change

before i begin...

blogging is such a strange thing. i try to write these things as though i were having a conversation with myself. i try not to think that anyone else is reading this for fear of getting the writing equivalent of stage fright while at the same time trying to write in a way that someone reading might derive some entertainment from all of this.

i was surprised to find out that a couple friends of mine have been reading this without me having to twist their arm. who knows how many others? in any case, this has been an interesting project for me that i hope will continue to grow and be as enjoyable for anyone passing by as it has been for me to do it.

...

it seems as though i've been meeting with all of my friends before i leave since the summer started. this last weekend though has started to feel more final. maybe the last time i had a feeling like this was at the end of high school and i suppose there are several parallels between now and then. there's the idea of a big move to a new place away from all of the friends you've been used to being around. there's the idea of having finished a phase in life and getting ready to start on a new one. there's the idea of everyone else you know seeming as though they are about to do the same thing and that when next you meet, everyone will have changed so much.

this weekend started with a going away lunch with my friend and old colleague. when i met him, i was 22 and he had hired me onto my first professional job out of college. i worked for him for the next four years. he was a great mentor and example to me in both my professional and personal life. one of the last topics we talked about at lunch was what he was planning for after retirement. he told me a piece of advice that his father-in-law had told him. his father-in-law said something like:

"plan for the next thirty years. i retired twenty years ago and i had no idea i would live this long. don't let the years pass by just because you've stopped working."

although we're at different stages in life, it seems we're both at a point where we're facing the next big unknown.

after lunch, i met up with my other friends and set out to beaumont for the weekend. i've been hanging out with this group of friends all summer and we all seem to be surprised at how close we've become to each other in a very short time. seeing as how we usually get together as a group, it's been a little difficult trying to talk to everyone one on one. it took all summer, but i've finally managed to talk to everyone in private at least once. i have a lot of good memories with them. i started the year thinking i would be unemployed and waiting to leave for taiwan. i had no idea that i would meet such good friends before i even left.

i find that each of them is also facing some sort of major change in the near future. one is planning on going overseas to study. one is planning on settling down. two of them are more than superficially unhappy with their work. i think we all feel pretty fortunate that in the midst of all of this, we were able to get together this year.

the thing i've learned about friends is that although you're not always around them, the good ones seem to keep reappearing. i have the feeling we'll all be seeing each other again.