Sam's place that evening was the location of Josh's surprise 21st Birthday party, a chance to meet up with friends all in the same location, including Miche, Val, Al, Paul, Adriel, Jake and Pet. It was an evening of hilarious hands of cards, catching up and Across The Universe, ending at 3 this morning. Funny how it is that, while new habits are developed and we are all in different places right now, it only seems to make it easier to interact. Pet and I were the only ones who made it to church this morning, and though I missed cell, there's something nice about just seeing everyone you'd expect to see there, especially if you or they have been missing one week or another, whether it's just to say hey at the familiarity, catch up a little, or mention future arrangements to meet up.
In an ideal world, I would have been furthering my studies in 2009. In my situation, there would have been a few ways of doing this. I could have applied to be a local medical student, which I didn't, as while I would have made a pretty strong candidate had I tried, it would be a little weird to have this pure arts kid doing something so foreign. That, and the fact that I'd not have much use of a medical degree. I could have applied to be an SAF scholar, or some other equivalent uniformed service in the home affairs ministry, but you couldn't honestly see me doing that. And I could have been a PSC scholar of a different nature, and while I threw all I had at it, I fell short by that much. So as my friends and peers begin their studies this year, there is little doubt I'd think about being in the same situation, either for want of trying or for the unexpected way trying turned out.
