7 Levels

I am, amongst other things, quite flippant. I say facetious things spontaneously, expecting that the person I’m talking to will understand I’m not to be taken seriously. One time I was on a trip with someone who didn’t know me and within the first hour I’d said how I was gaga for waterfalls as we passed a tiny replica waterfall. For the next 6 months she made a point of pointing out every waterfall we came across. And if there’s anything that doesn’t really require someone pointing it out, it’s a waterfall.

A while ago a friend and I were chatting and I said that I had 7 levels of friends. This lead into a conversation as to which level she was on and how people go from level to level and whatnot which of course I was making up as I explained it. But in order to make myself less of a liar, I’ve created a 7 level friend hierarchy.

Level 1 – I’ll fly to your wedding. You mean enough to me that barring unforeseen conflicts, I will take the time, expense and bother of air travel and vacation time to attend an event that I do not enjoy.

Level 2 – You are a member of my posse. I invite you to most everything, excluding romantic rendezvous. We likely have inside jokes. I’ll do you favors readily, such as going to your wedding reception.

Level 3 – You used to be in my posse, but distance, scheduling or marital status have removed you. We still keep in contact regularly, because we recognize each other has high caliber individuals.

Level 4 – We share a common interest, such as music, television, or conspiracy theories. Primarily it would be this interest that brings us together, but we also just hangout sometimes. Includes most workmates.

Level 5 – You’re not in the core group, but you’re an alternate. We have fun together but it would be odd for me to invite you to do something without a group involved.

Level 6 – You’re a cute girl that I don’t dislike.

Level 7 – You are only technically my friend. You have become a technical friend because I want to exploit you for some resource but don’t actually like you that much. Alternatively I may not really know enough about you to like/dislike you, but we have enough co-friends that you’re in my circle.

There you go. My 7 levels of friends. The pool of people in levels 1-5 are fairly limited. 6 and 7 blend into Acquaintances, which encompasses most everyone else I know. Maybe later I’ll make up 7 Levels of Enemies.