Never Loan Money to the Jewish, French, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, English, German, African, Mexican, Canadian, or Russian. The Pollocks are OK.

I am always the planner. I schedule card games, Guitar Hero parties, and nights out with friends from different colliding friend worlds. I'll be the one to get everyone going to a show, the one who buys the tickets, and the one who plans the dinner reservations before the show. All of this, I happily do. But when money is involved, you better pay.

Sure I've occasionally welshed in my 36 years, but I'm happy to say those embarrassing incidents occurred twenty years ago. I was learning, at that self centered age, and if I was slow to pay someone back, it was never malicious. I've had "friends" pay their debts by writing checks dated a full month into the future and others mail me a check the second I communicate a total, even though I would see them in a few days.

Being out $20.75 didn't make my mortgage payment late or have me washing dishes to pay for any meals. However, waiting two months for the money, was merely a rude start to the conclusion of this minor transaction. When I was finally paid, instead of the twenty and change, I received a flat twenty. As if I should pay 75 cents for the privilege of doing the delinquent a favor.

I'm not much for confrontation, but you'll know if I'm mad. It's not enough to be honest, I've been trying to be transparently honest. This requires me to say unpopular things, sometimes be harsh (in a constructive manner,) and confront anyone who is failing me as a friend.

Give everyone the same amount of trust. What they do with it dictates whether they receive more or less trust. While this tardy debt delivery isn't strictly a matter of trust, his actions tell me one of two things: 1) He doesn't care about me or 2) He was raised by a jackass.

Is he always rude? Not always. Is he annoying? A lot of the time, yes. I've had conversations with him about his annoying quirks and, to his credit, he has taken the criticism as constructive and made an effort to change. That said, I've informed him that I will no longer include him in any of my reindeer games, unless I have his money up front.