Note to self; when a chinese take-out place tells you that you get chinese vegetables with your meal, it means they'll pile on tons of Bok Choy, and nothing else.

Fourth of July has come and gone, and overall the weekend wasn't filled with any hoopla or fanfare. I pretty much worked and slept today, and the weekend was more quiet time with the family. No fireworks for me this year; they require a long hike that I don't really feel like making after work.

And now its time to get all hypothetical/sentimental/(angsty?)/philisophical on y'all.

In middle/high school, I rarely went out with friends. This was almost completey due to the fact that where I live, a friend could take up to half an hour to drive to, something that just wasn't an option pretty much any day of the week. When I finally got a car, it just meant I could drive myself to work. So most of my secondary school life was doing homework, playing video games and eventually earning a paycheck. I got into a routine, and rarely did I ever think about anything else. Not like I had much of a choice though; good grades are important, as is a paycheck every week.

But sometimes see what the other kids were doing riding their bikes down random roads, bored out of their minds but hey, it was a chance to get out of the house. They'd play basketball, maybe head to the pool whatever. In HS those activities changed to driving around to random places and "just chilling". There were times where I thought to myself, "Are they really having as much fun as I think they are? Are there really places and experiences I'm truly missing out on? Am I wasting my youth by being locked up in a classroom/bedroom/stockroom? Have I grown up too quickly?"

In college the situation didn't completely change; there I was on a bright sunny day locked up in a dark dorm with one window while the business majors frolicked outisde on the lawn, right in front of my nose. This weekend I saw plenty of long haired bums about my age wandering the store looking for snorkels and movies, stuff to pass the days by with. I've always been proud of what I've accomplished in school, and my work ethic on the job, and that's why I really dont' think about what "fun" others might be having, because those two things are very important to me. But sometimes I still wonder if I have let some of the best years of my life slip by with very little care, part out of necessity, and part out of choice.

Well, that's that. Tune in next time for something a little more cheerful.