The Bad Friend

You ever have one of those friends who isn't really a friend, but you keep in touch with them anyway?

Kristin* is a girl I work with. We used to be friends - I used to think she was one of the coolest people I'd ever met. Time went by, things changed, and a while back I started describing her to people who didn't know her by saying "she's really cool, outside of work." But now, I never hang out with her outside of work...and I'm not sure I'd find her all that cool, even if I did.

On the plus side, Kristin is very intelligent, and well-educated. She's artistic, likes music, films, books, dancing, good food, good conversation...you name it. Like me, her taste tends toward the obscure - if most people have never heard of it, she probably has. She seems to have a lot of confidence and a good sense of herself.

As I've worked with her though, I've seen that she is an overwhelmingly negative person, almost always angry or annoyed or not feeling well. She's also a closet alcoholic, and she's bipolar, self-centered, and extremely opinionated. And she's six feet tall, and she's loud - so she takes up a lot of space, and a lot of the time that space is filled with negative energy.

I was trying to talk to her today, about something work-related, but I was in a fairly good mood and was joking around a bit. She cut me off and said "You know what? I don't have time right now for bullshit."

That was it for me. I've kept Kristin on my "friends" list way too long, and she's not worth it. We rarely spend time together as friends, and when we're at work, she talks down to me a lot, and doesn't make me feel good about myself. And listening to her complain all day, all the time, makes my job much harder. That's something I can't get away from until I find a new job...but I'm through claiming her as a friend.

I have so many wonderful friends, who make every day joyful for me, and I am so thankful for them, and I don't even need to waste my time with people who aren't worth it. I was so insecure for so long, that it's a great feeling now to realize that I don't need Kristin. So here's to one less "friend" at the end of the day!

*Names have been changed.