Graduate Film Students

Sitting with friends, having a drink in a hotel bar.

"Hey!" (from behind me.)  I turn.

"Hey!" I respond, recognizing a group of friends, also randomly assembled at the bar.  "What are you doing?"

"Charity poker event.  I came in eighth."

"Cool, man.  What's the charity for?"

"Graduate film students who've maxed out their credit cards paying for school."

There are days when I randomly run into people I know in this vast city, and it makes me happy, appreciating how a city of nearly 10 million people can self-select into a series of interconnected villages.  

Then there are days when some incredibly inane, insular comment pierces my consciousness and I wonder what the fuck I'm doing here.  

Rarely are the two days combined into a single, 2-minute event.