I have friends who are girls. In fact, some of my best friends are girls. And I don't just hang out with guys because I am guy crazy, but I very much prefer hanging out with guys at work, than hanging out with most of the females that I work with.
I think it's a matter of communication.
In a place of employment like mine, you've got to realize that gossip is a fast and furious thing. And hey, I like gossip as much as the next person... sort of. I don't mind hearing frivolous shit, but I find, that after hanging out with a bunch of girls for more than a while, I hear the absolute worst about people.
When my friend quit work, I never realized how shielded I was from it all. He was a loner. We always sat away from everyone that we trained with, and those who were on our team. I know a lot of people at work, but because we always sat together, I was away from most of the malicious goings-on. That bastard. Now look what I'm subjected to.
After he left, I was quickly asked by a bunch of girls who, I suppose, wanted to know what 'really happened'. I suppose I disappointed them by saying that I didn't have a clue, but, shite, it was true.
And there's the difference between males and females at our work. I talked to his best friend about it 2 days ago, and he didn't have a clue about it either, but you can bet if it was one of those girls who up and left, we all would have had the 411 about it in nanoseconds.
Mygod. I miss him. I hate to admit that I'm searching for someone else to replace him but give me a quiet, slightly sarcastic guy to sit beside, and I'll be much happier. Much happier, indeed.