30 before 30: #8 FAIL

I can't even say I tried.  My problem is that I have no follow through.  Saturday, people started talking to me, so it gave me the perfect opportunity.  However, I have not pulled off #8 yet.  It is:

#8. Talk to 5 random people in the hopes of becoming friends

Saturday, Harper was up bright and early, so by 6:30 am we were out the door walking.  She was being a loon since she is FINALLY done with her heat, healthy, and feeling energetic.  We get to the bend in our road, about 5 houses down, and she goes crazy barking at a mom and her daughter exiting their house to walk their dog.  This dog is angelic.  It is a shepherd mix, but unlike our loon, never barks, never tugs, and frequently runs with his mom off leash.  I believe his name is Bear.  Why am I not friends with this family?  I suppose it's that they have kids.  

I have this hang-up that anyone with kids must be older than me.  Which, of course, is absolutely ridiculous.  I have friends, who I graduated with, who have MIDDLE SCHOOLERS.  I should not assume that baby = old.  In my mind though, I never really see moms as potential friends, unless I knew them pre-kids.  Maybe I don't feel like I can relate?  I don't even know if that's it.  Anyway, Bear's mom strikes up a conversation with me about how I probably don't have to lift weights with the Harper work-out.  And, I got to thinking, why am I not friends with her?  She lives a couple doors down, has a shepherd, is friendly, runs, seems about my age...where's the problem?  But do I say more than a couple sentences?  No.  Admittedly, Harper's still barking at Bear, but I probably could have made more of an effort.  FAIL #1

Break in the action, but at this point, Harper startles a squirrel out into the road where it gets hit by a car and dies.  I start crying.  So now, I'm bummed at my friend failure, crying over a squirrel, and walking a very vocal dog.  Yeah, I look approachable.  

Ok, now we're at the park.  I see another my-age woman entering the park with a fluffy little purse dog.  I get nervous.  These are the people that always get paranoid that my mean, giant shepherd is going to eat their little angel.  In contrast to that scenario, though, Bitsy yanks the leash away from her mom and runs at us and tries to ATTACK Harper!  It was pretty hilarious.  This little 3 pound miniature poodle jumping up and down trying to get at Harper's throat, and failing.  Harper's just standing there looking at me like, "What the heck is this toy trying to do?"  Bitsy's mom comes running over, apologizes profusely, says, "Bitsy, you're really lucky that's a nice dog", and chats briefly.  But do I follow through at all, or, again, even find out the woman's name?  No.  FAIL #2    

Later, I'm shopping for Chris's birthday present and briefly chat with a woman at the store.  No name, no follow-through.  FAIL #3

I don't even know if this counts, but next, at the grocery store, I felt really fantastic about myself.  I was the last person in line before the cashier went on break.  She was a very young girl, who at MOST was maybe 16.  People kept trying to get in line, and she'd respond pleasantly that she was closing.  This was fine until some jerk of a man tried and threw a fit saying he had lost his place in another line because she couldn't manage to shut her light off.  I told him that that was a lie, as people had tried previously to get in her line, and she had had it off for all of those occasions.  He huffed, said, "Thanks for sticking up for me", and some meaner things under his breath.  I told the girl, "I know you're not allowed to be nasty, but I can."  Later, as I was walking out, he came up and apologized to me for his comments.  Well, at least he realized he was being a scrooge.  I was proud that I had stood up for the girl. 

Alright, so I don't have 5 fails, but I do have enough that I need to try again on another day.  Back to square 1!