Hang in there.

A lot of good posts here so far. Do you have a good relationship with your parents? Tell them all this stuff. That your mind wanders. That you can't track what's going on in conversations. That you never seem to be able to read people. Depending on your parents insurance, you might be able to get some professional help. Even if you can't tell your parents, talk to your school resource room teacher or guidance counselor.

I'm not a pro, but there's so many things this could be. Asperger's, ADD, anxiety, all kinds of things.

Your story reminds me of a very good friend of ours. He's a brilliant software engineer, great musician, and terribly introverted. If there are more than two people in the room, he doesn't talk. He's a gentle, quiet soul, an outward success (job, house, etc.), but will probably struggle with group interactions all his life. He can manage meetings and working in an office, but would much prefer to be home and quiet with maybe a friend or two, or only his wife for company. Life is harder for people like you, and like our friend.

Good luck.

The fridge door is making funny noises, and it doesn't seal right. AND the fridge was new in 1993. In any other economy, we'd go buy a fridge. OK, not really buy it, but get some screaming deal on one year, same as cash, or whatever. To the appliance store, it's sold.

However... add in more credit card debt than I'd care to mention (ok not a ton, but more than we should have which would be ZERO), and my ongoing worry about everything financial... and we're off to hunt for a new door seal and see if we can fix it and live with it a while longer. Other things take priority like getting the car repaired and getting the dog's tooth pulled.

We're not buying a new fridge. We can make the old one work somehow.

How does that effect ripple across the economy? I can't imagine I'm the only one out here in reality land who is delaying purchases of any kind, and calculating how many meals we can make with all the odds and ends in the pantry.

... and it took being away for a while due to a job before I realized he would never change. He couldn't. That I'd been waiting years for things to "get better," and they just never would. There was nothing I could do other than leave.

I wish you one of those crystal-clear moments when you realize that the only way forward is out.

Cary is right--make a plan, financial, spiritual, and otherwise. The thing I found, beautiful as it was, is that my old friends, the ones I'd neglected, were there waiting for me with open arms, with moral support, with a shoulder and kleenex. Those friends I thought were gone, weren't.

Good luck.

Housemates aren't all they're cracked up to be. If money is a problem (and you don't live in NYC), find yourself a decent studio apartment, and gain your own space. Being able to hear yourself think is a great thing.

And think about where the people are who you want to meet. Volunteering somewhere? You don't have to go to Africa if that's not your thing. Travel is great and all, and it's what I'd do at 27. But if you like the town you're in, think about how to find the people who are more like you. Join a hiking club. Volunteer to plant trees. Join a bike advocacy group. Help put on a writer's conference. Nonprofits of all kinds are always dying for help. Whatever it is that you're interested in, chances are they have a web site, a newsletter, and meetings where they'd like some help. Volunteer for the Obama campaign. Go help. Sign up.

It doesn't mean you have to completely ditch your current friends. Just that you're broadening out.

And consider the travel thing, even if it's just for few weeks or months. If you're nervous about traveling on your own, there are a lot of relatively cheap (after airfare) package tours to be had all over the world that include active travel (no old ladies on buses, but lots of hiking, kayaking, and people your own age).

www.adventurecenter.com

Taking a package tour is a good way to get your feet wet in a country. After a week or two of a tour, you can do the rest on your own.

Good luck.

As the economy tanks and layoffs rise, more and more middle class people are going to find themselves hungry, foreclosed, unemployed, and uninsured. Interesting to predict social unrest based on all these factors at once.

Not only is our banking system broken, our "free market" health care system is also broken. Soon people are going to be demanding some kind of nationalized care, when they realize that a cancer diagnosis in the family means almost certain bankruptcy.

Yup, you're right that people have been moving money around the world with letters of credit since medieval times. I recall an excellent National Geographic article a couple years back about the Hanseatic League of traders, sending goods and money around Europe in the 1500s and before. Actual physical gold was too heavy and too dangerous to transport around in a pack caravan with the products (grain, beer, wool, etc.). Makes about as much sense then as it would today to put actual gold (and round the clock guards) on a long-haul truck full of apples.

And yes. Mmmm. Hood River apples.

I wonder how this is all going to play out.