Karma Cleanser - May 14 2003

?Dear Karma Cleanser:
My friend and his girlfriend came to visit for a weekend from out of town. We decided to have a party with other friends of ours. The party got pretty wild and soon the only people up were his girlfriend and me. We had sex several times throughout the weekend and we both began to think about “us” as a possibility.

However, we soon realized that wasn’t going to happen. Now, I feel very bad for betraying my friend. Should I tell him? And what can I do to prevent bad karma?

-- Devil came down to Georgia


As we see it, that old “to-tell-or-not-to-tell” conundrum comes down to one thing: your own guilt. You want to relieve your conscience, so you’re willing to pull out some dirty laundry probably best left in the bottom of the hamper. Why not let this episode pass into history, and instead focus on keeping your pants on and being a better friend from here on out?

br>?Dear Karma Cleanser:
I work in an office building, not unlike the one in the movie Office Space. The guy in the next cube and I are on pretty good terms. Often, one gentleman likes to drop by my neighbor’s cube and talk endlessly. My neighbor asked me for any suggestions about how to get rid of this person without hurting his feelings.

We devised a plan that if this person stays longer than a few minutes, I am to call my neighbor on the phone so my neighbor will be able to feign taking an important call. The visitor usually excuses himself and then my neighbor is able to continue his work. Will karma return unfavorably to my neighbor or myself?

-- Conversation killer


Your plan may be a little passive aggressive, but it doesn’t sound malicious, so karma shouldn’t be your concern. However, it’s also not a good long-term solution for Mr. Chatty Co-worker. You’d most likely save yourself and your neighbor more grief in the long run just by telling the guy you’ve got work to do.

Been bad? karma@creativeloafing.com.