Friskies Sour

My best friend, "Rob," is really into this girl he's been dating. She is loud, talks constantly about vapid subjects, generally rubs everyone the wrong way, and -- I'm not kidding -- makes cat "meow" sounds. (For instance: "I'm hungry; let's get pancakes! Meow.") Recently, a mutual friend blurted out to Rob, "Dude, seriously, how do you put up with her?" Rob was upset, and I sympathized, but the reality is, we all think that. Shouldn't he know the truth -- that none of us wants to be around him when he's around her?

--Biting Tongue

When you're all out to dinner, you must live for those moments when she and some other woman excuse themselves to go talk about all you guys in the litter box. As hard as it must be for you to hold back, all this guy should know is that you're his friend. People mistakenly believe that you can criticize somebody into changing. You can't. What you typically end up doing is criticizing them into clinging even more tenaciously to whatever you were hoping to pry them away from. Because, in relationships, initially adorable idiosyncrasies can turn screechingly annoying, it's possible your friend will eventually grow allergic to loud, vapid women who make cat sounds. Until then, well, that's why there's guys' night out at the cigar bar. You might also try to curb your annoyance by feeling happy for him. For him to be blind to how irritating she is, she must do some really special things in the bedroom -- you know, like marking the bed with urine and killing mice and leaving them on his pillow.