Friends that tick me off

I am grateful for my friends, I could not live without them. For the most part they are fun and caring although each of them has at least one personality trait that hits a nerve on a bad day.

The "fill-in-the-gap" friend. This friend invites you to hang out only when her other preferred options have run out. This usually means that the cool people are otherwise occupied or the significant other is away on a long business trip or something on those lines.

The "what can you do for me" friend. This is the long lost friend, who calls you up every few months or years when she needs something. A piece of inside information, career advice or reference, where to find something or the other, the contact info for another long lost friend etc.

The "your kid is a loser"friend. Although never explicit, this friend never fails to remind you how brilliant and responsible and high-flying her kid is, while knowingly or unknowingly alluding to the general incompetency of yours.

The "false promises" friend. Has made countless friendly overtures that never amount to anything beyond the well intentioned promise. Dinner inivitations that never materialize, a planned visit or joint activity that falls by the wayside, the promised loan of a book or DVD that doesn't come to pass- these are a few examples.

The "fussy" friend. Analyzes the restaurant bill and spends 15 minutes allocating the "real" cost to each person, when the rest of us prefer to divide it equally in 15 seconds. This friend also has the annoying habit of analyzing aloud every trivial personal decision to death. For example his personal seating preference at the restaurant or the agonizing choice of a starter course .

The "hyper-sensitive" friend who doesn't call because of some percieved snub or insult or omission on your part, of which you don't have the slightest recollection.

The "foul weather" friend constantly has something to gripe about. He is happy to commiserate with you when things are not going your way, but appears not to notice when things are looking up for you and some friendly praise and recognition might be appreciated.

The "holier than thou" friend always claims the moral highground.Best to avoid discussions on liberal versus conservative values, because it will usually end up in a heated but pointless argument about right and wrong. I'm often amazed how easily her mumbo jumbo can muddle by usually cool headed thought process.