connecting

apparently i can get people to share things with me. i'm not sure why this is. a friend told me: "i think u connect well. and i think u have a way of making everyone feel very comfortable." but it's so weird. someone else i was talking to the other day said that "well, you do know me a bit better than most". i was surprised as hell because we literally only talk like two or three times a year for only a couple minutes, at both lb tournies and at ti. the only reason we were talking this time was because he tried to donate for haiyan disaster relief. but he said that "our conversations are on a separate tier, i think. content-wise."

i wish i knew what it was about me that makes people comfortable enough to want to share with me because i think this is actually a great "gift" and i'd like to use it more (for nefarious reasons of course, mwahahah! ...no). i don't feel like i'm a particularly good listener, or that i give good advice. and i always forget to follow up with people about their problems! :( a long time ago i read in reader's digest that the author was tired of trying to vent to someone only to have them commiserate by one-upping her. so when i remember to, i try not to do that. other than that? i try not to judge people. i don't feel like i'm terribly judgey anyway, so this is a natural one for me. i honestly believe that it's okay that people approach things differently. i try not to give advice on what i would do in your situation, but what i think you might be happiest doing. i think it helps too that i'm a constant over-sharer myself. maybe people are so weirded out my lack of boundaries that they get confused and over share also? hahah, maybe this is the one. :)