The meeting with Jason went as well as could be expected. He's a happy, working family man. He's got the wedding ring and the rugrat and the mortgage to show. And I'm a badly dressed computer addict. We went to Harbor Lights. He had a fish burger and I had a tuna sandwich. We talked enough for me to figure out we live in completely different worlds.
He's happy, mostly. Course, everyone has this edge of dissatisfaction with it all. Like, things could maybe be better, or the reason they're not completely content is because maybe there's something wrong with them. He went ahead and got his degree, but he told me that did nothing for him. His job doesn't really do it for him, either. He doesn't mind it now but he really doesn't see himself reporting for a small town newspaper for the rest of his life.
He seemed like he had a mixture of envy and resentment for me. It was all civil of course, but he hinted to me I was still acting like a kid and I shouldn't be, like obvious subtlety is going to make me change a lifetime of habits. Or maybe he was justifying his own life to himself. I dunno.