August 26th, 2003
School’s out…forever?
So school started yesterday. I just realized it now, over my monitor lunch of mustard sandwiches. This is the first time in 18 years that I have missed the first day of school. 18 years. That’s 78% of my life up to this point, and I really don’t remember more than a few camera outtakes about the first 5. So basically my life as I know it is like over, and now for the first time practically ever I have to figure out what that means and not go insane with identity loss.
I guess a lot of people go through this, I wonder if it happens the first day of school for them too? It didn’t even occur to me all summer, it was just another internship…any time now I’d get back to a college town, already have like 10 emails in my inbox about parties, and just grin quitely as a housemate storms past the mammoth entertainment certer, in from Kroger or Giant Eagle with armfuls of Jack Daniel’s and generically labeled “Cola”.
I miss the fact I’ll probably never eat at another cafeteria, unless some number of countless days and knee-high socks later I’m helping my son or daughter move into their dorm. I’ll be gushing over how we _have_ to eat at Newcomb and get to the omelette bar, while Jr. will be grinding his/her teeth just counting the nanoseconds until I un-double park the station wagon and leave him/her to the inaugural parent-liberation.
That’s pretty depressing, isn’t it? The Mo’jox are off basking the warm glow of independence that only $16,000 / semester can provide, while the big purple sofa is already soaking up someone else’s drool. What color is the grass on The Lawn? How many people will throw up tonight as a result of St. Maarten’s? What sort of risque carousing will follow a GSA opening party at Doc’s? Why can’t the lame traffic lights and incompetent driving elderly of Pittsburgh inconvenience me now?
Yea. I guess I’ve been working so much lately at tomorrow I didn’t notice yesterday had come and left without me.
