Tomorrow, or rather, in 21 minutes, it will be April 1st. This means I will have all of April, May, and 25 days into June left as an AmeriCorps volunteer (Youth Civic Engagement Specialist.)
Three months.
I'd be lying if I said my feelings towards how short of a time that is were less than excited and happy. Recently I've been reminded that obviously, things won't always go my way, but it struck a chord because I've always believed that you will be duly rewarded for your efforts and that good things generally happen to reward good behavior.
Clearly this is not always the case. It's selfish to forget all of the other incredibly good (better) people than I who have suffered far worse. I don't think that I always deserve good things or that everything would always go my way, but suffice to say that this experience has been far from what I had been lead to expect.
Lessons learned:
1.) The best roommates are the ones with whom you can agree to a specific set of living standards, who cares what you like, if you can be friends, your lifestyles, doesn't matter if he or she cannot wash dishes before two days have passed and you need dishes to be washed immediately after eating off one. Also, the best roommates are the ones who are honest about what they will and will not, or can and cannot, accomplish and guarantee. Knowing what you're getting into is probably one of the most important things (in retrospect...) that you should look for in a roommate.
2.) Keep many circles of friends. One small group that you see ALL the time can become stifling, and god forbid anything happens and tension rises between some or all of the group members, suddenly being social seems less appealing. Also, the more circles, the more likely you'll have people who are especially skilled or talented in certain areas. All good friends make you want to be better and do more than you already are and do, and I am thankful to be blessed by such incredibly diverse and talented groups of friends.
3.) Find the things that make you satisfied, grounded, and happy and do them as often as you can.
4.) Don't take a testMasters prep course unless you're able to devote all, (ALL) of your time outside of class studying for class....
5.) I hate ANTS. Good ant poison is not as easy as you'd think to find.
6.) The more consistently you pay your rent on time, the more your landlord will feel obligated to take care of things like your ant problem...the less consistently the entire rent of the apartment is paid on time, the less likely the landlord will do anything. Like, unclog all the drains, fix the windows, fix the fridge so it actually closes...
7.) Meet your neighbors. You'll never know when you need to borrow an egg...
8.) Budgets = just don't buy stupid shit.
9.) Just as you don't shit where you eat, don't fuck where you work.
10.) Just don't lie to your boss. And follow the rules so that you can legitimately complain when things are messed up, instead of complaining and then backtracking because actually you're a raging hypocrite.
11.) I love cooking. And baking, and reading, and museums, and driving. And my former roommates, more than I ever knew.
MAP House reunion NY March 2010
Faves, minus Eli
Sideways, platform through window
Rockinghorse, with brunch drinks
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