Devin's Going Away Dinner

I just got back from a dinner for my friend Devin, who is moving to the bay area for a postdoc (all my grad student friends seem to be graduating, I better be next!). Devin is an interesting person, and I am going to miss him. He is one of the people who would press me to be more social, and since I kind of have a tendency to close myself off from the world, I really appreciate his efforts. He also had a profound impact on my life, in that he finally convinced me to go in to counseling. I kept arguing and fighting it, until one day he finally just signed me up. It has had a great effect on my life (that and the drugs they prescribed me) and everyone I know has noticed the change in my behavior. So for that, I thank him (though he wouldn't let me go ten minutes without taking credit for saving my life, there is some truth to his hyperbole).

As for the dinner itself, it was at one of those fancy places, where, when we found out the average cost was $100 per person, someone commented that she couldn't believe it was that low. Now, I have been trying to be responsible with money, so this did set me back a bit; my friend Dave was kind enough to point out how expensive the wine was, so I passed on that, which helped a bit. I do feel kind of weird being the only one in the group who needs to worry about these things, but I have already taken out a loan from my parents and would very much like to avoid taking another one. Oh well, the food was excellent (I had the rib eye stake and chocolate bread pudding) and I really don't eat at that kind of place often, so I suppose it is all for the best. Now, I have to motivate myself to get some work done tonight or tomorrow... (if I write it down, maybe that will force me to do it).