The Spanish Inquisition

For a long time now, I have been questioning my relationships with certain friends because of the very strange communication patterns that exist between us. One such relationship has basically consisted of me being faced with a barrage of questions whenever we chat (different cities).

This is how our conversation goes...
Friend: "Hey" (he starts)
Me: "Hey"
Friend: "Whats up?" (his first question)
Me: "Nothing much. I'm at work."
Friend: "Whats up with you?" (his second)
Me: "Been busy"
Friend: "Hows work? (its like he has a list of questions by his side)
Me: "Its good" (By now, I've lost interest)
Friend: "How's hubby?"
Me: "He's good" (Lost more interest)
Friend: "What you doing???" (At this point, he's extremely frustrated because I am not doing his answers justice. Also, at this point, I'm not even replying)
Friend: "Why aren't you replying??"
Friend: "Hello??"

Sometimes, in the middle of the inquisition, to return the favor, I say, "How are things with you?"
He says, "Nothing is happening. You tell me...whats up?"

Sounds like fun? Well...its not.

No, I cannot take anymore of this and so I finally stopped communicating with him. This kind of interaction is not fun, nor stimulating, nor friendly.
In fact, it reeks of boredom from both sides.

Friendship is supposed to be fun. And interesting. Its not an interview, for God's sake. I know that after a certain age, you have to make more of an effort to become friends, especially when you live in different cities and so asking questions helps you get to know more. But also after a certain age, you HAVE TO know that offering good conversation is as importing as seeking it.

Another conversation with a male friend has been going like this for almost a year -

"Hey"
"hey"
"Hows things?"
"Cool. You?"
"Good"

How is it possible for things to have come to this state? This is keeping in mind that I have had some of my best conversations with these same friends in the past.

Its possible I'm losing my touch and blaming others. But I don't think thats it because I'm able to have good conversations with a lot of other people.

I just am astounded that conversation between young adults has become so...well, for want of a better word... "lame". Are we so caught up in cryptic phrases that reek of indifference that we can't be bothered to make it count?

Its sad too...we are all so busy that we're not even looking at the quality of our communication. Clearly, we need to! The point is that as friends we're initiating the contact so there is desire to bond. But it stops there. Its sad because as we grow older we need our friends more and more. And life is so much more enriching because of our friends.

I just wish we would all stop acting like we're in a zone and start stepping up and adding something to other's lives!