Have you ever thrown a party, and genuinely wondered whether anyone was actually going to come??
So, Tim and I conducted a little social experiment this week. When we first moved into our apartment back in August 2006, we thought it was so bizarre that our neighbors never spoke to us or to each other -- no smiles, no pleasantries, nothing. (Very different from Provo, where you go to church with your neighbors and become best friends.) At first we questioned this oddity, but eventually, we just joined right in, ignoring our neighbors just like they were ignoring us.
This holiday season, I had a revelation. SOMEONE had to make an effort so that we could all get to know each other better, and doggone-it, if no one else was going to do it, then WE would! Seriously, how many times are we going to pass our neighbors, with both of us avoiding eye contact? How many times will we mutter "Hi" without even knowing their names?? So, I made these cute little Christmas flyers inviting our neighbors to a "Holiday Get-To-Know-You Party!" at our apartment this past Monday. I handed them out a week and a half in advance, close enough that they would remember, but far enough away that they could mark us on their calendars and save the date.
We only actually have six neighbors in our little "area" -- two couples who live in the little house next to us, and two girls who live in separate apartments just upstairs from us. So, I figured that turn-out might be a little light as it were. Incidentally, no one RSVPed, which at first led me to believe that no one was coming. However, I eventually reconsidered, and figured that they may have felt weird calling us to RSVP, since they don't even know us (hence the purpose of the party). So, I went ahead and planned a fun little evening. I cleaned and mopped and vacuumed and baked for much of the day on Monday, and the menu was impressive by my standards: warm hors-d'oeurves, fresh basil tomatoes, lemon poppyseed bread, spinach dip with crackers and carrots, chocolate bundt cake, and Hershey Kiss cookies. I even heated up some spiced apple cider on the stove top. Yum!! I couldn't wait.
So, at 7:00, all the food was out and ready, the cider was warm, the Yankee Candle was lit, the tree was on, the Christmas music was playing softly in the background, and Tim and I were .... waiting. And waiting. And waiting some more. And still waiting. And did I mention WAITING??? Here's the moral of the story: (1) If no one RSVPs to your party, then NO ONE is coming!!! (no matter how much you want them to anyway); and (2) Unlike towns where normal people live, if you live in an urban area such as Pasadena, then your neighbors don't care about getting to know you, don't want you to get to know them, and will ignore or flat-out reject invitations to break this comfortable but regrettable status quo! (or so appears to be the case).
Seriously, how bizarre is it, that we spend our lives less than 15 feet away from people who we don't even know the slightest thing about? What is wrong with this trend? Are Tim and I the only ones experiencing it? I admit it, we were social risk-takers this week, placing ourselves on the Pedestal of Extreme Vulnerability and finding ourselves neighbor-less and stuffed with tasty food by the end. Evidently, our social experiment failed (or succeeded?) in the way that we were most curious about.
Epilogue: Don't worry about us, everything turned out fine. After waiting for about 30 minutes, we ended up calling on some good friends to come over and help us out with all the delicious party food. Jacob, Tak, Paul, and Ciana came to the rescue, saved us each from 20 potential pounds, and hung around for a rousing 4 games of electronic Guesstures (SO fun... highly recommended). Then as they left, they loudly praised us for our awesome Neighbor Party. Hahaha. Thanks guys. Our neighbors might not want to step out of their comfort zones, but thank goodness for good friends.
The sumptuous spread!
Waiting...
Still waiting...
Any minute now...!!!
That's it... we're starving... let's eat. :-)
Finally, here is the next three-week pregnant photo (31 weeks now - Tadpole's gettin' big!):
