My best friend thought I was in love with him when we first met. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but he definitely didn't know what to think about me when our friendship began. We met because he worked at my favorite local restaurant, and our journey as friends was activated when he was polite and invited me to a house party at his place. By now you know that if I have someone's phone number, I'm going to use it because I love people - whether I want to be friends with someone or if I have a crush on them; either way I enjoy forming relationships with the majority of people I come across. Honestly when my friendship with Best Friend began I wasn't sure what I wanted, but I knew that he was a sincere guy who made me laugh. My motto with most guys that make me laugh is "If we're friends, awesome; if something more happens, great. Either way I'm happy this person is in my life." After a couple months Best Friend disappeared without any warning. I went from seeing him a few times a week, to suddenly getting no response from him whatsoever. I was bummed because I had no idea what had happened. A few months later he casually strolled back into my life like not a day had gone by since we'd last seen each other, and when he invited me over for dinner I told him if we were to be friends he wasn't allowed to just stop talking to me without any explanation. He agreed, and then he declared we were going to be best friends. We are.
The moral of the story is that when I meet people, guy or girl, friend-to-be or a new crush, I need to distribute a training manual on how to understand me. Best Friend got a little freaked out by my steady stream of invites to karaoke, trivia, dinner parties, ice cream excursions, and the fact that I made cookies for him and his co-workers at the restaurant. My enthusiasm can be overwhelming to the average person, but I don't know how (and don't want) to hide it. A few other friends will attest to the fact that they may also have been a bit intimidated or scared when I energetically introduced myself while giving them a hug. However, those same friends will tell you that once they got to know me they realized that my energy and nonstop invitations to do things are genuine. Granted I might invite thirty people to the same event, but I TRULY want all thirty people to be there. I don't want you to miss out on anything, and I do my best to make time for any number of events. As far as making Best Friend cookies...I'm a giver. It makes me happy to spoil people. I'm constantly buying postcards and silly greeting cards because one of my favorite hobbies is sending people mail. I love getting things in the mail that aren't bills, so I assume everyone else likes that feeling, too. If you gave me a chance and embraced my intense and overwhelming ways, thank you...I'm ecstatic that you're in my life.
While I don't have a training manual in the works maybe little notecards to hand out with this kind of information could be helpful: My name is Penelope, and here's what you need to know...You might think I'm obsessed with you, but I really just think you're fun and want to get to know you. I'm going to invite you to at least four events in the next two weeks (but I'll also be inviting everyone else in my phonebook so don't freak out), and there's a good chance that I'll have a gift for you next time we meet because I was either feeling crafty with my sewing machine or maybe I saw something in a store that reminded me of you. Let's make the world a better place by being friends (and if you want to make out, I'm okay with that, too).
