2014 round-up - part 1 - the friendship version

I collapsed on the bed earlier thinking about what I had to do tonight and said to D, "wait! is this already the last Friday of 2014?!"

When he said yes, I realised I have TONS of posts still to do and I've run out of time so best I start.

Let's talk about 2014 and friendship.

It's been... odd... and good and some things have been unexpected and some things have been so very lovely.

First, the numbers (be prepared to be shocked. I am!)

40  - no. of friends' names on my spreadsheet - last year's people plus new friends
85 - friendship/ social connections over the year (1 party where I see 3 friends counts 3)
* 49 - 1:1 connection time (in other words, no parties or multiple friends date)
6 - new friend meet-ups (two in Cape Town and 4 up here)
6 - friends I didn't see at all. 1 is not local so understandable, 3 I have let go of, and 2 I need to make a plan.
17 - number of friends I only saw once. A lot are not local ;)

(* I have 3 friend dates scheduled for this week. All 3 are 1:1 so I've included them here but I'll come back and amend if any of them flake on me!)

  
Interesting thoughts:

• Amazing how I agonised about the people from my old company before leaving... and the people who have stayed in touch are the same people that always did. ONLY THREE! But 3 very good eggs :)
• Makes complete sense but the months where I had more than 4 one:one friend dates are the months I felt most connected and happier. When you see friends at parties and such, it's just not the same. It's still good, but not the same.

What worked?

1. I had a monthly goal to have at least 2 socials. Most months were too easy but some months I just about managed it.
2. On average, it works out to 7 per month which sounds crazy now that I type that. I think 4 - 6 is my personal comfort but of course, the birthday months of July and August throw everything out the water - it is CRAZY.
3. Oct and Nov are traditionally very busy months in SA because it's warm, everyone comes out of hibernation and lots of babies are born because there are a lot of birthdays.

And what's the plan for next year?

1. Unsurprisingly, I will still have a monthly friendship connection goal but next year I want to do more at-home "entertaining" if you can call it that when it's one or two friends because eating out is getting way too expensive.

2. I keep thinking if I'm paying R130 for a main course and a cup of tea... and I'm a tee-totaller and I drink ONE cup not multiple cappucinos, etc. then I don't even want to think about other people who drink and have numerous coffees and eat.

Multiply that out by 4 dates a month, and it's a good monthly unit trust investment, which is where I prefer to put my money :)

When I was out from work for those 4 months, most of my allowance went towards eating out!

3. I'm going to extend a few invites and if nothing comes of it, then so be it... because I suspect I might be the one fuelling the fire for some of the friends on the list.

4. I'm also thinking of doing something really cute involving good, old-fashioned letters in the mail... I'm good with following through on projects, but it is a 52-week commitment.....

If you made it til the end, congrats and thank you :)

Now tell me, how did 2014 stack up in terms of your friendships?
What were the highlights and lowlights?
What, if anything, are you doing differently next year?

PS feel free to write your own post and link to me.