antipode -> RE: Lack of control (11/2/2008 10:03:02 AM)
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quote:
being a burden to them I hear and see this comment on many occasions. I find it (and I don't mean this in an unpleasant way) disrespectful. Look at it this way: Friend is down. I offer support. She says the above. Huh? What? Does she really think I talked out of my arse when I said that? That I am incapable of determining what I can and cannot handle? What is your problem? I hate it even being said, because it is a stupid invitation to reiterate what you just said. I hate being made to repeat myself. I know what I said, this is my mouth, hon. Etc. Friends, true friends, you call on when you need them. That is the difference between friend and acquaintance. I've had these arguments many times - "no, I don't want you to pay for my flight, it is too much of an IOU". Well, girl, this is my entertainment budget, and you are my entertainment. I pay when I go to the movies, too. If you don't trust me not to make demands because I paid your expenses, you shouldn't even visit. If we don 't click, you have a gratis holiday, and your gourmet cook host will serve you dinner by the pool. Etc. I just spent two weeks in China to cheer up a former sub, when she mailed me. Stuck in her job, and her boyfriend broke up with her. So I jumped on a plane, took her out for her birthday, spent some time listening to her problems, and by the time I left she had decided to go for her M.Sc., and to find a new apartment. I didn't do that, but helped unstuck her. And if she hadn't emailed me she might still be stuck, and I would not have the satisfaction I've made a difference, just for a moment, when someone needed that. I had never visited China, apart from Hong Kong, so I had a brilliant time on me own, as well. No, doesn't make me special, just grown up. So get with the program![:)]
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