I used to look forward to Friday’s because that meant that I probably only had one class and then I had the whole weekend to study for tests, which of course never took place until late on Sunday night. Now that I am a college graduate with no intentions of ever going back to school I look forward to Friday’s as the last day of the week. No more work until Monday morning. No studying or homework to be done over the weekend … now I can just relax and do whatever I want! Plus I have more money so if I want to go shopping or take a trip to Madagascar, I can! It is so nice not to be in school anymore. I don’t envy any of the college kiddies moving in this week. Not a bit.
I watch them with their parents, moving carts of stuff down the street. The parents are freaking out and its just way too much. I guess it is an exciting experience for a college freshman, but I’ve been there and done that and don’t ever want to again. Perhaps the reason would be that, if I count all of the times I have moved my crap, from home to school, back home, back to school, from one apartment to the next … well then I have moved 9 times so far which seems like a lot of moving for someone, who afterall is not even a quarter of a century old! It wasn’t like I was getting evicted and carrying my stuff around in a sack on a stick, seeking shelter. I had loads of crap that required a Uhaul and moving so many times was a result of leases ending, roommates abandoning me, me abandoning roommates, going home for summer jobs, moving away for summer jobs, coming home after the summer jobs, and moving back to school for a new school year. And I would like to move right now, away from the garbage and annoying children, but my apartment is cheap and I have zero motivation to move.
Anyways, I’m rambling about this, of course, because I live in a college neighborhood. In fact, I live about a block away from some of the college dorms. In the summer, it is peaceful here, but as soon as the school year begins, it gets nasty. So everyone is moving in … or moving out. I think the garbage men have gone on strike. I would go on strike too if I knew I had to pick up all this crap around here during the beginning of the school year. On my walk this morning, I was attacked by flies. The streets are lined with old cardboard boxes, chairs, couches, tables, broken beer bottles, and rotting food. The August heat only makes the smell worse. And I frequently complain about trash …. but this trash is trash on top of that trash. Oakland is turning into a landfill. The other morning I opened my door and a flying candy bar wrapper flew right by and stuck to my door. Pretty soon I’ll be buried in trash. So if you are walking on top of the mounds of dirt, trash, and stink around here and see a leg or arm sticking out of the trash …. be kind and pull me out. I’d be ever so grateful.
That’s so funny – I also live in a college town and I went to Target last night and all the parents and kiddos were there and it made me melancholy. I so wanted to be 18 again, setting up a room with my mom, getting ready for my first day of class… getting anxious meeting my dorm-mates and roommates… Truly STARTING my life. But alas, I can’t go back in time. At least not unless that teleporter “X” that you found works – and if it does, please let me know as I’d love to try it out! Haven’t wanted to rewind my life before… I usually have that standard “my experiences have made me who I am and I like who I am…” answer to questions of whether or not you would want a “do over.” But for the first time, I think I may have a different answer. Interesting.