Nature has a rule

If a man starts seeing a new woman, he will do the following:
1) Stop calling his buddies.
2) Start caring about things he never cared about before.
3) Stop being himself.

To explain No.2 and No.3, I would need to write a novel, but No.1 can be easily explained.

All of us have one friend, who used to go to strip joints all the time, go out to clubs, chase women like there was no tomorrow, and punch you in the arm for no reason. You know, the typical guy . Then all of sudden he just disappears. He doesn’t call anymore, and he doesn’t come to see you either. Months later you find out why.

He has a new girlfriend

Chances are each one of us has done the same thing. We all make the same mistake, when we get a new girlfriend, or get married: we forget about our friends.

It always happens, and the girlfriend/wife isn’t always the one to blame. Most of the time, it’s our fault. We usually go through life with the same set of friends (with the occasional change of course), but we change our "female" relationships often, so when a new woman comes into our life, the blood flow that is usually reserved for your brain, moves down to your genital area. The decisions you make are no longer being made in your head, they are being made by your penis.

No matter what happens, when you start seeing someone and having a serious relationship, something suffers. Usually, it’s your friends that are at the short end of the stick.

This should never be the case though. A man is defined by his actions, his accomplishments, his character, AND his friends. Good friends are hard to find. Friendships usually develop over the course of years, when you go through good times and bad. And as cliché as it sounds, it is in bad times that you truly see who your real friends are. When two guys bond as friends, they will walk over hot coals to come to each other’s help. No matter what happens in your life (you get divorced, someone in the family dies, you lose a job), they will always be there for you.

Most guys know that girls, come and go. At last count there were 3 billion of them in the world.

Close friends are a different story, so it's important for all men (and women) to maintain those close relationships.

Why close friends are important?

First of all, in life, there are very few people you can trust. There will be moments in your life, when you will go through tough times, when you have to call in favors, and you need a trustworthy opinion. It’s at those moments that you need good friends.

If you start a business, and it succeeds (and eventually you need some help running it), you will turn to your closest friends for help. Why? Because you trust them not to screw you over. If you don’t have people like that in your life, you will be facing life alone. This might be the most important reason for making sure you never lose touch with your close friends. You can trust them.

Secondly, when you meet a woman, you will also likely change some aspect of your personality, whether you like it or not. But the core of who you are should never change. Your close friends help you keep that core, because they remind you of who you are. Start crying in front of your friends, and you’ll received a slap across the head. Start talking about how nice it would be do have a picnic, and expect another swift blow to the head. Your friends will do that for you.

Thirdly, your close friends are often a never ending source of support, encouragement, and criticism. They will give you unbiased opinions, they will tell you when you are being an idiot, and when you are a genius. They will give you that small pat on the shoulder for a job well done, and hit you on the head when you are out of line. We all need that. We are imperfect creatures, and sometimes we act stupid, and good friends have a tendency to put you back in place.

Even friends come and go, but each person always have a small set (usually 2 to 5) of very close friendships. Keep those people close. You want them to share your life’s up and downs, just as much as your girlfriend, wife, or anyone else.

You have enough to worry about when you start dating someone (like when she has a big whip, and barks orders at you: "you will stop looking at other girls", "you will stop acting like an insensitive jerk", "you will cry at sappy movies, and buy my flowers every week"), you don’t need to get your friends on your case too.

So pick up the phone and call your buddies, you’ve got a strip joint to go to.