In regards to my previous post - specifically the part about how annoying it is when you go on about how marvelous your friends are and then they do something annoying - I would like to add this:
Don't you also love it when you figure there's no harm in breaking your "don't complain about your marvelous friends" rule, and then the friend you complained about writes you to say that they are terribly ill, and you feel like a horrible person? I sure do...