Things learned in 2011

1. Online co-op gaming is a brilliant way to keep in touch people. Because while calling someone up to chat about random stuff feels like a poor use of time, doing that on Skype while shooting things feels constructive.

2. Sometimes, it may seem like a friendship is so completely fucked up that there’s no way of fixing it. But if you genuinely care about each other and think that it’s worthwhile to try, then it can work out.

3. Conversely, if you keep trying with some over and over, and they keep letting you down in the same way, time and time again, then eventually you have to throw in the towel. Not out of bitterness, not to punish them, not to get even, but simply because it hurts. Because as much as you enjoy their company, it’s not worth being made to feel worthless every few months.

4. It’s nice to be there for friends when they need you. It’s nice to have friends in your life that will be there for you. But that’s not the ultimate expression of friendship, it’s not the be-all and end-all, in fact it’s a relatively minor part of the whole thing. A truly valuable friendship is one where you just like each other. Where you want to spend time with that person for it’s own sake. Because they’re entertaining and interesting, and they find you entertaining and interesting too. It’s great to have friends who are there for you when you really need someone, but they’re barely friends if they can’t find time for you when you don’t. They’re just nice people who tolerate you.

5. Having a full-time job, writing regularly about TV for one website, writing semi-regularly about games for another, running a weekly comedy night and trying to maintain a semblance of a social-life with all that is about the limit of what one person can fit in the average life. Note that updating this blog is missing from that list. I think I understand serial-monogamists better now, because after you’ve been single for over a year, you end up taking so much on that you’re left with no clue how you’d fit a relationship in with that. Despite all this, I am running a two-day comedy festival in June.

6. My ability to cook has now surpassed my mother’s. This in no way means I can actually cook, but it does likely mean I’m doing Christmas dinner this year.

Dean Love : 14 Jan 2012 23:34 |  Comments (1) |  Report a problem