I knew and I didn't hide...

Emotional vampires aren't all bad...they're just bad. Congratulations to me! I have befriended an emotional vampire! You all know the type. They're crying about how they can't get a beer before 2pm. You feel their pain and how can you resist those sad, puppy-dog eyes imploring you for agreement? You can now expect this human leech to attempt to reorganize everything without mutual consent, blab on and on about their politics, and take up your time doing what they want to do, when they want to do it. How do they get away with it? Well, the emotional vampire isn't a completely bad person. You know that s/he isn't a cold-hearted sociopath. So you sympathize and put up with it. So you maybe have to listen to the events of their lives for hours on end - That's OK - what are friends for? Friends give and take. Friends share - they're there for each other. Has this person ever done anything for you? Have they ever asked how you are? Do they even know what your name is? The problem is not that they're evil - they're just incredibly self-absorbed. No one else exists but those who might serve their needs. Yet when you try to get rid of them, the guilt trip follows, and then you feel like a first-class grade-A ingrate. What to do? You could tell them to f*ck off, sure. That'd be easy.

If you'd like to TRY to teach them a lesson, the following is recommended.

1. Totally ignore them when in their presence.
2. Be as self-absorbed as possible.
2. Talk about nothing but yourself.
3. Have your Emotional Vampire hold a table for a show in the cold wind for 45 minutes, then give away his/her seat to other people, while your EV gets you a blanket 'cuz it's cold.
4. Nod in agreement when someone complements your EV, but have a smirk on your face or roll your eyes.
4. Tell them they look great when you really think...well.

And so on.

Keep up this behavior long enough, and eventually they'll run away from you. Might they realize that you're doing to them what they do to you? Probably not. But it could be fun - but first a judgment must be made as to whether this would be a good use of time.