Area Codes

We all know Ludacris has hoes in different area codes, but what about me? I don't have hoes, but I was going through my Yahoo address book and noticed that besides the typical 630, 847, and 217 numbers, there are quite a few strange ones that I added recently. I got the 510 (Berkeley), 903 (Paris, TX), and 514 (Austin, TX), to name a few. One friend also informed me that a move to London might be coming in the near future. The weirdest one (at least to me) was 708, which Caddy and Oiy use. I didn't know people still used that area code but it used to be my own. Back in the day, I think we were all 312, then 708, then 630 came along followed by 847 and 773 and whatever else I'm missing. Somewhere along the way I thought 708 was lost or replaced or something. Pardon if the order or the regional split was wrong. Times have definitely changed since cell phones came along, as well as fax machines and dedicated internet lines.

So it's nice that my friends are moving out to new pursuits in life, to different parts of the country (and world, for that matter). At the same time, it's sad that I won't be seeing these people regularly as before, maybe for life. Other than the occasional email, visit home, and outside chance that we cross paths someday in business endeavors or something, I doubt I will have much of a relationship with a lot of the people who I was once pretty close to. Sad, but nothing I can really do about it.

I thought it was interesting that at our age, and in the era of the email and nationwide long distance cell phone plans, relatively cheap airline fares, that geography is still probably the single biggest factor in determining our close friends. Or maybe it's just me. But you know how everyone's best friend when they are little is either their next door neighbor or the only kid on your street that is your age? If not, then it was probably the son/daughter of your parents' best friends. The point is, we didn't really choose our friends back then, they were kind of chosen for us by way of convenience, or mutual neccessity, depending on how you look at it. I guess that's only expected, when you're little and all you got is a little bike so you can't travel very far anyways.

But one would think that as we get older, the convenience or distance factor would no longer be as limiting for us. Like I already said, we've got easy access to email and phones, plus most of us now have cars to take us places that bikes can't easily reach. While these things do expand our potential reach, I'm not sure all of us are ready to take full advantage of our added range.

When I think about how I met my closest friends at college, all arrows inevitably point towards one big thing: where I lived. Freshman year was room 509 at FAR and the 5 or 6 guys that hung out together there (plus the hundreds of girls that came by each day looking to get a piece of the crew). There was also Chris at IT, who I knew from high school, and from hanging out at his place throughout the year I got to meet a lot of the people from his floor, who were mostly of a race that was foreign to me at the time (white). Sophomore year was ISR 3 South, where I met so many people on my floor and we had some of the best times ever. After that, it really seemed like when I moved to apartments, my group of friends was pretty set and I didn't meet too many people in my 3rd and 4th years at college. I would be willing to bet that most people in college find their experience to be the same or at least similar.

Before I wander off any further, what I'm trying to say is that whether it is a good thing or not, we always seem to end up being closest friendship-wise to the people who are closest to us distance-wise. It doesn't have to be a rule, but as they say, "out of sight, out of mind," and as I think about my "bros in different area codes" it's at least a little disheartening. Just to consider that for the most part, the good times in the past will stay in the past, and that the future likely holds little more than an occasional conversation or dinner, all the while knowing that it is nothing more than physical distance that really separates us.

The moral of the story is, if you want to be good friends with me, move to Darien and we'll be great pals. Seriously though, I'm glad my friends have found jobs or are taking grad school at different places around the country. I look forward to visiting each and every one of you guys at some point, when I become a bum and need a place to crash and live off you. Maybe someday we will write a movie script and star in Good Will Hunting together as well. However, if you would like to visit me, I will tell you to screw off. Haha just kidding.