Jami Wonders About Others' Friends

I had a conversation with the Husband the other day about friends of friends and how it is that some very nice, normal (in the sense that I am normal) people have what I call "Blah Friends" that's the person when you hear their name, you think "Blah!" Maybe I'm wrong, but I honestly believe that if you get to know me and you like me, you're going to like my friends. Not that we're all going to be BFF's and have a weekly bowling night, but you'll have a good time hanging with any of my pals. This is true for a few of my friends, as well - I meet their friends, I like them. We don't become blood brothers or anything, but I don't mind having a beer with them, you know? However, there are several of my friends who, when I met one of their friends, usually someone they've known "like forever", that person is completely not someone I would ever choose to hangout with, and I can't figure out why you would either. Here's the basic way this goes. I make a new friend and things are great. We like each others' SO, we have fun, plenty in common, etc. Then there is some sort of group event and the new friend, who is now a regular friend, no longer being new, says "Hey, remember Stella who I told you about that I met when we were 7 months old and we've been close ever since?" And I'm all psyched to make yet another new friend, until I talk to Stella and after about 6 minutes I've determined that the only thing I have in common with her is that we are both (apparently) carbon-based life-forms. So then I have to wonder, do I have a friend whose mere arrival causes the internal groans? Or worse, am I that friend? I have to hope not, and if I am, let's not tell me. How do these blah friends glom onto the fun, cool, interesting people I like? How is it possible that my friends fail to see the hideousness of this one person? Or do they see, but choose to ignore? Or I am just overreacting (nah, couldn't be)? My best guess is that these friendships have built up to the point that the participants have more history than current common ground, but it's enough to keep them going, and I respect that. A friendship is valuable, in almost every situation. I know I've had some friends drift off when we no longer had as many links holding us together; some I regret, some I have accepted. Maybe one of those would have been my blah friend. I wonder if that was a wiser choice or the more foolish one.