Friday night

Purely out of my own laziness and lack of initiative, I found myself without a meal for Friday night. This knowledge did nothing to brighten an already bad mood on Friday afternoon, but I went ahead and made preparations to eat by myself in my apartment. Nothing too fancy, but still nicer than usual, and I certainly wasn't going to starve (at least physically). I contemplated skipping going to shul, since I wasn't particularly in the mood to be social. However, I decided to go anyway because usually when I'm not in the mood to be around people, the best thing for me is to be around people. It forces me to act happier than I am, and sometimes by acting happier, I really do end up being happier.

After shul got out, I was about to make a quick escape to avoid the usual social scene that follows services, when a girl I know--not a close friend, but a step above casual acquaintance--said hello and wished me a good Shabbos. She asked if I was okay; I said I was tired and not feeling 100%. She then asked me what my plans were for that night, and I answered that I was eating in my apartment. "Oh, so how many people are you having over?" she asked. "Oh, it's just me," I answered as brightly as I could muster. I'm not foisting myself on anyone after shul on Friday night! But of course, she had other ideas. She promptly invited me over, as she and another mutual friend of ours were eating together and they wanted more company and had more than enough food. And of course, since eating alone on Friday night is slightly depressing no matter how positive one tries to be about it, I did accept. I had a very lovely time, and my mood picked up in no time! :)