The Thread For Those Who Feel The Need To Share All of Their Banal Details- Page 137

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:03pm

Wow, there are so many literary terms that I don't know. I feel completely humbled. I thought I was automatically going to do well on this exam because I did well on the SAT verbal section, but I've never heard of asyndeton, anaphora, and probably 15 other terms in this study book before. They're not difficult to pick out once you know what they are, but I'm happy I didn't just go into the exam without studying any of these.

I really hope that I can finally have my own "friend group" of sorts in college. I don't mind the unconnected interactions, but I'd just like to actually be part of a group for once.

I think very few friendships can withstand distance. I don't know if a friendship falling apart after distance comes between two people necessarily signifies that you were never true friends in the first place. Even with the wonders of technology, it's hard to communicate about daily issues when your lives no longer intertwine. However, it bothers me when I email a friend from years ago or someone I met over the summer and receive absolutely no response. I'm not necessarily looking for a true friendship in emailing them, but a "hello" and quick update on how their life is going would be nice.

I second what Em and nia said about calmly telling your friend that her actions are bothering you.

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:04pm

Aww, Mandi, I'm sure I would love sitting next to you. :-P

See, she doesn't even write conversation starters on my paper. Just...things. And a lot of the times they're really nice and sweet, but, I just wish she'd write them on her paper.
God, that's so petty.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:05pm

I agree, about communication with old friends; you'd think that even if you're not close anymore, they'd be able to send you *something* to check in, acknowledging that at some point, you two did mean something to each other.

Of course, there are a lot of e-mails like that I want to send to people who have drifted from me, but I don't have the balls to do it.

It's not petty, Elphie; if she's distracting you in class, then that's not cool.

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:08pm

I agree with you completely, Em. I realize long-distance communication can become tedious, especially if you don't have a lot of common interests, but it wouldn't kill people just to send a one or two paragraph message. I'm shying away from sending emails to old friends as well; I don't like the feeling of being "rejected," in a sense.

[Fantabulous428]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:08pm

I...don't understand people who don't respond to emails. Especially people who are in college and certainly check it on a daily basis. And especially when it is a matter of importance regarding your dwindling friendship, not just some "hi. how are you?" type of thing.

Updated On: 5/2/06 at 11:08 PM

[insomniak]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:08pm

It's not petty, Elphie. I used to doodle on other people's papers when we graded them in class, and one day a girl told me that she didn't really want them there, so I stopped. It probably won't hurt her feelings, really. She might even be glad you told her before the annoyance got to be too much.

Siamese, I know the feeling. I gave up halfway through my review packet, though. Isn't synechdoche a fun word?

What you just posted about distance and friendship is very thoughtful. Thank you.

As for the "hi, how have you been for the past three months" emails, I agree. A friend of mine moved to West Virginia earlier this year, and she called me once with all of her homesick sadness, so I sent her an update on our art class and asked about her life, ect. Did I hear back? Nope.
Updated On: 5/2/06 at 11:08 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:09pm

Yeah, exactly, SD. You make yourself kind of vulnerable, to reach out like that, and nobody likes being vulnerable. It's just strange how quickly the meaning can fade, even if it's in the past -- like, even if I stop talking to people, I don't stop caring about them or wondering how they're doing. I've been meaning to get in touch with some people for a while, but I always chicken out.

Updated On: 5/2/06 at 11:09 PM

[Mandi Moo]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:10pm

Well, I don't usually write on their papers...but I do tend to get a little post-it happy when I 'm bored.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:12pm

ooh, speaking of post-its, I love the pens with the little post-it flags.

[Mandi Moo]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:15pm

Those are so much fun! I don't use them too much though, because I'm afraid I'm going to run out and then I'd be sad.

[insomniak]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:15pm

What would you say in an email to someone that you haven't spoken to in a good eight/nine months because she moved to another country?

Post-its are great for origami. Updated On: 5/2/06 at 11:15 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:16pm

I like them, Mandi, but I don't have them because I'd just... use them for no reason.

ETA -- something very simple, I'd think -- just that you want them to know you're thinking of them and that you hope they're well.

Updated On: 5/2/06 at 11:16 PM

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:17pm

Hee, it is, nia. I actually know what that means, too (surprisingly!). I actually dropped my AP English class at semester time. The teacher was a raging bitch (that's not immaturity talking -- she was really a vile person), and she never went over anything AP related anyway. Months were spent raising money for her mother's class in Ukraine. While it's a noble cause, I don't think that belongs in an AP English class. So, it's my first time hearing a lot of these terms, and it's making me feel not so smart.

I'm glad that my thoughts came out as at least somewhat coherent. I think about this kind of stuff a lot, but I never really formally organize my thoughts on friendship and relationships.

[Mandi Moo]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:17pm

My dad got a box of them from work, so I have like 30, but I still haven't really used them.

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:19pm

I have Post-Its (well, not made by the actual company -- but it's like Q-Tips in that no one calls them "cotton swabs") in the shape of a baseball. I'm so predictable.

I write my assignments on them. I'm not organized enough for a daily planner.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:19pm

I love it when my dad gets office supplies at work. Then again, I just really enjoy office supplies.

I feel like we discuss the friendship thing a lot; I guess it's because a lot of us are in this kind of transitional friendship period. It's a sad discussion, though, unfortunately.

[Mandi Moo]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:22pm

I like office supplies too.

I don't really use my post-its for anything important. I just like leaving people stupid notes and such. Fantab, you'll be getting one.

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:22pm

I noticed that as well, Em, although I think I generally shy away from the conversations because my thoughts on the topic are so convoluted.

I keep singing What I Did for Love to myself without even realizing that I'm doing it until I'm halfway through the song. Obviously, I've watched a certain clip one too many times.

[Mandi Moo]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:23pm

Is that one going to pass Under Pressure?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:24pm

I think it's a topic that's good to discuss, though, because it's one that really is helped when you can bounce ideas off of each other -- and discussing it allows you to outline how you feel, which can be helpful, IMO.

I have BOXES of pens at home. I love writing impliments. I'm so weird!

[insomniak]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:24pm

I think everyone's in a transitional phase in their mid-late teen years.

I was thinking about the whole "true friends" thing earlier, and I wonder if it's possible to always tell at the time. Some things seem to have a lot more or less value when you look back on them, so maybe it's too soon to say (in some cases) if a friendship was worthless or not.

Teachers who don't teach drive me nuts. My Spanish teacher spends half the time asking kids about their weekends and the other half checking his email/showing pointless videos. I try to use it as a study hall.

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:24pm

Shush. I haven't viewed that one in a while.

Banal: When are you supposed to use "a while" vs. "awhile"? I always just use "a while." Updated On: 5/2/06 at 11:24 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:26pm

I think that... no matter what a friendship becomes, it was at some point -- perhaps long, perhaps finite -- worth something. No friendship is ever entirely worthless. At some point, it was meaningful and gave you something.

A while, two words.

Updated On: 5/2/06 at 11:26 PM

[Mandi Moo]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:26pm

I only like cheap pens.

[Billboard Girl]

Posted: 5/2/06 at 11:27pm

I'm still pissed that my dad switched the type of complimentary pen his hotel orders in bulk. I don't like the clicky ones, and that's what they use now and what he brings home bunches of.

I always felt a bit out of place among my group of friends in high school because they all knew each other for a few years before I knew any of them. The only one I really keep in touch with, who is one of those lifelong best friend types, goes to school here in the city, but I'd like to think that we would have still maintained the friendship even if he went to school further away.