A very interesting thought crept into my mind as I was on my way home on Monday night. It had been a rather fun night, me meeting Mel for dinner and having an enjoyable conversation afterwards. Now what makes this thought interesting is more the fact that it never really occured to me before, at least not on a level where I was aware of its significance.

For those of you, Mel included, who may have started to think along the lines of "He's in love with her, isn't he?", please slap yourselves awake. You're obviously dreaming.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand. Now, the last time I checked, Mel was a Guardian, at least by Keirsey's rating. An SJ. She was initially an Idealist, but that changed recently though I can't remember when. What occured to me was that I actually do have a Guardian friend whose complany I actually do enjoy! Now, no offence to the Guardians out there, but they are generally that one group of people, 45% of the general USA population, even more here so due to the nature of Singaporeans, that I totally and utterly cannot tollerate long term exposure to. I've known nice Guardians, I've known evil ones, but I've not really found one that I could really talk to without having to make a conscious effort, at least till now. Not really now though...since I've known Mel for what, 5-6 years already?

In fact, my expectations of ANY Guardian I meet are low. I don't expect to be able to get close to them, to be able to withstand any long-term interraction with them, to be able to have anything but a very strained conversation with them, etc. That's not to say W can't easily deal with such people, he can with great ease. There is of course Joel, but well...we have sort of drifted apart over the years. He did see it happening, but I think he's not realised the true reason behind it. All I can say is that when a close friend doesn't help me in a time of trouble, especially when he can, I consider that a form of betrayal...and betrayal is the one thing I will not let by. If you ever see this, sorry dude, but where were you during the four years of hell I had to endure?

So yeah, here's Mel, who is actually still around and whose company I still enjoy, even after all this time. I mean those as compliments, obviously, because Guardian or not, not many people stick around for that long and if you're reading this, you'll know that like Suzumiya Haruhi, I get bored of people very easily, not to mention that a lot of people tend to flee after one of my standard conversations and don't bother to wait for the good stuff.

Another thought which came to mind was that hey, this is one of those long-term platonic relationships between two people of the opposit sex. Its also rather strange to me because well...I remember stuff. Sure, I don't remember dates, but I actually remember stuff. For instance, Mel treated me to dinner that night and I do fully intend to return the treat some time *grin*. My mind pushed back to a past memory from JC, when she bought me a drink...for teaching me bridge, if I remember correctly. Its a very mundane incident, so its curious that I remember it. She also called me out for dinner because she was worried, which also reminded me that when I was in Hospital in JC1, she was the one who visited me the most.

Okay, this post is taking a very soppy turn. I'll cut things off by just saying that yes, I do care a lot about her too, though I'm not going to openly admit it. So yeah, here's to you, Mel.

Oh yes, as for Suzumiya Haruhi, well, she's another story for another day I guess. Kyon's a very lucky guy...sort of.