Well CC sends me a reply to an email. It was some URL I mass-forwarded to people in my address book. This has to be one of the longest times we've gone without seeing each other. I probably haven't been too consistant with the names I refer to him with in this diary, but he's the one long defined as "my best friend". We give each other our brief news updates. He's got a SECOND kid. He said I probably got the email regarding that, and I said no. Last time I saw his wife, I thought her pregancy turned out to be a false alarm. He finished one certificate and is working on another, while doing contract work somewhere. I'm sure he can pull it all off, because my father did something similar. By the time my brother was born and I was 2 years old, he still managed to finish getting his MBA. Actually, I think he missed commencement because of my brother's birth.

He tells me he has some other news to tell me. I say "Oh, I certainly have some big news to tell you too. Nothing bad or illegal or involving barnyard animals, but something you'll still have to sit down to hear. Otherwise it could send you to cardiac arrest." He'll have to hear that 3 word summary about my girlfriend. I don't know if his family was planning anything for his birthday, but it's Saturday. I wouldn't be able to do anything on that day anyway; it's my college's homecoming. Not only that, but I have my 5-year class reunion that day.

I'm still not sure what to expect at this 5-year college class reunion. I can't think of anybody I'm particularly missing, because I see my fraternity brothers every year at homecoming anyway. But what the hell, I'll be there that day anyway, so I might as well go. Actually, when I think about it: no, I'm not going just for the hell of it. There's something I'm curious as hell about.

What are those other alumni going to be like? They've now had 5 years away from that engineering school, away from living in that little society. Will most of them have been returned to the fun, unpretentious mindset they had in those first few months of freshman year? Maybe most of those apathetic, whiny, I-hate-fun, there's-nothing-to-do-here, yet-I'm-too-busy-for-anything people toss their invitations in the trash to begin with? (A large part of the class seemed to be comprised of such folks, judging from personal experience, along with the fact that only 70% of the class bothering to show up for yearbook photos.)

Have any of the plain-looking women changed their bitter, itchy trigger finger attitude towards men and dating, once they left this environment where fit & soon-to-be-weathly men used to take notice of them and tried to start a conversation? If anybody brings an attractive non-alumni spouse, how many people will look on in some unjustified disgust? Have any of the men who would constantly blame the high male:female ratio for their lack of a girlfriend, done any better with sex (or hygene for that matter) after graduation? Are people going to only talk to those that they've already been staying in touch with anyway?

We'll see how this rolls out...