Social bubbles
Ever feel like you've been coccooned in a bubble, shut off from everyone? The last few days have been very odd - and disturbing.
It started last Thursday, when a close friend went completely ballistic over an email I wrote to her. It wasn't the best email in the world, in fact it was downright insensitive, but it was only because I had misunderstood one of her emails in the first place. She had sarcastically complained about something, but I thought she wasn't serious and so I joked back. Bad move.
The fallout from that lasted 48 hours. No emails, no phone calls, nothing, not even replies. I spent an hour or so explaining why I had made the mistake, but apparently its your first answer, not your third, that counts. Anyway, I thought it was fixed at the weekend, as we spent some time together and I got a nice email talking about dinner another time. But since then, no, its back to silence again. I've been analysing my emails Sunday and yesterday to see if there is anything even remotely offensive in them, but unless being invited round for coffee is offensive, I can't see it.
In the backdrop to this two other friends (a couple) are also being very weird. This is heartbreaking for me as they are the most long standing and important friends I have locally. They have helped me through some fairly tough times over the last year and until now I had been really looking forward to some quieter, more fun times with them with no major stresses to worry about.
But this latest stress seems to have come from nowhere. They are both fairly good at replying to emails, or phone calls if they miss the call, and yet despite having sent several emails on various subjects I've had two monologue replies. And no returned calls. I even raised the subject with one of them about the other, saying have I done anything to piss blah off, etc, and I was told I was being paranoid. Then we were supposed to be doing something last night (admittedly it was an event where you just turn up if you want) and they didn't show. Nor email to say "hi, sorry didn't make it, how are you, etc." Just more silence.
I give up. Pondering withdrawing myself to a European city for a week and just not telling anyone. If I don't have a few concerned emails or calls when I get back, theres my answer.
It started last Thursday, when a close friend went completely ballistic over an email I wrote to her. It wasn't the best email in the world, in fact it was downright insensitive, but it was only because I had misunderstood one of her emails in the first place. She had sarcastically complained about something, but I thought she wasn't serious and so I joked back. Bad move.
The fallout from that lasted 48 hours. No emails, no phone calls, nothing, not even replies. I spent an hour or so explaining why I had made the mistake, but apparently its your first answer, not your third, that counts. Anyway, I thought it was fixed at the weekend, as we spent some time together and I got a nice email talking about dinner another time. But since then, no, its back to silence again. I've been analysing my emails Sunday and yesterday to see if there is anything even remotely offensive in them, but unless being invited round for coffee is offensive, I can't see it.
In the backdrop to this two other friends (a couple) are also being very weird. This is heartbreaking for me as they are the most long standing and important friends I have locally. They have helped me through some fairly tough times over the last year and until now I had been really looking forward to some quieter, more fun times with them with no major stresses to worry about.
But this latest stress seems to have come from nowhere. They are both fairly good at replying to emails, or phone calls if they miss the call, and yet despite having sent several emails on various subjects I've had two monologue replies. And no returned calls. I even raised the subject with one of them about the other, saying have I done anything to piss blah off, etc, and I was told I was being paranoid. Then we were supposed to be doing something last night (admittedly it was an event where you just turn up if you want) and they didn't show. Nor email to say "hi, sorry didn't make it, how are you, etc." Just more silence.
I give up. Pondering withdrawing myself to a European city for a week and just not telling anyone. If I don't have a few concerned emails or calls when I get back, theres my answer.