Hi everyone,

I've been a reader (and several-time poster) on this group for a few
years now. I appreciate the thoughtful posts here and the
willingness of people to share their experiences. It's a good place
to express thoughts and get feedback in a safe way. But I've also
been thinking that it would be great to be part of a group that
actually meets in person on a regular basis to sort through and
practice some of the issues that we talk about on this discussion
board. I live in Seattle and I'm wondering if there's anyone else
here who does as well and would be up for something like this.

I haven't given a lot of extensive thought to the structure of the
group, and would be open to suggestions, but what I have in mind is
a place to practice talking in a group setting, in a nonjudgmental
atmosphere. The group could meet every week or every few weeks at a
cafe or library; we could talk about issues relating to social
fitness and shyness, or just chat about life, and practice listening
and responding.

I myself can be fairly talkative with people one-on-one, but tend to
clam up in groups. I've been thinking about ways to practice talking
in groups and came up with this idea. If anyone is interested, or
has questions or ideas, respond to this post or to me offline at
bigwidesky@....

A little about me--I'm a 30-year-old female Seattlite who likes to
write, read, eat and grow organic vegetables, be in nature, and
spend time with her girlfriend. I tend to have anxiety in social
situations, but I continue to try to understand it and work with it.