On Friendship

It seems to me that there are too many types of friends in the world. You can call someone you completely hate a friend, or be hesitant to call someone you do like more than an acquaintance.
The inevitable list, on types of friends:

• Part one: People you don't really like:

1. Someone you can't afford to have on your bad side.

2. Friend of a friend, with whom you simply deal because you both want to hang out with your mutual friend.

3. Someone like 1 or 2 who is a really good source of gossip or useful in some other way.

• Part two: People who are definitely friends:

4. Someone with whom you can have a really good time.

5. Someone in whom you can confide.

6. Someone with whom you can have a really interesting conversation.

7. A combination of 4, 5, and/or 6. And y'all are really close.

8. Someone who began as number 2, but grew on you.

• Part three: That really confusing in-betweenness:

9. Someone who counts as number 7, but only sometimes. This person has never actually called you a friend, and you have reason to believe they don't think the same, and for some reason, either a) you can't bring up the subject, or b) they simply haven't gotten around to answering. Just to complicate, sometimes they really are a number 7, but other times, you wonder if they just put up with you. And you care so much because the little voice inside you is telling you there’s something really important about this person. “After all,” it says, “how many people are really on the same wavelength as you? Not many. But this person is. Don’t lose them.”

• Part four: A few types of people in category number 7, because this list just isn't confusing enough:

10. Someone who starts out as number 1 or 2, becomes number 8, then moves to number 7, and you have no idea how the hell that happened, but you really don't care.

11. Someone you know you'll know only for a short amount of time, and yet you somehow seem to have known them forever, even though you learn something new about them about every second, and might be concealing something. But when the venue where you met them is up, you really, really want to see them again, but don't know them well enough to keep any sort of meaningful online friendship going. So you hope that fate will twist itself in that really weird way and you maybe, just maybe, can reinstate as though you were never apart.

12. BFF. Someone who is always there when you have a problem, who won't try to push you past your limits unless it really is good for you, who will never betray you. Someone who sees you how you are and won't try to change that. And someone to whom you are that friend.

My favorite type of friend on this: number 12.
The most important type: Probably number 9. Someone who could be a number 12, but you almost think you’d prefer they declare undying hatred for you than be so confusing. It gets to be you wish for some sort of definity whenever you see a shooting star. Except you don’t get it. Ever.
Because no matter how lucky you are, there’s always one category in which you have none.
And mine is this.

Thought for the day: It's a dog eat dog world out there. And they're short on napkins.

Signed,
Two of Wands