Nostalgia and Growing Pains

So, today, on the way to work, I was fooling around with my cd player, and what should fill my speakers, but the sounds of some old school John Mayer. Okay, maybe he's not that old school, but I think I bought that cd in high school. Well, I started feeling a little nostalgic. I was thinking about highschool and all the wonderful things that come along with it (sense the sarcasm), and how much I have changed since then. Just the other day, Crystal was saying that even if we could turn back time and go back to high school, it would be completely different. And it would, if I could relive that part of my life, knowing what I know now, nothing would be the same. But, if I could relive that part of my life, and I changed everything I did back then, what would my life be like now. I believe that some of those lessons were just too invaluable to give up just for the sake of the avoidance of a few pains. Plus, I could never give up Washington DC, Tyndale, and that one time we snowboarded.
But, even as I was reminiscing, I started to think about how I am looking forward to moving forward. Living with my parents now is no picnic. Man, there are a lot of people in that house. I hate my job with such a burning passion, that I feel it may be straight from the devil. I used to love that job. I used to really love that job, a lot. Now, I struggle to make it through the eight hours I have to sit behind that desk. And, while I am scared crapless about life after graduation, I am really looking forward to walking across that stage. I have no idea what's in store for me, but I know that I am outgrowing that person I used to be. I think that I have more than just come out of my shell, but I broke that thing wide open.

My Wonderful Afternoon

So, this is what happened to me today. It was noon and I was hungry, but, of course, I don't have any food in my apartment, so I decided to go to Subway. I didn't get my cell phone because Subway is like a block from my apartment. My cats have developed this habit of running out the door when you open it, so I was trying to keep them in the apartment and lock the door at the same time. So, guess what I forgot, yep, my keys. And I did manage to lock my door. Well, I didn't have my phone, so I decided to walk down to the gas station and call my roommate from the payphone. She didn't answer. I walked back to my apartment and I heard my neighbors in their apartment, so I knocked (actually, I had to knock like three times). We share a laundry room and I was hoping we had left the door unlocked, as we so often do. We had not. (Let me just interject that my neighbor was not very concerned about my plight. She didn't offer to let me use her phone or anything.) So, I sat on the porch for about a half an hour waiting for my roommate. I guess she didn't get my voicemail. I figured she was at her boyfriend's, so I started walking. It's a pretty long walk, probably a mile or two, maybe more. But, I didn't have anything else to do. So, I walked all the way to his apartment, only to find that they weren't there. Then, I had to walk all the way back home. Sure I could have called someone else, but I didn't have my phone, and the payphone had already eaten all my change, and I never memorize anybody's numbers anymore. So, I walk all the way back to my apartment. I'm still hungry and really thirsty, and I could have walked to Subway, but now I'm tired of walking, so I take a nap in my car. After I woke up, it was starting to get cold, so I decided to wait in the hallway of my building. My roommate has to come home soon because her car is here and she has to go to work. By this time it's like 4pm. My neighbor (not the same one as before, but her roommate) comes home and asks me what's wrong. She does let me use her phone and I call my roommate's boyfriend and he says shes in the fitting room, in Chattanooga. But, they are leaving as soon as Jessie buys the jeans, so I only have another half an hour to hang out in the freezing cold hallway. The good news was that I had left the television on so I at least had something to listen to. The bad news was that it was a Trading Spaces I had already seen twice. Finally, my roommate comes home and apoligizes profusely for not answering the phone the first time, but she has this thing about not answering numbers she doesn't recognize and she didn't want to check her voicemail because she was afraid it was work. Obviously, it's not her fault, I should have just gotten my keys. So, I spent an entire afternoon being locked out of my apartment, and no, it was not fun.

Can you be too picky?

This week I was on a mission. I needed brown flats. Okay, maybe I didn't need them, but I wanted brown flats. I went to every store I could think of that sold shoes. I found lots of brown flats, but there was something wrong with every pair. Some of the toes were too pointy, or the heel was to chunky, or the shade of brown wasn't exactly right. Some were too sparkly, and some weren't sparkly enough. Once, I went into a store, found a really cute pair, but didn't try them on because the sales people were creeping me out. Finally, I found the perfect pair, the price was a little high, but they were perfect. Then, when I got them home, they gave me a huge blister. So, I got to thinking that maybe my habit of being picky when it come to shoes may bleed over in other areas of my life. Maybe the reason why I don't date much (okay or not at all) isn't because I haven't met the right guy, but because I rule some people out before I even try them on. I don't like their hair, or their shoes don't match their belt, or their jeans are a little tapered at the ankle. Then, when I finally find a guy I'm interested in, I'm willing to pay the much higher price, but I just end up getting hurt. Where do you draw the line between being picky and having standards? Actually, I think the tapered jeans thing may be a justifiable reason for passing someone up.

Rude People

Did I suddenly fall into a deep sleep and wake up in a world where it's suddenly all right to be rude? Serioulsy, when did common courtesy become passe? Before I give my rant, let me present you with some examples. First of all, yesterday I went to chapel (I'll wait for the gasping and shreiks of surprise to subside) and the speaker was a bit on the boring side, but really, it's only an hour. Are we not adults? Even I can sit still for an hour. About five minutes into the sermonette, the kid next to me answers his phone. He quietly tells the person he's in chapel and hangs up. I thought, "at least he was quiet." Then, about three people down from me, two people begin to have a conversation, not a whispered conversation, but they were talking like they were not in chapel. Sure, sometimes, when I talk, I'm loud and I don't mean to be, but then, people started turning around and shushing them (which, for the record, does not usually solve the problem). They still did not shut up. Then, Dr. Boone began his conclusion and the girl in front of me answered her phone! She had an entire converstation, again on normal voice level. (She had been texting the whole time as well.) Then, last night I was in class. It's a class I really enjoy, Visual Anthropology, taught by one of my favorite professors. It's a really laid back class, we watch movies, eat popcorn, and have discussions. During the hour and a half she was in class, she had a cell phone coversation, asked to have her presentation date changed because she thought she might have something to do next week, came in late from break, and then she straight up fell asleep on the front row, and when she woke up, she left. Another guy had a loud conversation during someone's presentation. I've also noticed a growing trend of people picking their feet in class. What is going on? Turn of your cell phones, shut your mouths, stay awake, and for the love of God, stop picking your feet! I wonder, am I blowing this out of proportion, or have people become progressively ruder and ruder?