blast from the past

One of my committee members co-organized a symposium held here at my institution, which means I got to say hello and have a brief conversation with him. It's been, what, 2.5 years since I left Ith__ ?? I didn't realize how long 2.5 years really feels until he hugged and kissed me on the cheek. I sat in on most of the panel discussions for today (had to attend dept meetings yesterday, ugh) but I had to leave the room before the roundtable ended because I couldn't bear to say goodbye in person. He was sitting at the head of the table so I stood at the back of the room until he noticed me, then I waved goodbye.