Defining friendship

More than hipster style, autotuned music, and eco-friendliness, ambiguity seems to be the biggest trend of recent years.
Nothing is black and white, well defined anymore. What is a hook up? There are as many definitions as there are kinds of juice at Trader Joe's. What about free time? Some of us don't even know what that means anymore. And "the conventional family"? Can we even attempt to define family at all? Home is no longer one place anymore, and relationships are relevant. Even our physical place is subject to interpretation, as we can easily communicate with someone who is a far away from us as the Earth is from the moon.
Certainty is no longer an option.
No wonder we are so damn anxious all the time-our own, safe bubbles are indefinable. We can't even fully comprehend our worlds, because suddenly, our worlds are boundless.
One character trait I have is that of embraced confusion. I am constantly confused, but I'm also unafraid to admit it. I'm confused about everything from school subjects to social norms to the ins and outs of American politics...and American football. A lot of this confusion stems from the fact that I don't have conventional views on many things. I'm firm on things that most people are easygoing about, and open minded about subjects that often seem to have one single viewpoint.
One thing that I am firm on?
Friendship.
There are rules. There is, of course, a difference between a friend and an acquaintance-that part is simple. But in a world full of endless possibilites, I have set down my own "box" of friendship. This stems, as do many things, from past hurt-friends, or those that I believed to be friends, have hurt me and disappointed me about 18 ways from Sunday. I grew weary of expecting things from people who could not offer them.
Let's make one thing clear. I am a great friend. You should be lucky to be counted as one of my friends, and really lucky to be a close friend. Because of past disappointments, I have been more picky in who I let into my life. So I take the friend label much more seriously than most.
So, my rules?
1. Be loyal. Sometimes, you have to choose between friends, and who you choose is a reflection of your desires. Not choosing is a choice as well.
2. Care. Seems simple, but it isn't. Be considerate enough to ask about the other person, and be ready to listen, actually listen, to what they have to say. Don't text in the middle of my synopsis. Don't gaze off into the distance the moment I speak.Try to listen.
3. Be available when it's actually important. This isn't a needy demand for you to drop everything and rush to my aid. This is a request that you pick up the phone when I call. Then, follow #2 after answering.
4. Be interesting. I know this seems a little strange, but hear me out. I can't relate to someone unless they care about something. It can be your dog, it can be your family history, it can be the future of the AIDS vaccine. I'm not particular. Just care about something so that we can talk about it and so I can learn from you.
5. Make some effort. If I call you 30 times, and you send me one text, I feel rejected, and no we aren't friends, just phone-tag buddies. Date book relationship.
That's it, really. These seem like really solid, really basic things to me, but I have found that these are very hard to find in someone else. You can't be a jerk, ignore me for two weeks, then expect a hug to smooth it all over. You can't make awful jokes but expect me to understand the humor. You can't pick and choose when we will be friends, depending on your scheduling convenience.
Figure yourself out, and then we can muddle through life together.