oh my. i haven't written for almost a week. i saw a good friend that i haven't seen in a while on saturday. he graduated with a phd, is getting married and is expecting a child. a lot of things can happen during any lapse of contact. i do believe that everyone goes through similar stages in life. i'm trying to convince myself that these stages are not milestones of accomplishments (much like distance markers in a race) but are instead more similar to traits or characteristics of a person. everyone is different and thats supposed to be a good thing.