Virtual Hyperbole

I adore my personal trainer ; he kicks my ass. And just as soon as I can catch him, I will kick his.

What do you call someone who is more than an acquaintance, but less than a full-fledged friend? This isn't a set-up for a joke; I actually want to know. Is there an elegant descriptive term for it? What do you use when describing a person such as this in your own life?

In the beginning there was me, and there was too much of me. Too much weight, yes; but that's symptomatic of the systemic issue ... too much noise; too much "other." I've been promising for years that I will get in better shape, that I will lose weight, that I will set goals and stick to them. I'm too broke, I'm too poor, it's too hard. Blah blah blah, I was freakin' sick of hearing myself, and I'm me . Yeah sure, Peg; but what have you done for me lately? I'm not sure what the tipping point was. I was a bit weary of not succeeding. Well, it turns out I wasn't trying very hard, so my lack of success is not, in retrospect, incredibly shocking. I have to say, though -- it's not so much that I didn't want to try, but that I didn't know where to begin to know how to try. I read a lot; that's how I begin solving almost all my internal, and even external, dilemmas. I read books on organizing, on diets, on exercising, on detoxing,...

I'm not so much a religious person, but I have lately found myself questing for spiritual meaning and action (for lack of a better phrase). Simple daily compassion & courage ... that sort of thing. I came across this prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. I've heard it before; probably most of us have. But it's time to cast some fresh and childlike eyes on it again. Read it with care (rather than skim it) and see what comes up for you. Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy; O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. I think this is worthy of a New Ye...