getting to know you.

How do you get to know someone? 


Perhaps you pull a first grade friending by turning to the nearest person that looks kind of OK and blurting out, "Hi. Wanna be my fwend?"


Or for the more modern folk:


Do you stalk friend people on facebook?


Are your only friends facebook friends?


Are you eternally grateful that your facebook friends can't see how many times you check their profiles?


Come on, you can tell me...


But seriously, getting to know someone is often a long and complex process, riddled with craziness. 


At least that's how it was with Mari.


We had known each other since I've been in Hungary; we had even ridden on a bus to Biatorbágy once. And everybody knows that when you ride a bus to Biatorbágy with someone, you automatically grow closer. 


But our road to Friending was characterized by some rather specific milestones, which I think could be beneficial for anyone who is looking to enhance his/her relationship building capabilities. [Warning: follow advice at your own risk. May produce frenemy.]


Overcoming The Awkward Days:

• Ride that bus. To [insert random city where a mutual friend lives]. Don't have a mutual friend? Get one. She will stand between you both when you're fighting. 
• Make your friend-to-be a miniature bouquet. Nothing larger will do--it's too much too soon. Remember, you're not committed yet. 
• Let her draw on your arm. You might end up with an elephant's rear end on your forearm, but just think of it as an investment in the future of your friendship. Priceless.

Making The Jump From Awkward To Awesome:

• Start taking pictures of the two of you together. When you look at them later, you can reminisce for hours about why your kind-of-friend looks like she just ate a piece of tree bark. 
• Introduce fightin' words friendly banter into your conversations. Wow. Things are progressing quickly now!
• It is time. Arrange to hang out with with your almost friend without your mutual friend and walk around outside for three hours, conversing about God, family, what you want to do with the rest of your lives, Christmas, how silver is infinitely more wonderful than gold, being 32 percent lost--all while taking pictures and planning to meet said mutual friend for dinner. (Phew).

Friending:

• Congratulations, you made it!
• This phase includes a lot of arm-linking. It's all about the connection.
• Always remember, when you remove the 'r' from friend, you get fiend. And fiends don't have friends.
• Here, your friendship isn't merely facebook official, but real life official. Deep. I know...

If at any point you find that these tips simply don't cut it, may I recommend the big gun of Friending?

Sing this song, and you won't go wrong.