I have a really close circle of friends, which is amazing. There are, however, disadvantages. If everyone knows everyone else, it’s harder to meet new people. Jobs are usually found not through close friends but through people further in the periphery of one’s social networks, such as friends of friends. People with whom I have weak ties can still help me out, and vice versa.

I’ve been more interested in broadening who I interact with for two reasons. One: I just read Connected, which is an accessible book on research on social networks. Two: The deadline. The contract for my job is up at the end of March. So, I’ll need to find a new job. I’ve also been considering finding a girl to date, I associate that with the deadline because who wants to hang out with a jobless bum? This will involve looking past my immediate circle of friends so I can interact with people who are connected to new people.

As I’m doing all that self-serving stuff, I want to also help my friend find a job, so I’m also using those weak ties for that.

Other notes in my life:
I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate IE6. I have to make sure everything works for it because of this corporate environment. Ugh. I don’t bother supporting IE6 in any of my personal projects, and I’m pretty sure Jakob Nielsen said it’s okay.

I’ve started to become really bugged by people wearing suit jackets/sport coats with jeans. Of course, I just broke this rule yesterday, but it was a dark pair of jeans and I was wearing a dark sweater with it. I’m also not sure what to think about black jeans. Obviously, this rule has exceptions.

I have another full weekend, and I feel guilty that I’m not looking forward to any of it. There’s going out tonight, party on Saturday, and the Super Bowl on Sunday. It’s not that I’m not looking forward to any of it because these events won’t be fun (I will undoubtedly have fun), but that I’m feeling kind of burnt out right now. It feels like I’m busy all the fucking time. Last weekend was spent in Vegas. Monday I met people for House. Tuesday I didn’t go anywhere, but I worked on my comic. Wednesday I spent working on my class. Thursday I had that get-together with high school friends. That brings me back to Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, which all have events planned. Plus, I still have to work on a website for my friend.

I really just want some time alone and shun everyone. This would make sense given that as an introvert, I need alone time to recharge. However, I do not think that’s the actual problem, despite my impulses. I think I’m just sleep-deprived. I’ve always been a guy who runs on 8+ hours of sleep, but lately I’ve been running on somewhere around 6 hours of sleep, and often 5 and half hours of sleep. I should do something about this before my fatigue creates pessimism.