Thursday, July 16, 2009

adulthood

Lately, I've been having a few small conversations with my boss, Mark. He's a good guy and I'm glad to be working for him. Since he's a baritone and I'm a mezzo, we have lots to talk about in terms of repertoire and gigs and whatnot, and we have similar taste in books (though for different reasons, I think). Anyway, he's been on the sidelines of my apartment-hunting excitement and all of the fun that goes with it--phone calls to gas companies who are as unhelpful as possible, phone calls to the electric and internet companies, phone calls/letters to roommates, errands, packing...you get the idea. Periodically I will take a moment to whine to Mark just a little bit about my newfound adult responsibilities, and the conversation usually goes a little something like this:

Me: "Ugh. I'm so tired of making phone calls and running errands! When these errands are finished, I will finally get to rest."

Mark: "The errands never end. Just when you finish one set of errands, another appears. If you just resign yourself to the fact that you will be doing errands for the rest of your life, it will become easier to do them. *pause* I'm sorry, I hope I'm not discouraging you. I'm just trying to be realistic."

Me: *sigh* "Well, you are being quite realistic. I'd like to think that this particular batch of errands is especially annoying, but I understand what you're saying..."

Another conversation went like this:

Me: "Oh, my gosh! Why does adulthood have to be so stinkin' hard? I mean, it's worth it and all, and I know the responsibilities I now have are a sign that I'm coming into my own, but really? Am I going to be making phone calls for the REST of my LIFE?"

Mark: "Yes, often when we reach adulthood, we curse its little annoyances and demands. We want to say 'Why me? Can't someone else make these phone calls?'. But really, that just translates into 'Can't I just be a child and have someone else make all of my decisions for me so that I can run around and play?'. So really, you're better off--this way, you get to make your own decisions."

Me: "Yeah, yeah. I know. Without the 'fun' of all of this work, life would be boring and meaningless...yada yada yada..." *I stalk away to pout for a little while longer*

Needless to say, Mark has been especially helpful to me in my forays into adult responsibilities. Without him, I may be prone to wallowing in self-pity and enduring the sting of false expectations proven wrong. He has saved me from myself. ;-)

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