I follow people real easy

On Friday I went to check out The XYZ Affair. It was almost an afterthought since I was pretty tired by the end of the week and was planning on going home on Friday to sleep then utilize the other days of the week for...well, whatever you utilize weekends for. I hadn't really thought that part through. The first and last time I'd seen them play was a couple of months ago when I went to see The High Strung (not when The High Strung played with Richard Lloyd from Television...that was a story all to its own involving Richard Lloyd and I can't remember if I told it here already) and I really liked "The Young Philosopher." Recently they debuted a video for "All My Friends" that starred some high-level folks like Marc Summers, Michael Maronna (aw, Big Pete), and Ferguson effin' Darling himself Jason Zimbler (and he looks nothing like Ferguson now, go watch the video).

Anyhow, I decided to go finally because just going home seemed so lame no matter how tired I was because I liked their sound.

After their set I found myself yawning over and over again and decided not to stick around for the last act. I ambled over to the front of the Mercury Lounge to grab myself a CD and head on home. While standing there a girl told me, "Hey, you look familiar."

I looked around in an almost comical way though I wasn't doing it to be funny, but really thought she was talking to someone else. I answered, "Um...really?"

"Did you grow up in Albany?" she continued.

Now I was even more puzzled and wanted to get to the bottom of this as well, "...Nnnnoooooo...."

"Oh."

Her friend asked her why'd she assume someone grew up in Albany just because they looked familiar. The girl questioning me retorted that it was a valid question.

"So where'd you grow up?" she asked me.

"In Korea actually...kind of the opposite of Albany..." I said.

We kind of figured out that she probably saw me at the last XYZ Affair show since I have the habit of trying to stand near the front at shows. She then declared she wanted to stop by a deli across the street and asked me if I wanted to go. I answered, sure why not.

Sure, why not. People, I realized recently that I have trouble saying no to social engagements. I always answer in the positive before fully thinking it through. Not that I'm saying this girl gave me any reason to say no. She and her friend were perfectly nice and friendly, but later on she even told me, "Wow, I hope that wasn't weird of me to ask you to follow me to a deli."

For the first time in the couple of minutes I got to know her I actually realized what I'd done and answered, "Nah, I think I just follow strangers well..."

It's true. Someone will say they are doing something or going somewhere and will ask me if I feel like doing said thing or going to said place and I always answer automatically, "Sure!"

Sometimes, immediately after answering, I'll find myself doing the thinking then going, "Shit, were they asking just to be nice? Fuck, do I even know these people? What the hell did I just say yes to??"

This doesn't happen all the time. I'm not saying someone drives up in a white van with a bag of candy and asks me to help them look for their lost cat and I'm there or something. More like usually the context is I'm talking to someone I'm just getting to know or even people I know and as the conversation goes along on its appointed track it gathers that sort of friendly, fun momentum so that when someone pops in a "Oh, hey, by the way, I'm doing this at my house!" I going along with everyone going, "Awesome! Yea!" I go, "ME TOO!" Obviously someone giving off creepy vibes like squiggly stink lines isn't going to trigger this response. I'm just sort of game for things though.

I'm not really mad at myself for having developed this "Sure, why not" reflex since a lot of pretty cool things that have happened to me in the past year or so have been a result of this. Getting to know people, chilling at their house, going out and grabbing drinks, hanging out in new places doing some new things, it's all good stuff. However, I'm thinking I might have to reign it in a bit.