July
• UTNE Conversation Salon - No idea what group this is, but they claim to offer conversation on politics and philosophy, and gave a phone number.
• Pgh Zoo after-dark tour - A tour of the zoo after it closes. 18 May -- sounds fun, but I'd better arrange it soon! It's this sunday!
• Self-Inquiry Group - Is this the same flaky new-age garbage I saw an ad for at CMU, or is it something else entirely? It's in the Carnegie Library in Oakland.
• Libertarian party of Pittsburgh - Ritters Diner in Oakland, 21 May. I probably won't actually go to this, partly because I'll likely be at a geek group I'm trying to joun called Zets, and partly because I'm not properly thought of as a libertarian anymore, although I concievably might go. Not sure yet.

I had lunch with Jeff and Jenn today. I'm glad that I've maintained a friendship with them past losing Debb. They're good people, really smart, sensitive, and interesting to talk to. Like all of Debb's family, they know all the inner details of the problems we had, and yet they still don't seem to dislike me for it. They have the most adorable son, Eric, who's still working on finishing his first year of life :) In a way, I'm really jealous of them -- they've found each other, they love each other, and it's apparent in every moment they're together. They really have built a life that I want to have someday. It's sometimes surprising to me how people tend to naturally fall into groups, where if I like a person, I'm likely to also like a good number of their friends, family, etc, whereas of the general populance, I'm unlikely to like a random person, far less likely than that statistical probability of my liking an arbitrary friend/family member of someone I like. Bleh, how wordy. I've probably talked about this before too. Anyhow, they gave me advice -- I should get new shoes for when I run, and if I do, my feet/legs will probably hurt less afterwards.

Amazon has been having little quiz thingies by which I can earn about 25 cents a day towards a purchase by answering trivia questions about the amazon site. Cool.

I had some interesting philosophy to talk about, but my brain is not in good condition to spit it out as I finish this entry at 01:20. Instead, I'll just push the button.