Almost Infamous Part V

I've known Christopher since I was 15. We met through a mutual friend. My first encounter with Christopher was....tense, to say the least. I don't wish to rake up the past. Suffice to say, he isn't the same person that he is now. To be fair to him, I'm not the same person I used to be either.

Fast forward approximately 15 years.

I am walking in a shopping center near my workplace where who do I bump into but Christopher himself. He runs up a descending escalator to catch up with me, on the ascent, when he spots me.

It is the first time I've seen him in person in years. I've, of course, heard of his success with his book "Harvesting the seeds of prosperity". I've not read it myself, but from what I've read of the excerpts, I see very sensible advice.

I smile. We catch up. He reads this blog, which is a bit of a surprise and relief to me, since I didn't have to update him much on my life. I'm glad, because repeating my story is starting to get a little weary.

I've been catching his commentary on occasion on Mr Wang's blog and on Intelligent Singaporean. Christopher is an incisive as ever. There is something different about him though. He is appears more settled and less cutting. If it were two years younger, I'd say it was the marriage. (Congrats again by the way). I'd like to think I know better.

Perhaps it's a change of brain biochemistry at age 30. Maybe it's just life wearing away at rough edges. I remember a time when Christopher and I were hungry young men ready to take on the world. We have grown wise. We have figured out that no one achieves success. One merely prepares for it and has it settle on oneself like a mantle.

We exchange numbers. Chris makes me an interesting offer, and I smile, and indulge in it for a while. We promise to keep in touch.

Thank you Chris, for running up the escalator to meet an old familiar face.