Archive for December, 2007
Childhood friendships
Dec 23rd
I’ve been thinking a lot these days about childhood friendships— what they provide, how they shape us, and the fond (and occasionally not-so-fond) memories they leave behind. More specifically, I’ve been thinking about exactly when those childhood friends make the transition from being “best friend”— the person you told all your deepest, darkest secrets, the one who was closer to you than anybody else, who knew all your faults and loved you anyway— to becoming merely a “childhood friend”, a vague shadow of your past that lingers in the back of your mind but only occasionally rises to the surface, typically with an abundance of emotion, feelings of guilt, and a deep sense of loss.
Even though time and space can still weaken the links of friendship in this digital age, at what point is it that you can no longer refer to someone as your best friend? At what point do you realize that the person you once loved more than yourself is now a stranger? Does that person also look back and wonder when you started to lose touch? Do they even really miss you?
As people grow older, they move on. They form new relationships and, in the busy lives we now lead, they tend to put their older relationships on indefinite hold. There simply is no time to juggle everything. Nobody can really be blamed when an old friendship begins to fade. And even though you may torment yourself with wondering what you may have done to salvage what was once the most important thing in the world to you, the truth is that it’s almost impossible to stay close when you’re both so far away, and both so very busy. The only thing left, it seems, is to savor the bittersweet memories of those you once loved, hope for their happiness, and cherish the time you have with those you love now.
Letting go and saying goodbye may be one of the most difficult things in the world, and it is with pain and a heavy heart that I finally allow myself to let go of my past and fully embrace my future.
I wish you the best of happiness, dearest comrade. I hope you know how much I cared about you. Even though I’m sure we will still speak every now and then, I know we will never be as close as we once were, and for that I am deeply sorry. Please, don’t forget about me. I certainly have never forgotten about you.
Miss me some chickens
Dec 21st
I saw this older middle-aged lady (who might actually be 50+, but I’m really bad at guessing ages) at the doctor’s office today wearing a low-cut tank top that said, “If tits were brains, I’d be a genius”. Indeed…
On another note, the semester is finally over, the grades recorded, and I think I’m finally starting to recover from the worst semester I’ve ever had.
On yet another note, I got a letter from the AARP a few days ago asking why I hadn’t registered with them, even though I was “fully eligible.” Kinda depressing… I guess 22 is the new 50.
On yet another note, I’ve noticed that it’s really, really hard to find chicken-shaped cookie cutters. When I was younger, my brother and I would use a chicken-shaped cookie cutter at Christmas (along with other, more seasonally-appropriate cutters), with me cutting out the cookies… and my brother chopping off their heads. (I’m still mad about that, by the way!) Now, it just doesn’t seem like Christmas without the chicken-shaped cookies, so I’ve been looking everywhere for one. I’ve found every other shape EXCEPT chickens. What kind of world is it when there are no chicken-shaped cookie cutters to be found?!
The World's Uncoolest Person
Dec 13th
…is me.
The final I had today was really easy, and I finished within 10 minutes. However, the professor requested that nobody leave within the first 25 minutes so that others don’t get disturbed. So I spent 15 minutes observing everyone else around me.
During that time I happened to notice that the people sitting in front of me kept talking. The girl would lean over to the guy, whisper something, he would say something back, and then she would scribble furiously on her test paper. Or the guy would write something on his paper and show it to her and she would scribble on her paper. I watched them do this for several minutes.
When my 15 minutes were up, I slipped a note to the professor telling what I saw. He didn’t look very pleased, to say the least. I know I put him in an awkward situation, and I feel bad for it.
So, yes, that makes me a tattle-tale. And the world’s uncoolest person.
But if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s people who refuse to take responsibility for their mistakes. Cheating is inexcusable. If you did not sufficiently prepare, suck it up and learn from it. I see no reason why someone like this should get a better grade than someone who put all their time and energy into studying. It sickens me.