Just a little semi-narcissistic post that I had to get off my chest, and DA happens to be today's proverbial punching bag.

It's quite strange how profound an impact chatting on MSN had on my life. I used to often spend hours upon hours on it, chatting to friends. Then, just a few months ago, I severely cut down my usage and only go on once every few days (or if someone is desperate to talk to me).

Obviously, the more contact with friends you have, the more chance you have of them asking you to go out and do something. I've gone from being able to find someone to hang out with almost every day that I'm free to going out maybe twice a week.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing - it's just something different. I'm saving a bit more money and being a wee bit more productive with both my work and hobbies. Not really substantially different, but still a bit better than I used to be. Every bit counts!

I realised that, when I used MSN a lot, I was barely ever completely alone. For me, that left a lot less time for introspection. After cutting down my usage, I've actually had a lot more energy to think about things and sort myself out. When I go out nowadays I feel like I'm able to value my time with friends a lot better. Then, when I'm alone, I'm a lot happier with spending time with myself.

Another interesting thing is finding out who truly wants to hang out with me. I must admit that I am a bit of an asshole when it comes to keeping in contact with a lot of my friends. With a bit more effort, I'm sure I'd have a lot larger social circle. I'm actually surprised with how many people have kept in contact with me, despite my lack of effort at keeping in touch.

I'd call people up and ask them to go out a lot more, but I'm generally too busy procrastinating.