I count 14.

Here’s a puzzle: How many of the things that I did on Thursday night would, had I described them to my 12-year-old self twenty years ago, either seemed impossible, truly unlikely, or proof positive that I was going to live in The Future someday? Let’s count!

Thursday night I left my job (as a computer geek) a little early and drove to Coolidge Corner, talking with my wife on the phone as I drove. Took the Green Line in from Coolidge Corner to Copley Square to see Doughty with Jeff and Haas (two friends from my greek letter literary society), and Dr. Hanson, too. We sat in the Boston afternoon sun and chatted about this and that until Doughty and his new band came onstage. The mix seemed a little off to me, but it was a blast to see them live, watch Doughty interacting with the crowd and the two homeless guys dancing in front of the speakers, and sit near I.M. Pei’s Hancock Tower. (Some people don’t like it, but I think it’s great. Something about the notch and the way it reflects the light appeals to me a lot.)

Once they were done playing, Haas and I took the subway back to Coolidge Corner for dinner. My cell phone rang while we waited to get into Tsunami. My friend/coworker Chris was working on a problem with our mailers at work, and wanted to consult a bit. I told him I’d call him back after dinner, as it was too noisy to hear inside. Some delicious sushi later (the sweet potato tempura maki is always excellent there, as was the spicy tuna roll, which had something crunchy in it… panko or tempura batter flecks, I couldn’t tell), we walked back to the car. I pulled my laptop out of my bag, fired it up, and discovered that someone in the building we were next to had an unsecured wireless network. Risking arrest and ridicule, I hopped online quickly, sent Chris what tips and tricks I could from the driver’s seat, and then drove Haas home. After that, I went back to Glen’s and spent the rest of the evening splitting my attention between the problems at work (sigh) and a really fun conversation about relationships, food, outdoor gear, and the perfidy of men, with Glen, Sarah, Robin, and Chris, all of whom where dressed to the nines after coming back from dinner at Mistral.

Every once in a while it’s nice to look at where I am and what I’m doing and think, “HOW COOL!”