The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: friendship

  • Don’t Write People Off

    I know a woman who stops speaking to people entirely after one disagreement. It must be awfully stressful to keep track of who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. I wonder if she keeps a sad little list or something. That, and she seems to think that a lack of interaction…

  • Daily Affirmations for a True Friend

    A dear friend of mine is about to move thousands of miles away from me. She has been a steady source of support since the day we met. She’s my champion. She has my back. I can always count on her to keep her promises and provide pep talks when needed. She doesn’t judge me.…

  • For Pete’s Sake

    Many years ago, in the virtual world of Second Life, I made a friend. Let’s call him Pete (so I can have a cool blog entry title). It was purely a friendship. We were both in relationships at the time.  I enjoyed talking to him. He had a very creative mind, and was very good…

  • A Shout Out to Fair-Weather Friends

    When I was young, I used to have such high expectations for friends. I thought that each one should fulfill all my emotional needs or they were somehow falling short. But that’s asking quite a lot of someone. By setting the bar that high, you will miss out on a lot of amazing people in…

  • How This Blog Has Touched Me

    Today this blog made me cry. It wasn’t the first time. I’m sure it won’t be the last. So far it’s always been happy tears, thank goodness. (I’m waiting for the day that my writer’s block is so overwhelming that I shed tears of sheer frustration, but so far I’ve been lucky.) Still, I never…

  • A Night Out with Friends

    The other night I met a friend at Seattle’s Royal Room to hear Leah Tussing, an amazing blues/jazz singer. She and her band were wonderfully talented and it was a very lovely way to spend a rainy, blustery evening. The Royal Room itself is a comfortable, welcoming venue with good food and a relaxed atmosphere,…

  • Applying for Friendship

    I was sitting in a crowded little theater, waiting for a friend to do his one man show, and I was chatting with another friend. Someone asked us how we met, and my friend said, “She was advertising for friends, so I applied.” It’s true. During my first storytelling experience, in front of a crowd…

  • Maslow’s Hierarchy Writ Large

    I was talking to a friend about my utter lack of success to date on a dating website on which I’ve registered. “I have to say I’ve never felt worse about myself.” My wise and wonderful friend responded, “This is going to sound really bizarre, but your current depression is actually a positive development. For…

  • Well Known… But Not.

    Many years ago I worked the graveyard shift, and I was in a relationship that was making me really unhappy. I felt lonely and isolated. Then I discovered the virtual world of Second Life. Second Life may have saved my first life, or at the very least my sanity. It’s not a game like World…

  • Keep Reaching Out

    So says a dear friend that I’ve known for 25 years. He’s now a continent away, and knows I’m struggling with loneliness in this new city of mine. He always gives wise, yet understated, advice. Yes. Keep reaching out. Even when you’ve caught your hand in a bear trap of rejection in the past. Even…