John's Place To Ramble

It's hard for me to believe but on June 14th, I'll graduate with a bachelor's degree.  Who would have guessed I would be on the 20 year plan.  I graduated from high school in 1988. 

15 math homework problems left

1 math final

2 papers for my project management class

1 project management final

3 weeks of postings on the discussion board.

That's it.  I can finally see the light.

For anyone interested in attending my graduation it's being held at Key Arena.  You can find the information here:  http://www.cityu.edu/ss_com_overview.htm  Anyone and everyone is invited and it's free.

I'm totally packing duct tape on my next trip.

Drunk passenger arrested for struggle on jet - News- msnbc.com
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What a great man.  May he rest in peace. 

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Egg McMuffin inventor Peterson dies - Food Inc.- msnbc.com

I had some use or lose vacation time so in addition to the few days I normally get off, I took a few additional days as well.  I relaxed some and spent some time working on the bathroom.  The paint in the shower had started to peel from all the moisture and was looking pretty bad.  I scrapped it all off and scrubbed any mold I found.  I then patched, textured and painted it.  I  liked how the shower looked so much that I decided to paint the whole bathroom.  It's just an off white paint.  That's pretty much it.  Relaxed, gamed and worked on the bathroom.  It was nice.

I find it interesting that I've discussed friendship with several different friends lately.  Many will read this blog entry and wonder if I'm talking about them.  Chances are I am but you're not alone. 

I've always been fascinated by my online friends all being approximately the same age.  There all millions of people online but we all became friends and for the most part are 37 years old + or - 2 years.  There are a few older and younger but for the most part they are all about the same age as me.  Maybe it's not that much of a coincidence because culturally we have all experienced many of the same things.  At the very least we all remember the same things growing up.  Same toys, TV shows and weird hair.

This makes me wonder if all these questions about friendship recently is because we're all at a common place in our lives.  The 20's are now a memory and 40 is fast approaching.  Are we where we wanted to be at this point in our lives?  I'd say most are not and thus the inner-reflection about friendship.  Remember that show 30 something?  I wasn't in my 30's so it wasn't a show I watched.  Now that I'm in my 30's I wonder if it was just made-up TV drama or it's popularity came from the fact that it addressed many of the things 30 year olds go through.  I'm almost tempted to watch it and see if it mirrors what we all going through.

When we were younger we had very little history to evaluate what made a friend.  A friend maybe someone we've only known a few months.  Now that we're older, we talk about how many years we've known them.  I have a few friends that read my blog that I grew up with.  We rarely talk but I've known them for 36 years.  An occasional mail here or there but we still have that common bond of growing up together.  They live in Tennessee now.  I have another friend I've known 18 years.  Can you believe it Alison?  We talk every few weeks.  I haven't seen Alison in a few years.  Even though I don't see them for years at a time, I still count them as friends.  We chat, ask about how each is doing.  We care about each other. 

When asked to define a friend, I struggle with an actual definition.  I guess it's more a feeling than something I can logically explain.  Everyone lately has their own definition because I've mostly heard people say they have no close friends.  What really is a close friend?  Someone you confide in?  Someone you can depend on?  Someone you hang out with?  What if a friend only has 3 or 4 traits you look for in a friend?  Does that mean they aren't a close friend?.  Why are people so worried recently about what is and isn't a friend?  Have we been alive for so long that we have plenty examples of being let down and we are now much more restrictive in what we call a friend? 

Why when we look at others do we think they have more friends than we do yet when they look at us they think we have more friends?  Are we mostly just in our own self-defined loneliness when we're in fact surrounded by friends?

What is a friend to you?  A close friend? 

I thought I'd wish you all a Happy New Year.  May this year be better than the last.  My blogging isn't a New Year's resolution.  I thought it was a good day for a fresh start.  I hope you had a great day.

John

Talked to Marianna this morning.  She's in New Mexico.  It sounds like everything is going well and they seemed to be in good spirits.