Keeping in Touch with People
Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at 12:00PM I love my friends. They are reason enough to live (I was going to say raison d'être but I'm not that much a tool). I absolutely hate aging but I do love accumulating these wonderful friendships with people along the way.
To date, I've been horrible at keeping in touch with them. I think about them often but I don't just call them. Jack Menzel and Juliet Hsu for example. I long to know what they're up to now (Juliet must be at grad school building Arhictectural Marvels and Jack must be rooming with a strange Indian, Google man that he can't quite love the way he does Juliet).
I have friends that call me randomly. And it's the greatest feeling in the world. Not to mention effective. Our relationships stand through years and across the continent.
I'm fixing this. At least to some extent. And I'm using a most efficient method: scheduled, monthly phone calls. I'll set up a day and schedule whimsical conversations with everyone I love, back to back.
This is not nearly as romantic as the random phone call. And I know several of my friends will not be amused. But I'm giving it a shot. Have a better solution? Do tell?
Sooooooooooooo, if you're a friend of mine that I've lost touch with, expect an email asking for a monthly conference call. And know that I'm doing it because I care and want you to be a part of my life. And if you don't, schedule a call with me!

Reader Comments (2)
If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you.
Winnie the Pooh
online (facebook, gchat, etc) help in this regard. my original theory was "i talk to married people less, simply because they're married." - and while this is partially true, it's not fully true. so i came up with a new, 3 circle theory. friends can be divided into 3 circles.
1. the "inner sanctum" - people who live in proximity to you and you hang out with - these you talk to most often. actually, even if people live near by, they may not be in the inner sanctum because of conditions, etc. also, close friends that you chat with a lot over im and facebook and a phone call once in a while. these people are (typically) closer friends.
2. the "middle ring" - people who you talk to every blue moon - once every few months. but when you talk to them, it's as if you were just talking to each other the previous day. these people are people you were close friends with, but distance and life makes things more and more busy.
3. the "eid group" - people you only call on eid or who only call you on eid and other occasions.
just my $0.02.