• alyth@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    I was off work, so a lot of things made me happy!

    • Called up and visited an old friend
    • Called up and visited an old friend #2
    • Completed a 55km bike ride
    • Tried two new recipes that I cooked with an online friend on call
    • Read a whole book
    • Found a new café in town that seems nice
    • Had nice conversations with at least 4 strangers who I approached
    • Borrowed one of these electric scooters and did laps around the empty parking lots on Sunday evening
    • cheesymoonshadow@lemmings.world
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      3 days ago

      I have a couple of questions…

      Were the two friends you visited on your 55km bike route and that’s when you saw them?

      What’s the context for approaching the 4 strangers?

      • alyth@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        The bike ride was just for fun and exercise. I was planning to cycle 28km north and take the train back, but the southbound train was cancelled, so I ended up cycling all the way.

        As for talking to strangers, I just talk to people. It’s what I do.

        To give an example, a couple was making their way though a crowded train. I asked if they were getting off at the station too, which turned into us walking to the same platform and finding we’d missed the connecting train. We ended up walking around town for an hour and they explained some of the local history to me, along with talking about the weather and the world. The guy’s brother lives two blocks away from me - Small world!

        Then there was a guy on the train and I asked if I could sit across from him. We ended up talking for the rest of the train ride. The lady sitting across from us overheard us talking about computers and managed to ask us a couple of questions about making a website. We all ended up exchanging numbers and offered that she could call us any time if she had any more questions.

        Then I also did the classics, approach a guy sitting alone at the counter of a bar, and another sitting alone at the counter of a café.

        You just ignite a spark and find that some people are happy to respond and keep the conversation going. Other times they signal that they don’t wanna talk at all, so I just let them be. :)

        • cheesymoonshadow@lemmings.world
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          3 days ago

          I love your attitude and the connections you make. I have a tendency to be chatty with strangers too, but I get paranoid about safety. Like if I were with my husband making our way through a train and some random guy started chatting us up, we both would wonder if it’s a lead-up to a scam.

          • alyth@lemmy.world
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            3 days ago

            Aw thank you so much, I appreciate your kind words a lot! I understand your perspective too and you are very right to be cautious.

      • alyth@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Thank you, it totally was! In another thread on Lemmy, someone brought up the topic of cheap holidays, and this was mine ^^