twenty-two, a little pot, and some blue water

on november the thirteenth i turned twenty-two years old (see footnote i). i am no longer just twenty-one, but i am in my twenties. this idea terrifies me and excites me at the exact same time. where did the years go, i will say soon. it was only yesterday i was twenty-two. but today i say, where did the years go, just last week i was twenty-one. and i will smile to myself, because i am still young enough to make, let alone write, really dumb things like that and find them truly funny.

in my terrified state of turning twenty-two and graduating from school in roughly nine months (!), i had this revelation: i have spent the past three and a half years in college and have yet to take part in the "college experience." I have not participated in the normal, average college-age activities. when i graduate and people say, oh don't you remember the fun of college. i will remember my fun, but it will be a lot different then their fun. and for the first time in months, i wanted to be normal. but you are not normal, abby reminds me. and i agree. after much discussion with a friend and the desire to do something "normal" or "rebellious-college-experience-like," my friend (who shall remain nameless) declares she has a friend (who shall also remain nameless, for obvious reasons) who smokes pot and was sure i could get some if i wanted it. i sigh. i don't want to smoke pot (see footnote ii). smoking pot won't change anything. later i come to my senses (not about the pot, i was always right about the pot): i don't want to be normal; i hate normal.

in my apartment, i do all the cleaning. i know this sounds really unbalanced, but my roommate just doesn't seem to mind the mess and it usually begins to drive me crazy (ha! as if i need help achieving that!) fairly quickly. anyways, i abandon all stubborn characteristics and clean despite my occasional (who am i kidding, my usual) bitterness. of course, a part of this regiment involves cleaning the toilets. i complete my tasks on sunday. upon my roommate's arrival from her usual weekend trips to her boyfriend's house, she enters the restroom and exits after a minute and asks, why is the water blue in the toilet? well, i answer, because i was cleaning it and just haven't flushed it yet. has she ever cleaned in her life? does she not know that blue water equals a clean toilet? as she stepped back into the bathroom and closed the door, i silently flipped out, waving my arms and legs around while lying in my bed. oh my god. oh my god. blue water equals clean toilet. what the hell?



(i) this was by far in the top five best days of my now twenty-two year existence. my friends are the best. special thanks to abby, debbie, thomas, lucy, and stephani (who called from spain!) for making me feel so loved and cherished. it was the best birthday ever.
(ii) after a conversation in high school with my parents, i learned my artsy mom and dad smoked pot in their college days on top of the architecture building. i love my parents, but it makes doing this illegal act not-so cool or really rebellious.