The Hermit is coming out of her shell.

Today I'm going to meet other Etsy folk and do some crafty stuff. This is organized by the peeps of EtsyRain - the Seattle Etsy team.  The event is called "Crafterhours" and is held after regular business hours at  a store called Venue in Ballard. They open their shop and craft space to our group once a month for gathering and crafting.  I'm looking forward to it!  However...

I'm getting nervous just thinking about it. I feel like I'm going on a blind date. LOL!  This is actually a big deal for me. It's not easy for me to meet new people.  Except for going to work and church I am quite a hermit.  I have two close friends and I rarely go outside of my comfort zone and meet new people. 

Being a seller on the Internet is comfortable because of the relaxed interaction with people via email, blogging, Twitter and such.  Online social networking comes easy to me.  Meeting people in person...err, not so much.  My nerves get the better of me, I don't talk a lot, so I tend to avoid most social situations or become a wallflower.  Typing this out I see I'm coming off really awkward - LOL - but it's true.  I'm a little awkward.

Last week I decided I'm going to just go for it so I RSVPed for the meetup and it's happening tonight. These are people I might be selling with at future craft shows. It would be smart of me to network with them a little, right? Right. I need to be more active in this local group because it will be good for business and maybe I'll (gasp!) make a few friends. I'm sure it will be a good time and I hope to make it a monthly thing and perhaps be bold enough to go to some of the other meets when they happen.

Anyone else awkward in social settings or are you all enthusiastic go-getters?