friends and phones

With the problems I've had lately, I have been spending *way* more time on the phone than usual. Saturday Chatty and I had planned to go for a walk. It turned into this hour-long comedy of IM, where I'd be like, ok, let's go! and then she would IM "on phone." Then she'd IM me that she was ready to go and I'd IM "on phone." Again and again and again. I talked to my parents, Grrrbear, my parents again, and possibly a few other people.

Finally she wrote and said, ok, come on over! Then as I was walking the two minutes to her apartment (which included a brief call from Ogram), she got a call from a friend on her cell, followed closely by a very important call she'd been waiting for all day on her land line.

So I sat in her living room and read Mostly Harmless for 30 or 40 minutes and, really, found it very relaxing. (I sent a text to her in the bedroom to reassure her that I was perfectly happy.)

I've realized in the last few months what an awesome network of friends I have. For these particular problems it's mainly been my professional friends, like Chatty and N.Lu and Platyhelminthes, who've been helping me out, and yknow, they've just turned out to be amazingly supportive and sympathetic and encouraging and awesome. Yesterday I asked N.Lu if she could be on emotional call for the day. She took a half-hour walk with me before a really scary thing I had to do this noon, then she and Chatty went to lunch with me afterward and watched me drink soup and try to keep down various white foods (nerves go straight to my stomach).

Anyway. I'm wandering. Yay, networks! Yay, friends! Yay!