Two Sleeps Away

"I'll see you on Sunday," I said to Lisa at the end of the international phone call I made this morning. It felt surreal. The last time I was back in Vancouver was summer '06, right before all the medical stuff took place. A lot has happened during these two years, and I've longed to be back .

Finally, I'm heading home.

After the phone call thing morning, I made a list of the things I want to do: I wanna take walks on the Drive, along Kits Beach, and perhaps around UBC campus. I'm gonna spend the afternoon at Douglas Park, at the Water Front, and on 4th Ave. Of course, Lisa and I won't miss the Vancouver Jazz Fest. Also, I started thinking about all the people I want to see, but I quickly realized I may only have a handful of friends in Vancouver left.

It's always been easy for me to meet people and make friends. However, I've also been selective and kept a small social circle since I was a kid. In high school, my mom told me that one should consider oneself lucky with one or two life-long friends. I didn't quite understand what she meant then, but I learned to draw a clear distinction between acquaintances and friends after a few melodramatic adolescent falling-outs I experienced. I learned the number of friends one has is meaningless. In fact, I find it hard to completely trust a person who boasts how many friends s/he's got.

Coincidentally, just as I was reminiscing, I received a text message from work about a colleague's resignation. It wasn't a surprise 'cause she told me about it in private last night at a friend's farewell party. It's been like the Domino Effect since Christienne went back to the States to do a Master's degree. One after another, three of the good friends I've made in the past four years I've been in Taiwan are back in the U.S., and now another one is heading back to Ireland in a week. My social circle in Taiwan is now so small that, if I think about it seriously, it's already diminished to a single dot.

I guess it's normal for people our age.