what NOT to do:

Be in a horrendous emotional state because you've had a terribly trying day. It's probably one of the worst days of your life. Get a message on your cellphone from a friend with an innocuous, information-gathering type question. Don't listen to the whole message, so you don't realize that it's not necessary for you to call back when your world is falling apart. Instead, call her in hysterics and demand why she called you. She immediately notices you're freaking the fuck out and is very worried about you because she cares about you. Inbetween gasping sobs, tell her frustratedly that you don't want to talk about it. When she haltingly tells you the question she had to ask, yell out the answer and get off the phone right away, leaving her nonplussed, terribly worried, and upset.

Don't do that, 'cause I can't deal.

Now granted, if you do this, you ARE having one of the worst days of your life and have a helluva lot more to complain about than the fact that you feel emotionally unbalanced after fielding a phone call from a hysterical friend who didn't want to talk to you at all. But still.

argh. I feel all weird now.