I'm glad I'm not on reality TV!

I'd be terrible at it!  

Not here to make friends?

Why would you not want to make friends?  

Sometimes I get a little sad that there isn't America's Next Top Best Friend.  I could win that.  

  

Friends in my Neighborhood!

I live in an area that's known for being very white.  Not only that my neighborhood is one of the whitest neighborhoods.  But know what's great?  People around here don't lose touch with communities of color.  I already told you about my friend with dreadlocks, but he's not the only one with an appreciation of other's cultures.  

One time, I was walking down the street at night, and a large SUV full of young white boys pulled up by me.  They were blasting TI's "Whatever you like".  

Well, these pupils of African American Studies wanted to be my friends!  

One of my new friends decided to say hello.  It was so nice how we all knew that I could feel safe taking to a car full of strange men at night, while I was on foot.  They knew their appreciation of the cultures of others showed me that they were safe to talk to AND progressive!  

My new friend, who was saying hello told me the funniest thing!  He said "You know how TI says 'you can have this big boy in your life'?" I nodded, because I too have an appreciation for other ethnic groups, and thus was familiar with that song!  It's great to meet people and discover things you have in common!  Well, when I nodded he looked at me and said "that's what I'm talkin' 'bout baby".  

What a funny friend!  It's too bad I suddenly remembered I needed to turn on the next street and call someone on my phone or I'm sure we'd be buying Lil Wayne tickets together RIGHT NOW.  

Having progressive friends is great!  

Trader Joe's is full of Friends!

I live right by Trader Joe's.  It's nice because it's got great groceries AND great friends!  I make so many friends every time I go there.  I could talk about a lot of them, but for today let's talk about my friend, the white checkout boy with dreadlocks.

Now, you might be saying "A white boy with dreadlocks? Surely he's too cool to be your friend!" 

Dreadlocks ARE cool, especially when you pair them with tattoos of bike gears like this young man.  But even though he was that cool, he STILL wanted to be my friend! 

The day I met this friend was like any other.  I got into line with my 6 dollar bottles of wine.  I'm terrible at shopping for wine so unless another of my Trader Joe's friends is working (I told you, they're friendly there!  Especially to women in their 20s!  What great customer service!) and can help me pick it out I just grab anything under 7 bucks and call it good.

Well, when my friend rang up my wine he wanted to know which one was better.  That's how I knew we'd be friends, he thought my purchase of cheap chianti means I'm a wine expert.  Then, without me even having to ask, he told me about what he likes to drink (microbrewed stout and whiskey) and how he doesn't like wine.  It was so nice that he knew we were already such good friends that I cared about his beverage of choice.  

Don't worry, my dreadlocked friend gets even friendlier!  He told me I'd have to let him know which wine was better.  See that!  he doesn't even drink wine, but he cares about my purchases.  He pointed to his name tag several times and reminded me that next time I was in the store I should find him to let him know.   That's going above and beyond basic customer service, and do you know what I call that?  Friendship! 

What a nice friend!   

My Friend at the Liquor Store!

One time, my roommate and I went the liquor store.  You won't believe it, but we made a friend there!  

Here's how we made our friend:

We went in to pick out something delicious to drink, preferably to be made into a beverage that tastes like candy.  I love candy!  

When we got up to the register the nice man working asked to see our ID.  It's nice to know people are doing their jobs and carding people.  Just say no to underage drinking!  

Well, when I showed the nice man my ID, he said something that showed me he wanted to be my friend.  He looked at the picture on my driver's license and told me "This looks like a professional modeling photo".  Giving compliments is a great way to make friends!  

Not only did our new friend tell me that nice compliment, he also put some candy into our bag!  Like I told you before, I love candy!  Wasn't that nice of our friend!  Telling a girl he doesn't  even know that she's pretty, AND giving her candy!  

The funny thing is I told this story about my great friend to some girls one time and they didn't think it was charming.  I don't understand why!  

If you're looking for new friends I recommend compliments and candy!  

Once, I made a friend in the Pearl!

I remember one time where I made a great friend!  

I was on a walk by myself.  Now, some people might say it's not the best idea for a woman to walk by herself in a city, but Portland is full of friendly people who make me feel so great!  

I met this friend by Ben and Jerry's, in the Pearl.  He was sitting outside.  It must've been busy inside because he was sitting on the sidewalk outside the store for some reason.  He had a cup in front of him full of change-what a great idea to recycle dishes into a wallet!  He was a creative man.  

Well, I was walking by my new friend, and he said "excuse me miss, can I ask you a question?"  Now, I'm a friendly girl, so of course I said yes.  He asked me "do you know what my favorite flavor of ice cream is?"  

I spent many years working at Baskin Robbins, so I really care a lot about ice cream.  But I wasn't sure what his favorite might be.  Could he be a Rocky Road fan?  Maybe Butter Pecan?  I just wasn't sure, so I replied "No, what is it?"

Remember how I told you he was creative?  You'll never guess what his answer was!  He looked right at me and said "It's female.  Girl ice cream"

How funny is that?  It's really too bad that the traffic light changed and I had to cross the street.  I'm sure we would've been fantastic friends.  

My Friend at School!

I love the school where I student teach!  It's full of so many nice people!  

One really nice person is our custodian.  He just got married a few months ago.  He's friendly to everyone, but extra friendly to me.  I think it is because I'm the student teacher, and he wants me to feel like a part of the school community.  

He did such a nice thing today!  I was walking to my car and he was on his phone.  Well, wouldn't you know it, he stopped his conversation to tell me how he liked my outfit!  He thought my heels looked really great.  And he told me how I was "looking good today".  Then, he looked me up and down to make sure he really meant what he was saying, and told me I looked "really good".  It's so nice how he made sure he was being sincere when he complimented me!  I bet his pregnant wife would love to know he wants to make the student teacher feel so welcomed at his work!  

The custodian is a great friend to have at school! 

I am friendly.

Lots of people want to be my friend!  I have so many potential friends that it deserves a blog!  I think they want to be my friends in nice pure ways.  Like we'll go on bike rides together, and take cooking classes.  

I'm not sure why it is that I make more friends when I wear skirts.  Or why all these potential friends are male.  But I know they're just waiting to be called my BFF!