Mismatched expectations

What do you expect from friends? (Friends here to include family, ie the important people in our lives! :) ) Do you expect to receive what you give? Is it wrong to expect anything from your friends and instead, you should expect nothing? When a friend asks for a favour, do you think it's silly of them to ask - of course you will help! Or do you think it's only right to ask because it shows respect?

I notice that many a time, we go out of our way a lot more for strangers. Do you find that when we promise to do something for an acquiantance, we make more of an effort to ensure we remember to fulfil that promise compared to promises to friends. When people are coming round, we rush around tidying the house and put their feet up in the living room whereas if good friends are coming around, we are happy to ask them to get their hands dirty and help us in the kitchen. Dates with friends are sometimes cancelled at the last minute for various reasons - sometimes valid, sometimes questionable. Is it arrogant to expect friends to keep to dates and promises? On the other hand, would you be considered foolish if you ensure you keep to dates with friends?

We make an effort to dress up when we are meeting new people. With friends, we are comfortable to meet in T-shirt and trekkies. We mind our P's and Q's with strangers whilst with friends, we're not as generous with our 'excuse me', 'please' or 'thank you's'. Is it because we don't feel comfortable around 'non-friends'? Perhaps we think our friends should already know when we're sorry or thankful. It's part of the almost-telepathic skill that friends have so there is no need to display manners in the traditional sense?

Do we do all these because we feel an underlying need to impress and be liked by new people, whereas respect or affection from friends is already 'in the bag' and we don't have to work at it? Or is it because we take friends for granted? We know that despite what we do - promises broken, dates cancelled, we will still be forgiven, because that's what friends do?