Well, we 'cleared the air' a bit with friend #2, apparently she does have consideration/esteem for me (or only wants more free language lessons, the jury is still a bit out on that) It was via text messages, I may have used language like 'I am not a waste basket' and 'You behaved like an elephant in a porcelain store, like my dad.' I think she was pretty furious about it all, that I 'make mountains out of mole hills', but we're ok now, I think. We'll see how it goes in the future.

The question of my self esteem was raised, and indeed, had I better self esteem I'd probably nip this kind of behaviour in the bud and wouldn't allow it to 'get to me', in the ideal world. We live in a less than ideal world though, and I told her I have enough esteem of myself to try to clarify things when needed.

I wish I knew how to 'not let things get to me' so much though? It can be the tone of voice and/or language used... Some of it can be a misunderstanding, and it's good to clarify things, I wish I had 'thicker skin' though! Any suggestions?

Thank you everyone for bearing with me through this!