So Call Me, Maybe?

  I try to go on a walk with Lincoln every day, if only so I can breathe non-cat hair air for a half-hour. I was really good at this initially, strolling around, getting acquainted with my neighborhood, checking out the variety of houses (one of my favorite things about Albany is that none of the houses are the same), all that jazz. Then that got boring. So, as you may remember, I started taking pictures of people who still had Christmas decorations up and keeping count of how many cats I saw (I saw six on one lawn yesterday. New record). Then that got  boring, too (except I forgot to show you the Halloween sign I saw by someone's front door. In MAY, people! I love this town sometimes). So then I started calling people to chat.

  You may not know, but that's kind of a big deal. I do not call people. The dread that fills me when I hear the phone ringing after I dial is comparable to how I'd feel if I saw ravenous wolves running in my general direction. This is because I secretly fear that everyone hates me and when they see my name on caller ID they roll their eyes and say, "Great. That JULIA girl." So, as the only people I was reasonably sure this would not happen with were my mother and my best friend Cara, they became my go-to caller-upper-people-thingies. My other best friend Brooke was later added to that list. Unfortunately for me, Cara and my mother both work at my dad's office now. And I can't call Brooke everyday, because I can't stand being that obnoxious. Which leaves my list rather bare a good portion of the time. My iPod tried to fill the void, but talking to people who are older than six months is far more compelling for me than the music I've been listening to since high school.

  So, yesterday, after unsuccessfully dialing my go-tos, I looked through my phone for someone else I could chat up. After deleting old boyfriends and classmates that I worked on a project with a year ago, I reached the end of the list. I considered several people, but the gripping fear of being hated stopped me.

   What are you guys afraid of? Also, do you possibly want to talk on the phone with me every few weeks or so? I know, using actual voices to communicate is so retro, but still. If I start jabbering too much (which I have a habit of doing lately), you can tell me to shut up and listen, and I swear I won't be offended. I'll just be like, "Yes'm, please continue your train of thought." Which, that line right there, may be why I think people hate me.