@the lonely people: everytime i am disappointed by someone i start thinking that there's tons of people i don't know, and do something in order to meet a tiny portion of those. there's no reason why strangers should be any better than familiar faces, so i never expect to meet crowds that suit my needs best than those i already hang out with, but i am under the impression that the older you get the quicker you become at singling out people who could possibly be trustworthy/have shared interests/give you intelligent ideas/give you some form of affection. time also lends perspective, in the sense that most stupid mistakes (e. g. thinking that some new person could be a friend for life) don't happen anymore, so one builds a balanced view. what i'm trying to say is: if you think that there's wasteland around you, go out and meet people. chances are that by now you know how to spot someone worthy for you, and you somehow should also be able to forecast how close you can get, for how long and so on. in tiny eddies, enrichment comes: i know that after a couple of weeks of touring i have two new people i will correspond with/maybe visit in their countries/i can work with. of course it's nothing like opening my heart like i used to do as a teen, but my mental repertoire of faces and thoughts is extending and this gives me a sense of opportunity. after all, it's all a question of what one is looking for.