Dilip
    <arasa@fastmail.com>                                       01 Dec 2020
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                                 December 2020.

    My least favorite month of the year in general is finally here.
    December is when I'm confronted with how lonely I really am. An
    immigrant living in a country away from family and friends I grew up
    with. A single man in his 30s with an extreme dislike for all forms of
    online dating. A transplant to a new city where all connections are
    with introverts and an effective social network that dies one hop away
    in any direction towards any leaf node.

    A year ago, I had resolved to break my loneliness by December 2020. I
    started out with strong progress - I made several friends at a local
    book club, I made some friends at a local writers meetup, I managed to
    get invited to a couple of parties.

    Then the pandemic happened.

    So again, I will walk alone down brightly lit streets with shops filled
    with christmas decorations, and I will have nobody to share it with.

    Do not feel sorry for me dear reader. This is a life I chose when I
    left my home town for better opportunities. I'm a resourceful person, I
    have unshakable confidence in myself that I will make things work
    somehow. 2020 has been a difficult year for all of us, I have been
    fortunate that my family and friends back in my home town have all
    stayed safe during this pandemic.

    I would love some advice on how to make new friends as a 30 something
    adult moving into a new city filled with strangers. Please email me at
    <arasa@fastmail.com>, I would love to hear from you.