I missed my high school reunion last weekend. That I had one is only mildly surprising as I found out about it through slightly indirect means, but that’s admittedly esoteric. That I missed it should be not at all surprising since I live at least three flights away now (Port Gentil - Libreville - Paris - SFO) and am not currently in a position to be away from work since we’re transitioning over here and it’s important I be generally awesome or something like that.
It would have been nice to go back and see people, although any trip back to the Bay Area would be generally great since I would be in the Bay Area, which the newscast calls “the best place on earth” and they seem like impartial folks. The reunion itself would have been fun. It also would not have been as interesting without this internet thing, facebook, various chat programs, e-mail, and all our other modern splendors. Let’s face it. You’re still in touch with most of the people you want to be in touch with. And you’re semi-in touch with everyone else through the magic of friends of friends on facebook. Who knew that people married high school sweethearts? Well, we all basically knew. The only people you’re not in touch with at all are those who dropped off the face of the earth because they wanted to get away, hated everyone (or maybe only me), or thought Jason Bourne was a good role model. Or they are the ones who you always had a crush on, but never said anything about and now regret not doing anything, but are too afraid to try and get in touch with them because it will ruin the impossibly good image of that person that you have built up in your mind. Um, yeah. It could be that, though it would likely make for an awkward encounter if you ever ran into said object of affection.
Anywho, we’re in touch. Aggravatingly in touch? No, since it’s easy to go semi-off grid like me and generally ignore friend requests into oblivion. But this in-touch-ness is rendering reunions less interesting and consequently seems like a possible reason why attendance was not that high. For our class (and possibly all the classes from my school), I would venture to guess post-graduation mobility is also quite high compared to some sort of national average. Furthermore, I know many people who are still in school, either pursuing PhDs or they worked a few years and are off to earn MBAs now. Sure it’s summer (in the northern hemisphere), but people are away from the Bay.
I’ll be back one day. Maybe another 10 years from now. Or sooner. But in 10 years it’ll be more interesting to see how far afield everyone has gone.
1 comment:
It seems like a fair number of people did make it to the reunion (including myself, now that I live in Mountain View). Seems like all but two of the high-school friends that I've seen more recently were not at the reunion. Stated differently, I hadn't seen all but two of the 80 people there in 10 years.
I found it intriguing how I pretty much recognized everyone, despite appearances changing significantly (it was a fun game). I also was impressed how successful our classmates are in general (and how popular MBA programs are). Despite our class being highly mobile, it seems like many wish to return to the bay. Based on how hot of a spot it is for technology, it makes sense that a lot of people end up back here, regardless of their intentions.
Post a Comment