It seems that as life progresses, more and more ppl fall away, or cling to you out of... desperation. Not that i would ever REALLY turn the oldest of my friends away, but most of them do seem a bit pathetic. Couple of them (Sensei included) are, by contrast, much better than me in every regard, so i have... about 3? ppl i can call my equal, and those, of course, are the most interesting to hang out with