Filed under: Comment
The very lovely, supportive and kind John Dodds recently told me my blog posts are basically ‘one line of an idea, stretched to the limit’.
And he was right.
For a person whose job is to ‘simplify’, I don’t half go on and on and on sometimes.
Anyway, I digress. As usual.
So I was watching a program recently where it showed kids going off to play with their friends and that got me thinking.
Do you remember when you were young and when you wanted to play with your mates you just went round to their house and knocked on their door?
No phoning, SMSing, MSNing or emailing to check if they were in/available … you just got off your arse and ran round to see if they wanted to come out to play.
Or chat.
Or share a can of Tizer.
Do we do that anymore?
Putting aside the fact Tizer makes Red Bull look like natural spring water … I would hasten to guess, probably not – and if we do ever have unexpected visitors turn up on our doorstep, our first reaction is probably more likely to be one of annoyance than thrill.
Why are we like this?
Sure there’s many things we could throw up as excuses …
We are working harder and have bigger responsibilities than ever before.
We spend so much working, we need to spend time with our loved ones.
We’re so busy we never have time to do the odd jobs that need fixing.
… but at the end of the day, most of that’s a load of bollocks because popping in to see a mate unannounced a couple of times a month is hardly going to kill us is it?
I’ve said it before but this ‘planned spontaneity’ attitude that is prevalent amongst so many of us is pretty sad so here’s my challenge …
This weekend go and knock on a mates door just to ‘say hello’.
No pre-screening … just go over, say hello and then maybe suggest ‘a drink’ for no other reason than it would be nice to catch up.
I know they’ll probably think you’re about to tell them you’re getting a divorce or have cancer … but don’t worry about that … get back to a time when friendship was as much about just hanging out as it was having someone to copy your homework off.
Yes … I am aware that [1] this is an unbelievably bad post and [2] it say’s more about me than it does you … but if you recognise any of this in your life, then maybe you’re losing touch with some of the elements that make life great.
Oh the irony that this is all coming from a man writing it on a blog to a bunch of people he has never met … ha!
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Pithy post.
Comment by John August 28, 2009 @ 6:27 amOprah alert. Oprah alert.
You’re being kind John, this isn’t pithy, it’s the pits.
And Rob have you considered the consequences if your friend is having a wank when you knock on their door unannounced and ask if you want to play?
They’ll either punch you in the face or ask for you to finish them off.
I’m just glad Andy isn’t here to see this, I don’t know if his heart could of taken it. What are you going to suggest next, group hugs?
Get back to angry, what’s left of your credibility deserves it.
Comment by Billy Whizz August 28, 2009 @ 6:38 amThe photo you’ve used is funny though. Thank fuck.
Comment by Billy Whizz August 28, 2009 @ 6:39 amMemo to self – don’t knock on Billy’s door.
Comment by John August 28, 2009 @ 6:51 amOr shake my hand.
Comment by Billy Whizz August 28, 2009 @ 7:07 amSeems that Billy & John have become the new errrrrm, me & Andy.
I don’t think that is a compliment.
Billy & John, you’re quite right … this post is tragic.
I did have good intentions, but like most products produced by Motorola, the execution has a lot to be desired.
I apologise and I also blame the wife who set me off on this tangent after watching some Brit show called ‘Outnumbered’, despite the fact I bought the DVD, suggested we watch it and talked about the times I used to just go and see my friends unannounced – which, I am happy to say – never resulted in me finding them having a wank. [Thanks for the insight Billy]
I will try and make you guys proud … I mean, more tolerable of me … next week of which I am quietly confident my rant about Qantas/Austalia may warm the cockles of your miserable little hearts.
Finally, having read this post again – I too am glad Andy isn’t here to see it. I know the guy is a miserable old sod who picks fights with old women, let alone colleagues but I too fear the “Oprahesque” elements of this post would push him over the edge … and as much as that may seem quite tempting, in the longterm, I’d miss the old bastard, especially [as he hates me saying this] he isn’t really like his blog ‘persona’, if truth be known, he’s kind and clever.
Well, kind might be over selling it, but he is clever … ha.
OK, I’m going to wash my mouth out with dirt, judging by this post, I need it.
Comment by Rob August 28, 2009 @ 7:43 amI was going to write a positive comment about this post, how the dynamic of friendship changes as we get older from how we express it to how we nurture it and how your whimsical challenge had something quite important hidden underneath the layers of candy floss.
Then I made the mistake of reading the comments and everything is different and I think I’ll keep my opinions to myself which I suggest Billy also does in the future. LOL.
Comment by Pete August 28, 2009 @ 8:55 amI just went and knocked on my friends door.
He wasn’t in.
Comment by DH August 28, 2009 @ 10:35 amand you worry about me?
Comment by Marcus August 28, 2009 @ 2:04 pmThat – my lovely Marcus – is an excellent point.
Comment by Rob August 28, 2009 @ 2:25 pmIndeed Rob, never met!
Comment by Rob Mortimer August 28, 2009 @ 4:12 pmThough I have met Marcus and Lauren, but I wouldn’t be able to get to their doors…
how old are you rob? no one ever popped around to play when i was a kid either. you organised times. even if it was as simple as “a game of 40/40 after school in the street”, it was still an agreed time.
hmm, maybe that’s why i’m so bloody neurotic. 🙂
Comment by lauren August 28, 2009 @ 5:43 pmLike you said Lauren … that explains a lot. A hell of a lot. 🙂
Comment by Rob August 28, 2009 @ 7:25 pmi do stuff like this all the time. Being unemployed and generally understood to be a “free spirit” (my spin) or “weirdo” (the kind verdict of my friends and family) helps.
Comment by Ella August 30, 2009 @ 1:10 amThough the whole super-planned-must-be-reachable-to-change-plans-at-all-times technoworld has recently treated me well – i managed to avoid meeting up with an ex simply because he has lost his phone, and i can’t be expected to find where we were meant to meet without satellite guidance. WITHOUT having to actually say no or postpone. SWEET!
Hello Ella – lovely to have you pop by.
Look, the fact is you are weird, but in a great way … and who the hell wants to be ‘normal’ anyway?
Alright … alright … normal isn’t too terrible and I do admit that most people who say they’re “CRAZZZZY” are about as sensible as an accountant in a firm called ‘Beige Accountants’ but let’s not get lost in that debate shall we?
You’re right about the ‘constant contact’ thing … it’s mad, especially when people send SMS’s to tell someone they’ll be there IN TWO MINUTES.
Do they really think we are waiting with such baited breath that we need exact timings for their arrival? It’s like Twitter … which is becoming less and less about sharing and more and more about OVERsharing.
Do I care that someone is sitting in a room having tea?
Nope.
And yet people had the nerve to act all upset with me when I ‘tweeted’ I was having a piss.
No consistency these people.
Anyway, I’m glad to hear from you, I’m glad you’re still happily mad [in a good way, even though it doesn’t sound as gentile as ‘free spirited’] and I’m wondering if the ex you refer to is the perv @ Cathay Pacific who was chasing you like a lovesick teenager when we were all in Bangkok?
Speak soon lovely …
Comment by Rob August 30, 2009 @ 8:29 am