it's a holiday monday afternoon. i've been making some attempt to get a stack of reading done for my HR exam this friday - progress is not good. what i'd give to be out for a drink, or curled up in bed with a nice book. with company (isn't that always the case?).

i've come to three conclusions about why our social circles tend to dramatically shrink after we start work. first, people are busy. we don't have a fixed schedule, or at least a fixed schedule of a much shorter duration, when we're in school. second, we're more apt to prioritise, to pick out activities we really really want to do, and the people we want to do these with. third, we're too comfortable in our circles. people find it uncomfortable to email to people they haven't met or seen or heard from in ages, let alone talk to them. and the people who receive these mails feel uncomfortable or don't know how to react. the usual course of action is simply to not reply at all, taking it as a minor inconvenience, or putting it off till it's forgotten.