thats not in the script

Its going to be 24^th Jan 2006 in a l’il over 20 minutes. There wasn’t anything significant about that date up until 10 months ago. Not quite so now…till about 5 months ago, if I had to anticipate how tonight would be, I’d say…in one word…FUN! Being a weekday with classes in the morning, am guessing there’d be a gathering of a select bunch... at your place right about now. There’d be general leg-pulling and then the customary dunking in the pool. I think it’d be safe to say that you’d be dunked four-five times for good measure accompanied by several others who, many of who wouldn’t have bargained on getting wet. This would be followed by some messy cake-cutting and picture-taking. Considering your new-found appreciation of the finer grape juices, there might even have been a bottle of champagne to pop open. Most of tomorrow would be spent with me ribbing you about how it’s all downhill after a particular age and thoroughly enjoying the look on your face every time I said it.

Doesn’t seem like a long while ago when you were making wide-eyed plans to have me wear white linen pants to my dunking. 12 months ago, would not have had any inkling about the kind of friends I’d make here…would certainly not have counted on finding as good a friend as you…not in this ‘take-no-prisoners’ environment. 5 months ago, would not by any stretch of the imagination, imagined that I’d be sitting hunched over the keyboard…with my head in my hands…on this date…at this time…

You don’t even realize when some people become part of your critical support system and as if on cue…they aren’t around…as if to drive home the point. I guess its taken me this year to figure out that things just do not have to go according to script…that there is in fact…no script. Many Happy Returns of the Day N…may God bless you…