convergence phenomenon

i'm not a biology major or even particularly scientific, so forgive me. i recall that there was a theory that "cells" (basic units of life) spontaneously formed when molecules with hydrophilic (water-loving) and hydrophobic (water-hating) ends reacted to an aqueous medium. the hydrophobic ends of all the molecules naturally pushed "away" from the water, and thus pushed the molecules all towards each other... eventually the molecules aggregated, and further organized into "double bags" of cell membranes, etc.

oddly enough, a lot of my old friends have been converging, aggregating, and i can't help but wonder why this is so. i mean, it could just be an illusion... some friends, apparently, have been on facebook for a while now, and it could be just that i'm the last (or one of the last) to join the party. the sudden re-emergence of "faces" from out of the woodwork can seem like "wow, everyone's suddenly waking up." but it seems like more than this. brian, for example, was actively looking for me and my old intermediate/high school group...

is everyone reacting to something in the environment? are we converging due to a "spontaneous turning away/turning towards" when confronting some subtle global signal, or perhaps is it an age thing, something in our genes, like "planned obsolescence" only more mild?

in any case, it's nice.

in elementary school, we did an experiment. we got a carton of milk, and just let it sit for days and days on end. we would view the "milk" as it rotted, as it turned into a jungle of mold and fungus and cottage cheesy stink. and i became acutely aware of time. and how time out of sight and out of mind still moved and changed things... i became aware of the strange way dust would collect in a room when no one occupied it, how it would collect in thick sheets... (weird, isn't it? it's not like people actively dust the rooms they live in... it's almost as though "something" senses no one's there, and starts laying down the sheets) i became aware of the way weeds would grow from neglect.

not that rot or dust or weeds makes me think of my friends, but... it's interesting to discover the way time continues on, that people have been living vibrant and often far more significant lives "behind my back" or "while i slept."