Keeping in Touch

I have a tendency to run into a lot people I used to know at one time or another.

The biggest category of people I meet are usually “old classmates from College.” And since I liked most of them, I usually stop and say hi so we can catch up. And sooner or later, they always ask the same question: 

“So, do you keep up with anyone

else from College?”

This always struck me as an odd question to ask because:  yeah, of course I do. 

It just seems to me that, if you go to a school in a city as big as Los Angeles, you’re going to have a few friends who decide to stick around. And these are the people who you’ll end up hanging out with while you’re there because hey - they’re still around.

These are also the people who will listen to you complain as you look for your first job; who will help you move into that first apartment when you’re too poor to afford to hire movers; who you can ask to be your roommate so you can both save money on rent; and who will even show up to that party you’re throwing over the weekend – with a case of beer in hand.

Also -  there’s really no excuse for you not to in this day and age of social media / free networking.

But I guess a lot of people don’t realize that as they go off to try and make it in the real world because I keep hearing that question.

I make it a point to keep in touch with the friends I’ve made over the years because friendship *is* something that gets easily taken for granted.  

- My friends from high school always get a call to let them know I’m coming back home.
- Saturday mornings are usually reserved for Coffee w/Carol.
- I comment on people’s blogs whenever they make a post.
- Facebook friends who live far away always receive “Happy Birthday” wall-post from me.

They do the same. And we stay connected. It’s simple, see?

In fact – staying in touch with Fred gave me a place to stay when I visited Japan!

What about you all?

Do you keep in touch with old friends?

Communities

A friend of mine is having a hard time with their new job and was asking for ways to deal with the stress.

A lot of people suggested yoga, exercise, positive affirmations, remembering to take vacations, movies, blogging, etc. all things that one could do by themselves to relieve the stress / frustration of his job. And while those are good ways to relieve the symptoms of stress, I don’t believe that doing those things will help you deal with the actual cause of it all.

My recommendation was ‘going to Happy Hour at the local Bar,’ which I admit SOUNDS like a bad way to relieve stress (“drinking makes the pain go away, lolz!”) But in my experience, “Happy Hour at the Bar” is when / where people go after work to blow off steam & complain with other co-workers and is a very good place to build a community of support. Exercise, meditation, etc. may do a good job of relieving stress – but so does talking with other people who know what you’re going through.

These people listen (something that a ton of other people in therapy have to pay $$$ for) and help by giving advice, sharing their own experiences, and agreeing that “yeah what you’re going through is pretty tough.”

I think people these days try to replace the idea of “building a community” with things like “commodities” & “comforts,” but I just don’t think it has the same effect.

What do you all think?
Also - how do you relieve stress?