Bits and pieces

[chipotle]

I set my alarm clock today for the first time in months; I noticed I'd been getting up at 8:15, 8:30 or even 8:45 recently, and decided to see what I'd do with the extra hour-plus given to me by setting the alarm for 7:00. The answer this morning was: hit the snooze bar for an hour. Next week, I work on the going to bed before midnight part of the equation, I guess.

I'm working on a longer entry about last weekend's vacation. In short form, it went well once it got going--I saw places around San Francisco, Berkeley and Sonoma that I hadn't before and feel like I've had a good "mini-tour" of the areas of the Bay that I don't normally get to. (Thanks to a day lost waiting for luggage, the day or so I expected to spend around the South Bay and the Peninsula didn't happen beyond a morning drive through Saratoga and up Skyline Drive.)

There were tense moments--as I suppose all parent-child relationships have, particularly once the child is adult. There's all sorts of essay material here, much of which I'm hesitant to mine. But, I've found myself reflecting on just what "grown up" means: when we get set in our ways, and how our personal tics develop--our phrasing, what we consider funny and what we consider distasteful, and just what we consider our baseline for normality. Is your living room lined with plush toys and sci-fi models, or is do you have a faux-antique piece of furniture displaying carefully arranged ceramic knick-knacks? Are you more comfortable in a house decorated in timeless Out-of-College Clutter, in comfortable Post-Modern Ikea, or in classic Quaint Americana Neurotic?

Comments

[koogrr.livejournal.com]

Post Clutter Modern College Ikea!

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

I think "grown up" means that you now indepedent materially and psychologically; though as human beings we all depend to some extent on one another for help, "grown upness" to me is about no longer requiring other people's aid to take care of yourself.

This is an attitude I think you develop once you start paying your own bills. You can retain it if you have to temporarily move in with your parents during financial crisis, or you can devolve back to emotional and financial immaturity. But once you've got it . . . you're grown up.

Just my two cents.

[playswithfood.livejournal.com]

Speaking of Ikea - there is one opening up in East Palo Alto, August 27th. I couldn't help but notice they offer an in-store cafe catering American and Swedish cuisine. (I have yet to expand my horizons beyond the catalog). Feeding the customer sounds dangerous. :)

I look forward to hearing about the mini-tour.

[chastmastr.livejournal.com]

Hi! Can't read your comments...?

[chastmastr.livejournal.com]

Oh, these are your comments. *blush*

[prickvixen.livejournal.com]

I prefer 1950s Mad Scientist Laboratory, myself.