Do your new friendships bloom and die like crocuses in the spring?

I constantly have this problem online. I’ll start getting to know someone, and it’s really interesting and then they stop writing. I feel like after the initial period, I am the only one who initiates communications. Maybe I get one or two desultory emails, but then nada. Even if I continue to reach out to them, I don’t get responses.

It’s worse in real life, where I hardly ever meet anyone new, and even when I do, we might talk once, and it seems like we like each other, but then, nothing. It’s just kind of distant after that. People who used to be friends seem to have lives that don’t include me (or us) any more. Even when we ask them to do things, they rarely join us.

Even my old friends disappear. When I was sick, and I couldn’t reach out to anyone, I had no contact with my friends at all. They didn’t call or e-mail or stop by, or try to find out what was going on in any way. The only time anything happens is if I try to make it happen. It makes me feel like no one likes me enough to seek out my company.

I haven’t met any males I feel comfortable sharing my inner shit with since college. I’ve met a few females, but that’s always problematic. It seems like nothing ever meshes. Either I’m not comfortable with the other person, or they aren’t comfortable with me; the latter happening much more often.

Is there anyone else out there with these kinds of experiences? What happens? How do you meet them? Why does it fall apart?