[4107] in Depressing_Thoughts
Re: letting friendships slide
kevles@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (kevles@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Wed Oct 27 10:56:05 1993
Don't hesitate to get in touch, even after a long lapse. Your old
friends will probably be delighted to hear from you. Just make sure
that you don't get in touch to ask a favor. "Hi, I was thinking about
you and wanted to say hello." is great to hear, but "Hi, I remembered
that your brother was working at Microsoft and I've got an interview out
there, can I have his number." is not such a great opener.
I ignored holiday cards and birth announcements from a 9th grade friend
for five years, then looked her up when I was in the area, and we had a
great afternoon together. I admired the baby (not an infant by then!)
and we caught up on mutual friends, and so forth. We turn out not to
have that much in common these days, but we'll probably see each other
again in a few years to schmooze and see if we've grown at all together
again.
--Beth
