Monologues and Rabbit Holes: Breaking a friendship recession

Hi Friend,

Sarah here.

A lot has happened over the past two weeks, both in our Friendtimate world and beyond.

While our podcast is not about the TV-show Friends, we were both sad to learn that everybody’s favorite friend, Chandler Bing aka Matthew Perry, has passed away.

Personally, I have never really been affected much by celebrities dying, I mean I don’t know them as people, and as such I haven’t really had any emotional attachment to them. But this time, it hit me a little differently. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I am in a stage of grief, but it is a little bit weird to live in a world where Chandler Bing is no more. And why is that? I honestly don’t know, but I do think we should explore pseudo friendships in an upcoming episode. It’d be great if you could share your thoughts and experiences with pseudo friendships with us by replying to this Pen Pals Newsletter.

In Friendtimate news, last week’s episode of Friendtimate got financial. Or maybe I should say “businessy”; we dove head first into Friendship Recessions and even a little discussions on what the term recession actually means, as well as a few tips and tricks on how to break out of a recession, should you find yourself in one.

It was also an episode that saw me launching into not one but two monologues, which Ricky subsequently summarized in one sentence. Listening back to that made me want to be able to bring him to the office at my day-time job and just mute myself, so he can do my talking succinctly. I am sure a lot of people would be happy if my monologues where distilled down to maggi cubes from time to time.

In a fun twist, next week’s episode dives even deeper into how to make new friends as adults, and it is heavy on the research. Ricky tunnelled down a rabbit hole, which makes for a fantastic episode that I am very excited to share with you all.

It is also the, I believe, first episode in which Ricky pulls a reference from the 21st century(!!). Can you believe it? I know, I know - it’s absolutely bonkers, but he really came through on being relevant as his digging turned out Sheldon Cooper’s (from The Big Bang Theory) fool proof diagram on how to make a new friend: The Friendship Algorithm.

Are you curious to see what started Ricky’s journey down the rabbit hole? Then you should check out this article by Dr. Marisa G. Franco.

Since recording these two episodes on how to make new friends, I have issued myself a challenge - if I want to make a new friend, I need to carve out the time for making that happen. What’s the hurdle stopping you from making another friend? Will you join me, and challenge yourself to overcome it? I’d love to hear about your hurdles and how you plan to or are clearing it.