How to Spend Time with Friends
posted at 11:01 am
on Apr. 15, 2003
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OK, think of a fun time you had recently with friends.
And let me say just for a second here that you should REALLY do this, I don’t just write these journals for my health. You gotta play the game. Close your eyes (unless you’re driving, in which case, stop reading and pay attention for goodness’ sake) and think of a recent fun time you had with a friend.
Chances are, you didn’t just think of going for coffee, or dinner, or shopping. You thought of doing something: shopping for a specific thing, going to an interesting restaurant for the first (or last!) time, meeting and going for a hike, to a party, to support them at an event.
My friend Mike came to town, and while he was here, he taught me two things. He taught me how to put cork over a whole wall, making it into an enormous bulletin board covered in international maps and flag pins, so it looks like we’re playing “Where’s Osama?” And he also taught me that when you’re spending time with somebody, the way to make it memorable is to do something.
My sister, Virginia, re-enforced this by saying that she remembered me living at home from when she was young much better when it was about us actually doing something. She didn’t remember breakfast at the table together, but she did remember making Rice Krispy treats one day, and the time a sheriff brought her home in the back of the car after she was arrested for smoking cigarettes. Ah, the life of a law enforcement official in Swan Lake Montana....
Anyway, that’s my advice for the day: Do something when you spend time with someone, don’t just “catch up” and possibly have a meal. It seems like I’m guilty of that, and it’s a very L.A. thing to do.
