emb3r.com

The other day I saw an old acquaintance from high school at the store and it really weirded me out.  I wanted to catch up and chit chat for a bit, but then I started playing out that conversation in my head. 

Me:  Hey Shaun, how’s it going?
Shaun:  Good, Jon. How about you?
Me:  Very well.  What have you been up to?
Shaun:  Oh, not much.  I have a couple more semesters to go at FJC, still working at the theatres on Birch Street.  How about you?  Still in school?  Working?
Me:  Oh, I got my degree in December.  I’m a Network Analyst for a company that makes Medical Instruments.  Engaged to be married in the Fall…

If I had this conversation, I would be doing the equivalent of waving as I drove my porsche by with the top down past a guy with a broken down civic on the side of the road.  My life is moving almost embarassingly fast.  I don’t feel guilty, or bad about it.  But I do experience some self-consciousness about my situation when I run to people and start doing some catching up.  I mean, how many people, by the time they are 23, have their degree, are married, are full time salaried employees of reputable corporations with a 401k,company stock, a great benefits package.  I would say not too many. 

Now I feel like an ungrateful child.  Here, everything in my life is going…perfect…and I’m whining about mild discomfort.

*sigh*

What are personal blogs for, I guess.

In an article from National Geographic’s website,

‘DNA analysis has confirmed that a bear shot in the Canadian Arctic last month is a half-polar bear, half-grizzly hybrid. While the two bear species have interbred in zoos, this is the first evidence of a wild polar bear-grizzly offspring.

Polar bears and grizzlies require an extended mating ritual to reproduce, Stirling said. Both live by themselves in large, open habitats.

To prevent wasting their eggs, females ovulate only after spending several days with a male, Stirling explained. “Then they mate several times over several days.” ‘

             Hey hey hey!

‘In other words, the mating between the polar bear and grizzly was more than a chance encounter. “That’s what makes it quite interesting,” he added.’
 
             Premeditated interbreeding? Highly irregular.  Maybe a little Brokeback Tundra going on here.

‘Stirling says the hybrid has no official name, though locals have taken to calling it a “pizzly” and a “grolar bear.” ‘