Dear Friend,

We’ve hung out more in the past four weeks than we have in the past three years, which is really sad when you think about it, but I find myself with more things that I want to say to you.  I guess it’s the inevitability of your impending departure that’s gotten my thoughts in hyper drive.  That, and our shared penchant for cramming things until the last minute, I guess.

As has been said previously, you, my friend of almost eleven years, are my oldest friend in this world.  That might not sound like such a big deal to you, but given the fact that we met when we were first year high school students and we’re still up-to-date in each other’s lives is just mind-freakin’-blowing.  I have this bad track record of not keeping friends, you see.  I seldom take the time or the effort to keep the connection alive but hey, here we are.

And now you’re about to move to another country.  With another time zone.  Sure, it’s just a couple of hours’ difference, but still, you’d no longer be an expressway’s reach.

The dynamic would definitely be different – gone would be the opportunities of sudden movie and drinks hang outs, the random text messages and the even more random conversations and debates (a discussion of the RH bill over drinks, who does that?).  Sure, there will still be the Internet but I would like to apologize as early as now for being the dick friend who I know I eventually will become.  I have this feeling that I probably won’t be there to be as updated as I should be when you post your latest adventures.

But, as has been said, I feel that this move would benefit you in the long run and you know that we all support your decision to move.  Someone of your caliber needs more opportunities to grow, opportunities you wouldn’t find in our country.  If you stayed here I think eventually you’ll end up being stifled and miserable.  You’ll just be another big fish in a corrupt and dirty small pond and you deserve more than that because you have greatness in you and you can actually make a difference.

Part of me is envious of your bravery, though.  I don’t think I’d have enough balls to migrate to another country on my own; I probably wouldn’t last a month.  But here you are, so sure, so unafraid and even a little bit keen to face the unknown.  That’s just amazing and that’s exactly why I think you’ll make it big down under – because you have the right attitude.  You’ve always had it, no matter what a certain crabby high school teacher made you believe a decade ago.

Honestly speaking though, I’m mostly sad that you’re leaving in a week and that I probably won’t see you and talk to you in person for a very long time.  It’s a huge blow, I must admit, made bigger by the fact that I’ve come to rely more on you these past few weeks to give me sound ‘man’ advice and to give me sensible conversations.

In short, yes, I will most definitely miss you, my good friend.  You definitely are one in a million and the spark I found in you when we met in that old classroom more than ten years ago is a rarity.  I should only be so lucky to find someone of your level again in this country.

I take comfort in the fact that we will meet again.  I don’t know where (maybe we can come visit you?), I don’t know when (in a year, maybe?) but I’m sure that we will hang out and eat Kat’s pasta and Fred’s cookies sooner or later.  For the mean time though, I’ll say ‘see you later’ and I’ll try to be updated through Twitter (for all the things we can’t say on Facebook haha).