I had a wonderful conversation with a wonderful friend of mine last night over dinner at a homey, rustic little restaurant. I've been grinding so hard to write code day in and day out that I forgot what it was like to just have a great time with friends. Having lived in Toronto, Mountain View, Waterloo and Seattle, I've managed to pick up friends all over North America, and an even larger set of acquaintences from the increasingly large list of places I've visited throughout the world.

Are friendships fleeting? How does one nurture these things? Or do we expect them to just come and go like the wind?

Do we really have to pick and choose what people we have time for in our lives?

There are varying degrees of laid-backedness I've experienced, and people are definitely more stressed out on the East coast. On the West coast, things are a lot more relaxed, and Microsoft is very, very good and presenting a good work/life balance. My problem, then, is that I love my job. I am so passionate about my job that I spend so much of my time thinking about it and working on it, and I can tell that my own manager has concerns that I might just burn out if I keep going at this rate.

Friends are important. We need to spend the time to nurture our social lives because we are social creatures who need love and attention and friendship. I guess I'm going to try for a better balance in work/life and see if I am capable in reconnecting with those people that are important to me.