Incoherent Scribblings

Fair-Weather Friend

I like to think that I am a pretty forgiving person that doesn’t hold a grudge, but when my mom emailed me asking me if I wanted to see a girl that I used to think was one of my best friends when I am home I found myself not caring if I ever see her again.

Sonia and I became friends in the first grade and though we weren’t extremely close, we were close enough that we always attended each other’s birthday parties and were involved in other elementary school activities together. When we entered junior high school we were still on speaking terms even though other girls were our “best” friends. As fate would have it, when we entered high school our best friends moved away and we started hanging out together.

During our junior year of high school a new guy moved to our town and just so happened to get the locker next to ours. He was still friends with guys from his old town and introduced us to his friends. As you can imagine, since this was high school, hormones ran wild and before I knew it Sonia and I were always together because our new-found boyfriends were friends. I don’t think Sonia and I ever really considered each other “best” friends, but we went through a lot of crazy high school times that I felt had bonded us together.

After we graduated we attended different colleges. The small private colleges we attended were only about 50 miles apart, but I didn’t see her that often. During our last year of college we saw each other more often, but I must admit that I didn’t really enjoy our time together that much anymore.

I thought the reason was because she had changed. However, when I explained to my uncle how she had changed, he pointed out that she hadn’t changed at all. She was still acting like she was in high school, while I had matured. I was the one that had changed.

I moved to another state and seldom even heard from her until she invited me to spend the Millennium New Year with her. I was home visiting my family anyway, so I went and I had a rotten time. She had become a fairly heavy drinker and passed out before midnight. When her boyfriend woke her long enough to walk her to the car, she offered to leave me without a vehicle at the party where I didn’t know anyone but her. The episode made me so mad that I only contacted her a couple of times after that and though she never even so much as answered a single email that I sent her, I still considered her a friend.

Then two years later on New Year’s Eve I got engaged. I was happy and wanted to share the news with all of my friends. I tried to call her but only got her answering machine, so I emailed her my good news and even sent her an invitation to my wedding, but she never even sent me so much as a card of congratulations.

So will I attempt to contact her so that we can catch up while I am home? Let’s put it this way: I would rather have my nostrils freeze together on a cold Iowa day than waste any of my precious time with such a fair-weather friend.

Blogging SBQ

Today’s SBQ isn’t about stitching: It is about blogging and was suggested by AngelSan.

Take a minute to reflect on your blog reading habits and preferences. What do you prefer to read in stitching blogs? (Progress, tips, family life, experiences, etc.) How much do you think you are influenced by other stitching bloggers?

This is an interesting question for me since I maintain two blogs. I started with, and still maintain, a “general” blog where I write about my personal experiences as an expatriate. (Read it here!)

Early on I started adding a little stitching here and there to my main blog, but at some point I realized that I was writing so much about my stitching that I was somewhat alienating my expatriate readers who were not interested in cross stitch. I also decided that I had enough material to start another blog, and as a result I started “Stitched with Love and Cat Hair.”

The reason that I mention why I maintain two blogs is because I think it has a direct impact on my blog reading habits and preferences. Because I write a personal blog based on my life and another blog focused on my hobby, these are the types of blogs that I prefer to read. In both cases I like to read about the authors’ general life experiences: However, when it comes specifically to stitching blogs I also like to see lots of progress and tips!

I think I am influenced quite a lot by other stitching bloggers: It is as a direct result of stitching blogs that I have discovered so many new designers, gained confidence about stitching large projects, and am kept motivated. In short, I think blogging about my stitching is probably one of the best things that could have happened to me and my hobby!