Number 8

"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you." - Dale Carnegie

While attending Arizona State in pursuit of my undergraduate degree, I decided to join Facebook. (Waaait a minute! I have a point with this story!!) Instead of jotting down a quick blurb about myself in the "About Me" section, I figured it would be more telling to list my lifetime goals. At the time, I had ten of them. I think most of them still ring pretty true... Of course, every once in a while, I consider updating my list to reflect my newest aspirations; but, I usually stumble through the process and ultimately give up - vowing I'll return to the task eventually...

So, here is the original list I developed as an undergraduate...

Lifetime Goals:

1. Make my parents proud.

2. Laugh. Everyday.

3. Tell my family & friends I love them. Everyday.

4. Meet Lloyd Christmas & Harry Dunn.

5. Bust some sick moves on the dance floor.

6. Get into grad school.

7. Publish a book. Or edit one.

8. Get to know my neighbors.

9. Travel to every continent.

10. Say: "I tried everything at least once!" and *actually* mean it.

Anyhoo, as I was "stumbling through the process," I decided number eight might be my favorite. All the others are quite special in their own way, of course. However, number eight seems to say something intriguing. The idea of "getting to know" my neighbors can be perceived in multiple ways - naturally. But, I think it says something about your character when you're eager to meet new people. Ideally, I would love to learn my neighbor's names and a little something about them, and even see them in an environment other than my apartment building (in a completely non-stalker way, of course!)

So then, to my point. Tonight, I met Angela. I held the door open for her as we walked through the lobby. After retrieving my mail, she held the elevator door for me. We discussed the weather and then she said: "Well, my dear - where are you from??" I told her I was from Phoenix and it was "days like these that make me miss the desert heat just a bit..." She laughed and said: "Honey, I'm originally from Florida. This is nothin!" Oh, Angela! Let's have coffee sometime!