Coffee with Kevin: Weekly Reflections on Life, Work, and Everything Else
Saturday mornings hit differently. The pace slows down, the coffee stays hot a little longer, and there is finally time to reflect instead of just keeping up with the week.
Welcome to Coffee with Kevin—my weekly space to step away from news headlines, charts, and rankings to share personal stories, practical lessons, and observations.
Some weeks, we’ll explore life in retirement, living in Brazil, photography, books, or family. Other weeks, I’ll draw on four decades in technology, leadership, and change management—offering perspectives that remain relevant long after leaving the office.
Think of this as two friends catching up over a fresh cup of coffee: honest conversation, stories worth sharing, and an idea or two to take with you into your weekend.
Grab your cup, settle in, and let’s dive into this week’s conversation: A Memory
Memories
This isn’t really a personal memory piece. It’s more like a memory about a television show—and what happens when you go back to something you remember loving years ago.
Over the last few weeks, I watched all ten seasons of Friends on Netflix. All of them. Every episode. It took me almost a month, and when I started, I remembered thinking, This was a great show.
What I didn’t remember was just how long ago it was.
The first episode caught me completely off guard. During the opening credits, I saw the Twin Towers in the background. I actually stopped watching and thought, Why the hell would they leave those in there?
Then my wife reminded me.
The show ran from 1994 to 2004.
Apparently, somewhere along the way, I lost a decade.
I had one of those moments where you suddenly realize that something you remember as being relatively recent is now officially old. I felt like Kramer on Seinfeld when he looks at someone and says, “Did I just blow your mind?”
And yes, I mention Kramer because regular readers already know I reference Seinfeld quite a bit around here. I consider it one of the great television comedies ever made. But watching Friends again made me realize just how different the two shows really are.
Seinfeld was built around observational humor, absurd situations, and, frankly, the wonderful depravity and shallowness of human nature. It was hilarious, but let’s be honest—those people weren’t exactly the kind of friends you’d want showing up at your house unannounced.
Friends is different.
And watching it again, I came to appreciate just how good it really was.
The acting was better than I remembered. The comedy was better than I remembered. And for ten seasons, I laughed my ass off. In fact, I probably laughed more watching Friends than I did watching Seinfeld.
But the biggest difference was the characters.
You could actually connect with them.
You could imagine yourself sitting in that apartment, hanging around Central Perk, getting involved in some ridiculous argument over absolutely nothing. They weren’t just characters delivering jokes. They felt like people you knew.
And unlike the gang on Seinfeld, these people actually seemed to care about each other.
Sure, they drove each other crazy. They made stupid decisions. They lied, screwed things up, dated the wrong people, and occasionally behaved like complete idiots.
But underneath all of it, there was genuine affection.
And when I finished the final episode, I was surprisingly sad.
For almost a month, these six people had been part of my daily routine. I knew I was watching a television show, obviously, but somewhere along the way I had slipped back into their world.
Then suddenly it was over.
I had always remembered Friends as a great show, but apparently I had forgotten just how great. There were episodes I had completely forgotten about, and some I honestly don’t think I had ever seen.
That’s one of the strange pleasures of getting older. Sometimes you don’t discover something new. You rediscover something you already knew—and realize you appreciate it differently now.
I still love Seinfeld for its quirky, ridiculous moments and its brilliant observations about human behavior.
But after watching all ten seasons again, I have to admit something:
Friends is every bit as good, perhaps even better, but in a completely different way.
Seinfeld made me laugh at people.
Friends made me feel like I knew them.
And when the final episode ended, I actually missed them.
I’m pretty sure I’ll be going down that particular memory lane again.
All ten seasons.
Because apparently I have another decade to lose.
Thanks for reading BeingKevin.
In a world built on scrolling past everything in seconds, I genuinely appreciate you stopping here for a moment. If the post gave you something to think about, made you laugh, or even made you disagree, I’d love to hear from you in the comments. A quick rating helps, too, and goes a long way toward supporting the site.
And if you’d like to help keep BeingKevin going, a small tip is always appreciated — never expected, but deeply valued. Thanks again for being hereCoffee with Kevin: Weekly Reflections on Life, Work, and Everything Else
Saturday mornings hit differently. The pace slows down, the coffee stays hot a little longer, and there is finally time to reflect instead of just keeping up with the week.
Welcome to Coffee with Kevin—my weekly space to step away from news headlines, charts, and rankings to share personal stories, practical lessons, and observations.
Some weeks, we’ll explore life in retirement, living in Brazil, photography, books, or family. Other weeks, I’ll draw on four decades in technology, leadership, and change management—offering perspectives that remain relevant long after leaving the office.
Think of this as two friends catching up over a fresh cup of coffee: honest conversation, stories worth sharing, and an idea or two to take with you into your weekend.
Grab your cup, settle in, and let’s dive into this week’s conversation: A Memory
Memories
This isn’t really a personal memory piece. It’s more like a memory about a television show—and what happens when you go back to something you remember loving years ago.
Over the last few weeks, I watched all ten seasons of Friends on Netflix. All of them. Every episode. It took me almost a month, and when I started, I remembered thinking, This was a great show.
What I didn’t remember was just how long ago it was.
The first episode caught me completely off guard. During the opening credits, I saw the Twin Towers in the background. I actually stopped watching and thought, Why the hell would they leave those in there?
Then my wife reminded me.
The show ran from 1994 to 2004.
Apparently, somewhere along the way, I lost a decade.
I had one of those moments where you suddenly realize that something you remember as being relatively recent is now officially old. I felt like Kramer on Seinfeld when he looks at someone and says, “Did I just blow your mind?”
And yes, I mention Kramer because regular readers already know I reference Seinfeld quite a bit around here. I consider it one of the great television comedies ever made. But watching Friends again made me realize just how different the two shows really are.
Seinfeld was built around observational humor, absurd situations, and, frankly, the wonderful depravity and shallowness of human nature. It was hilarious, but let’s be honest—those people weren’t exactly the kind of friends you’d want showing up at your house unannounced.
Friends is different.
And watching it again, I came to appreciate just how good it really was.
The acting was better than I remembered. The comedy was better than I remembered. And for ten seasons, I laughed my ass off. In fact, I probably laughed more watching Friends than I did watching Seinfeld.
But the biggest difference was the characters.
You could actually connect with them.
You could imagine yourself sitting in that apartment, hanging around Central Perk, getting involved in some ridiculous argument over absolutely nothing. They weren’t just characters delivering jokes. They felt like people you knew.
And unlike the gang on Seinfeld, these people actually seemed to care about each other.
Sure, they drove each other crazy. They made stupid decisions. They lied, screwed things up, dated the wrong people, and occasionally behaved like complete idiots.
But underneath all of it, there was genuine affection.
And when I finished the final episode, I was surprisingly sad.
For almost a month, these six people had been part of my daily routine. I knew I was watching a television show, obviously, but somewhere along the way I had slipped back into their world.
Then suddenly it was over.
I had always remembered Friends as a great show, but apparently I had forgotten just how great. There were episodes I had completely forgotten about, and some I honestly don’t think I had ever seen.
That’s one of the strange pleasures of getting older. Sometimes you don’t discover something new. You rediscover something you already knew—and realize you appreciate it differently now.
I still love Seinfeld for its quirky, ridiculous moments and its brilliant observations about human behavior.
But after watching all ten seasons again, I have to admit something:
Friends is every bit as good, perhaps even better, but in a completely different way.
Seinfeld made me laugh at people.
Friends made me feel like I knew them.
And when the final episode ended, I actually missed them.
I’m pretty sure I’ll be going down that particular memory lane again.
All ten seasons.
Because apparently I have another decade to lose.
Thanks for reading BeingKevin.
In a world built on scrolling past everything in seconds, I genuinely appreciate you stopping here for a moment. If the post gave you something to think about, made you laugh, or even made you disagree, I’d love to hear from you in the comments. A quick rating helps, too, and goes a long way toward supporting the site. And if you’d like to help keep BeingKevin going, a small tip is always appreciated — never expected, but deeply valued. Thanks again for being here
Thanks for reading BeingKevin.
In a world built on scrolling past everything in seconds, I genuinely appreciate you stopping here for a moment. If the post gave you something to think about, made you laugh, or even made you disagree, I’d love to hear from you in the comments. A quick rating helps, too, and goes a long way toward supporting the site. And if you’d like to help keep BeingKevin going, a small tip is always appreciated — never expected, but deeply valued. Thanks again for being here
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