I think navigating social situations is a lot like surfing. You feel the rise and fall of social tensions, and sometimes you're able to get up on your board and glide around and have a bunch of well-timed (and properly-executed) fun.
Other times, you get caught in a wave of awkwardsauce and you can't get up, and you just end up with a bunch of saltwater in the mouth. Bleh.
But it's important to get up on the board and paddle out to sea again. You cannot just lie on the beach like a drowned sea gull. Try again! Try AGAIN! Keep trying, because that's what surfing is about; each wave is a new challenge/opportunity for joy. And even if you take a bad fall and a shark eats your arm, keep on surfing, because social waves are worth riding.
Or at least, they are when you're riding on top. And they definitely are once you get to know people well enough to skip the surfing formalities and just go about frolicking in the sea.
