When are your friends not your friends?

I'm experiencing post event letdown.

I hate it but I recognize it. In the weeks leading up to the event, I'm a whirl wind of activity. The closer it gets the faster I go. People start to bombard me with calls, emails, questions, suggestions. I work harder, later, to fit all the work in a 24 hour day. Sleep takes a backsit, as do tasks I deem unimportant at the moment. I wake up in the middle of the night remembering details to be addressed. I stress until the event is well underway and there is nothing I can do to change the momentum.

Then its over.

I'll get thanked a hundred times and then nothing. I don't hear from anyone. I have to go back and take care of the tasks that go set aside. Life as usual must be resumed. Its a let down to say the least.

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I don't like it when things don't happen as I expect or planned.

I knew by Saturday night I could relax and start to actually enjoy the event. The prep work and details were handled. Time to relax. I let the girls take my car and head to the coast for 15 hours of fun until the event was over and it was time to head home. We met back up the next day at the coast. I had a friend who was going to come down late Saturday and had even called the beginning of the week to confirm we were still on for the weekend. He'd pick me up and take me down to the coast to join the girls. His last words were "I'll call you when I'm on the road."

I didn't hear from him Saturday afternoon but I didn't stress. He knew I was relying on him to get to the coast and I was sure he'd call if something changed. I called around dinner time and left him a message letting him know the girls had taken my car and I was waiting. People began departing around 5 pm. "You need a ride?" "No, I've got a friend coming to pick me up, go ahead."

Finally as the sunset I realized he wasn't coming. Thankfully a friend and his girlfriend had stuck around and I was able to catch a ride to the hotel. I figured he must have been called into work and didn't have time to call me but I was sure I'd hear from him later that night. Next day no word but I had my car back.

No call from him at all on Sunday. I was a little worried that something had happened. Monday I called him again. No answer, so I left a message. Tuesday another coworker mentioned he had been trying to reach him as well. I mentioned how odd that was as I hadn't heard from him either. She said she had called his assistant and he was in a meeting.

Ah ha! I emailed him asking if he was dead because I couldn't imagine another reason he would leave me stranded. He replied pretty quick that "no he was alive... but you haven't gotten ahold of me yet. I'll call you as soon as I get out of my meeting."

Today, almost 5 days since he stood me up, I emailed him as soon as I got to work. "I had no idea meetings lasted so long." Still no answer. I emailed him at 5 pm assuring him that my cell phone does indeed work after 5 pm and while I am curious to hear his explaination as to what happened, I won't be curious for much longer.

I'm starting to sound like a pissed off girlfriend which isn't my intention but sonofabitch, I think I deserve an apology and an answer. No friend deserves to be treated like this.