Ouch. Ouchy ouchy ouchy ouch. Maybe that is more how your auntie sees you than how you really are. I would kindly suggest that maybe seeing yourself in this way, in a self fulfilling prophesy action, helps to separate you from others.

I wonder if something where you could do things in with other people and be connected in the context of doing would be helpful for you. I did read where you said that it's hard to go from a group activity to coffee with just one person (have you asked?). But maybe finding the right group activity that would allow you to be your authentic self would be just the ticket.

Ever thought about taking up knitting? Almost every town has a local knit shop (not to be confused with Michael's, Evil WallyWorld, or the like). There's also an awesome site, ravelry.com, social networking for the crafty fiber people. You could use ravelry to find out what people think about your local knit shop, and to see where people meet to knit (usually at the shop, but some places have meetups at coffee shops or bookstores).

Every saturday people congregate at the local knitshop around a big table (or two, depending on the size of the group). We knit, we talk, we usually laugh our heads off. And we make stuff! It's not expensive to knit (although I have a taste for high end yarn), it gets me outta my head. Anyway, just a suggestion.

Anne