I guess my earlier post in this thread made me come off more antisocial than I am... I mean, it's not like I take pride in being as awkward and incommunicado as possible. I realise that it's rather selfish of me sometimes to just refuse to pick up the phone because I don't feel like it, even if I'm not doing anything in particular. So sometimes (quite often actually) this thought overrides my tendency to not want to pick up, cos I figure, y'know, that's what friends are for, and if I was feeling down and just wanted to have a chat with a friend to cheer me up, I'd be pissed if my friend wouldn't be there for me just cos they felt like having a little introvert contest with themselves.
But if I pick up, thinking like this, and it turns out to be someone who's just bored and doesn't really need to call me (could call someone else who's more inclined to talk, and I know they have others to call), I'll wrap it up as soon as I can. Sometimes though, I think there's a reason why someone's called me instead of someone else, so it's selfish to turn away. We never know really what's in the mind of the other person, despite their words. They may need us, just to say hello for a minute or two, no big deal to us but might be for them, so why not do it?
Otherwise it's a bit like saying I'll only be someone's friend, only be there for them when I deem it appropriate, and bugger their needs. Nah, I couldn't be like that, man. A lot of you guys seem to sound like you're saying you only want friendship or contact with humans when it suits you and your purposes, and like your routines are so damn important you can't interrupt them for a minute to just give someone the courtesy of speaking to them - even if just to ask them to come back later cos you're not up for it right now - when they've made the effort to come to you. Bit rude, and very selfish, IMO.