spring
Already : Hatachi Archives
spring Sunday April 27
i've been taking a lot of spring picturesi tried to catalogue the changing season in the fall, and now i find myself doing the same thing in the spring. jon may tout arizona as a place with great weather, but i'm going to have to say that change is good. it is also very possible that this is my favorite season, especially right before midsummer, and i couldn't appreciate it so much if it was a constant temperature (with cacti, to boot).
jon just had his 21st birthday, and i'm just taking some time to realize just how old we've all gotten now. last night i had the distinct pleasure of going to a champaign party with a freshman-year friend -- i dangerously maneuvered around the urine in the hallway outside of the apartment with my open-toed birks, and the thick translucent plastic really put a nice touch on the carpeted floor of the apartment.
the reason, however, that everyone loves the round balconies (i don't know if that's what they are actually called, but that is their campus name) is because of the, well, huge, round balconies. i stood out there, unwilling to pay even $3 for a cheap cup of beer, and talked for an hour with the only two people i knew there: the two people i came with.
but my shoes speak of the facade i'm constructing. any self-respecting champaign party-goer knows better than to wear birks, and that made me stick out like an urbana hippie. but that's not the only reason i'm not really meeting anyone new at this party. my friends have friends there, and i could easily get involved and meet other people that way, but the point is that i feel like i'm just done with that style of college life. not that i ever took too much part in it in the first place.
at least, i feel older, and as i turn 21 this summer, my insurance rates that i don't even pay go down, and i can buy some nice cooking wine on my own accord. yet, even though i don't view this age-milestone as some raucus excuse to drink excessively, like most students, i would like there to be a raucus of another kind.
in this town, it's hard enough to try to get people together for anything; everyone is so busy. however, for some reason, 21st birthdays have maintained this uber-important status that will cause even enemies to ignore their differences and at least "stop by" for the 21st celebration. i'm sure you've all done this. the conversation goes like this:
a: want to go out to a movie?
b: yeah, but i have to stop by (fill in bar name here, depending on the taste of the birthday person); it is their 21st birthday (insert some span of time that may not necessarily be that specific day), and they invited me, so i should at least stop by and say hello...
dramatizations aside, the more organized and constructed the birthday celebration is, the more these people feel the obligation to "stop by". and if you can rope them in with t-shirts, you're even better off. therefore, for my birthday this summer, i aim to have just about everyone i regularly know and like hanging out with me. i'm going to try to focus on friendship, not alcohol, and i already know that i'm going to run into a wall there when it comes to mister ryan schaffer. but i'll deal with him when he gets here.
the point is: there will be a big 21st birthday celebration for me, phooze, the weekend after my july 8th birthday this summer. circle it in red, and keep watching here for updates.
