Mr. Lonely

I'm feeling lonely in spite of myself.

I blame these long winter evenings - 4 p.m. looks like midnight a week before the solstice, when the days start getting longer again.

School's also out for the holidays, so my friends are spread all over now. Most of them went home to the suburbs, but since my parents divorced earlier this year, my mom moved to Chicago, and I got a place in Pilsen, on Chicago's south side, I'm rarely back there now.

My room mates and I don't hang out very often - we don't have much in common, and they're with their girlfriends a lot since Break started. I have the apartment to myself for a couple hours each day, all three floors of it. At least, I think I'm alone. Dave (one of my room mates) and I always hear noises like someone's going up and down the stairs when we're home alone, and we've actually suspected this place is haunted since we moved in. Now that's exactly the type of company I want.

To make matters worse, the Chicago public transit card my university gives each semester expired last night. That means that, to go somewhere and back, I pay a total of $4.50 in singles and spare change. Lame. I mean, seriously, who even carries change? I have my car, but driving and parking in the city, especially in the winter, isn't always optimal.

*Sigh.*

I should find a book club or a volunteer group. (Or, conversely, I guess I could get a job.) It looks like I'll be a city boy for some time yet, and I might as well expand my social circle up here.