The First Laugh.

I'm looking at the friend sitting across the table from me and thinking about the silly comment uttered.  I laugh out loud, a giggle that evolves into a full, hearty laughter, running away on its own.  I realize that this is the first time I've laughed all day.  She is unaware of how witty she can be.

Independence can be a form of a crutch, I realized the other day.  Just as much as dependence on another person can be a crutch.  Independence can mean that you're simply preventing disappointment caused by other people.  Ah, self-reliance.

As an adult, you don't hear encouraging statements or compliments in a direct and intentional manner such as when you're a kid.  In fact, compliments are never quite what they seem - especially not in LA.  They are loaded statements,  comments for buttering up, one-liners to schmooze and charm, likely veiling ulterior and purely selfish motives; thus, I have grown to become quite skeptical of them.  Some may take longer to materialize than others, but I think when you spend any given amount of time with a person, you will find out if they're being genuine or not.

Tomorrow promises to be another long day.

I guess it was a pretty long day.  Thank God for laughter.