Polyester Salamander: Amici

When we first arrived in Vienna, we spent the first two months in complete social isolation, relying on each other for all of our social stimulation. Nils is a pretty interesting guy, but when he is writing his dissertation, working full time and dealing with all of our moving logistics, things get a little ... well...serious. The third month we started to see a few people here and there, but in the last two weeks we have made some new friends, hung out with old friends, and it has felt like a relief. I don't know what I was so anxious about, but I suppose it had something to do with living in complete isolation for the next 2+ years. The science shows that solid social networks can overcome (or induce) a lot of risk factors for disease and even early death, and like most things, social networks have a spectrum of intensity, or dose.

I would also like to add that the quality dimension to those friendships is critical. Nils and I were at the summer night concert at the Schönbrunn last week, talking to some friends about introverts and extroverts when I noticed we were with a discordant couple (he an extro, her an intro). I realized that Nils and I are both introverts, but we really need *quality* time with other people. Your run of the mill happy hour jabber won't cut it. We need intense, personal discussions of depth. We need to feel like we know what is going on with the person we are spending time with, and we are miffed when we are given a superficial explanation.

My social pet peeve is when people deflect conversations about the constant sin curve of a normal emotional life and tell me, regardless, that everything is "fine!". I find these people to be robotic alien life forms of another dimension, who will shoulder any burden alone, and with grace because everything is "fine!". I, on the other hand, have no poker face and will be the first to tell you what crazy thing is happening in my life because, like most people, I assume you are like me until proven otherwise. Is that a safe assumption? Or do I need to administer a test?

In other news, we traveled to Munich last weekend and had a great time with our old friend, the guy who married us and is always quick with a pirate joke, Pete. He, an extrovert, goes a mile a minute, and is always incredibly optimistic and up beat. I find this uplifting, especially because he has a habit of plying me with beer and amazing food, which are known mood enhancers. I'm not sure if he appreciates my prying need for personal conversations, but he puts up with me anyway. Here are some pics of Munich, which felt a bit like a post-college adventure in large beers and sausages, but one that I'm very happy I didn't miss. Oh! And in case it doesn't make sense that we saw a ton of cars- Pete and Markus work for BMW so they took us to BMW Welt (World) and the museum, which was actually awesome.