Youthful Verve or Am I Just Immature?

Should I be at all concerned that I get along so incredibly well with Christine, our 20-year old intern at work? Especially considering I, myself, saw age 20 sixteen years ago?

Christine has continued to shadow me on Saturdays, and while I don't know how much she's learning about our industry from me, we certainly have tremendous fun. She was with me when I met the uber-nerdy ham radio operators last weekend, and she was by my side yesterday when I went to a ridiculous protest in Oakland, during which some guy involved in the protest hit on me. He wasn't the least but subtle either, even though he tried to use the pretense of asking me "professional" questions. Whatever, buddy.

Christine and I have conversations about illegal immigration, the war in Iraq and even ethnicity. With her being of Indian decent and me being half African-American and half Caucasian, we had quite the time comparing the curious to downright ignorant things people have said to each of us. In between those types of discussions, we also giggle through the far more important topics of music, socializing and boys. Yesterday we got into a conversation about MySpace, which she calls "the root of all (her) problems" because there she learns things about her friends that she doesn't necessarily want to know. Between her tales and the fact that I have a few friends my own age who participate in the MySpace phenomenon, my opinion of the site wavers between judgment, fear and fascination. I certainly would not be surprised if it takes over the world one day.

I told Christine yesterday that I hope we stay friends after her internship so I can take her to Favorite Bar once she turns 21 in November. However, upon just a few hours of reflection, I realized that I would feel obligated to protect her from many of the dysfunctional drunk men who hang out there. Not to mention from one or two members of the staff.

Huh. My fear for her well-being at Favorite Bar just may be maternal enough to convince me that while I love hanging out with Christine at work, I'm probably better suited for socializing with friends my own age.