After all is said and after all is done / God only knows which of them I'll become

[mrputter]

Compartmentalization. It can be a strange thing sometimes

Comments

[chu_hi]

Don't beat yourself up too badly; people get awkward, people get weird, people do things that don't make sense even to themselves. I've had to own up to a lot of things. Honesty is usually appreciated; if you have trouble finding words in person, maybe try writing it down. Copy and paste from here, if that's easier. I can't speak for all women, but I prefer to know where I stand than to be in the dark, even if the standing isn't the one I prefer. And if you're confused, it's okay to say you're confused, if that's the truth.

Hope it works out, cool guy. *hug*

[mrputter]

> can't speak for all women, but

Ok let me hasten to clarify, just so there's no confusion (and this may not have been how you meant that, but well anyway) :

“Friend” in this case is literally just “friend”. She being a “she” is purely coincidental - could have just as easily been a guy and I don't imagine anything would’ve changed. (At least I hope not? If so that would be a whole other kettle of fish and I don’t even want to think about that.)

[chu_hi]

It's just a generalization, but I meant that women prefer communication over an absence of it.

I did read "hook up with a friend," though. Oops.

[reluctance]

I made that read-o as well.

[frandroid]

So yeah, talking about it will help. You don't need to write a long apology, you can write a short one with an invitation to continue face to face.

[mrputter]

Ha.

Actually the apology in my other post was about something quite different. Totally unrelated to this. That’s... another story. Sigh.

[hsifyppah]

That's pretty normal. I've dealt with it in the past by addressing people differently. When I worked for my dad, I called him Perry at work and Dad at home. When joe's mum stops by my store, I call her Dr. Lunderville when we're speaking about patients and Peg when we're talking about babysitting. This is maybe not something you can do with a friend, but maybe mentally creating two different user profiles - I'm talking to WorkJane right now, I'm talking to FriendJane later - would help? I'm sure it's a bit weird for the friend too - the odd "It feels so weird not to chat with you when you're right there! We'll have to catch up at the pub later." or something can clear the air.

[frandroid]

Your professional voice was so WEIRD the first time I heard it. Who is this?? :)