some good advice

last sunday i went with my mom to a religious thing. it was the same old familiar routine, the same people, the same meet-and-greet at the end (read: collective info-gathering for smack talking later).

i was really tired, having stayed up all night with the copychief drinking wine and seeing the atrocity, 'My Boss' Daughter' on some channel she didn't even know she had. the only reason we hung on was because she had made a prediction, which would have been much better than the actual ending.

anyway, i digress.
one of the teenage family friends gives me a hug hello.


me: 'hey j, good to see you.'

her: 'you too. i haven't seen you in a long time.'

me: 'yeah, i've been really busy lately. what's new?'

her: 'nothing much. spring break is over; i have to go back to school tomorrow.'

me: 'i know, that sucks.'

her: 'are you back in school, too?'

me: 'uh, no. i just pretty much work now.'

her: 'oh yeah, right. okay.'

me: 'um, well, talk to you later.'

her: 'yeah, see ya!'


okay, i've been out of school for like five years. and i've been saying hello to this kid for like 15.

that's fine. i hadn't been there in more than 2 months. and normally i would have let something like this slide, like when i was 19 and someone who really should have known better asked me if i was driving yet.

but the thing is, the last time i was there, the same cute little thing pulled me aside and asked me 20 questions about my job. she explained how she's graduating and applying to all these big-name schools and how she wants to pursue a career in my field. she asked me for some advice.

i was flattered. i reached down deep to give her good tips. stuff that i wished people had told me, like how important it was to have lots of internships and to get a handle on what you were getting yourself into early on (so you don't have to learn about the dungeon when a new coworker says, 'wait, nobody told you about that? heh heh. you'll find out.') and things like investigating if the school has a good program, etc. i spent a good 15 minutes talking to this kid. and i came away from it hoping she'd succeed.

this time i would have asked her how the school application thing was going, but i was so stunned. she had erased that entire conversation from her mind and put me back into a time period during which she was most likely learning how to tie her shoes. c'mon now, i don't look that young.

so i decided, i'm not going to be giving out my hard-earned advice to just anybody who's just going to let it fly out of her head the second i turn around. i'll bet this chick comes back to me for some kind of recommendation in about 4 years. maybe i'll tell her, 'sorry, i'm going to cancun for spring break.'

you know, back in the day, i had hopes for this girl. she really is very cute. she and my brother would have looked really good together, and she's always had a thing for him (they all do). but to be fair, his girlfriend is pretty and she's got a brain in her head, too.

family friends. you gotta love 'em.