A few bodacious Bay Area friends
You know how you can have a great idea and it isn’t until you’ve put it into action that you realize there are unanticipated consequences?
Recently I relocated from the San Francisco Bay Area to Arizona. I knew I would have to find a new tribe, create new playmates. What I failed to take into consideration was that my Bay Area friends were accumulated over time and from many sources. I haven’t had to “make new friends” deliberately for years, decades even.
I didn’t think about the fact that at first there would be no one to play with. No one to go exploring with. No one to sit with in a cool lounge sharing bar food and sipping cocktails. I do have a couple of friends in the area but they both have J.O.B.s and, being responsible people, they have opted not to blow it all off just to come out and hang with me (damn!)
So I need to expand my social circle. The only way to accomplish that is to get out and mingle. Go places. Try networking events. Attend Meetups. Meet people and try them on to see who fits, who connects.
Did I mention how much I dislike walking into a room full of strangers? It’s the first day in a new school all over again. No matter how many times I did it (and I did it plenty) I never did get comfortable with it.
One of the ways I overcome that anxiety is to host events myself. If I’m leading I’m good. In my business I present workshops that are all about giving women, in or entering their second half, permission to become bold, colorful, even outrageous without feeling embarrassed about it. I met some of my favorite people through these workshops. After all, where better to meet bold, bodacious women than in a workshop about embracing your bold, bodaciousness.
I love exploring, seeking out off-beat activities, attempting new things, and finding hidden (or not so hidden) delights. Other women do too, and all too often we can’t find anyone else who wants to go with us. So, I created the Adventure Club. I find things that I think would be fun and invite others to join me. My first Arizona event is scheduled at a local winery I’ve wanted to try since I got here.
It’s a start. And when any of you, my Bay Area friends, want to come play in the desert the guest room is waiting.