This has been coming on for awhile…but I have officially realized I am old.  While I comment on this fairly regularly, last night was the real tipping point.  Know why?  Because apparently it was Pledge Night for Wake Forest.  Which means that everywhere downtown was CROWDED.  Everywhere.

Now, some co-workers and I happened to be out as well – we were planning to celebrate the fabulous Lovell’s birthday.  And while she wasn’t feeling very well by the time we went out, we still decided to go in her honor.

In retrospect, I think it would have perhaps been better to not go to my favorite downtown bar on pledge night.  I didn’t exactly fit into that scene during college, and by this point, I only felt even more worlds away.  For one thing, I had just worked 8hrs to top off my 42hr work week.  For another, despite attempting to look decent and wear make-up, I still looked like I had just worked 42 stressful hours.  And while I love going out and being with my friends, I was not nearly as…excitable…as half of these young’uns were.

But again, as I said before, this realization of my aging has been coming on for awhile.  It’s probably an increased sensation since I work with teenagers who have difficulty imagining me as a kid.  So, I’m going to compile a short list for you – similar to the hilarious list posted by Cat.  Some are related to aging, and some are just related to being in this precarious time of my 20s…

Signs You Are In Your 20s and Aging – It can’t all be downhill from here?

1.  Since I’m too poor to go shopping + too busy to do laundry, I have discovered that waiting almost a full month to wash my clothes creates a similar effect; all of a sudden I have all these new clothes that miraculously all fit.  It’s nice.
2.  After wearing heels, I find it necessary to soak my feet the next day because they are so sore.
3.  The only thing I could actively think of to ask for at Christmas was a cutting board.
4.  My friends and I discuss knitting difficulties.
5.  The people I most frequently want to talk to/visit are my family.
6.  I fully agree that a large portion of songs on the radio are, in fact, crap.
7.  The things I worry about now are my cholesterol, my bank balance, and when I’m going to be able to take a nap.
8.  Shopping is something only done when there is something specific to be bought…like milk, bread, & eggs.  And the occasional bottle of wine.
9.  It’s my dearest ambition to advance my “career” (this is of course the subject of an entirely different post).
10.  I have a houseplant.  And I love her.
11. Seriously, it is not a good idea for me to not have a cup of coffee before going into work.
12.  I actually know what people mean when they talk about the “real world”…instead of only thinking I do.
13.  Dental hygiene is serious business.
14.  Oh hey disillusionment.  Let’s find something you’re not involved in.
15.  Sometimes I freak out young people when I start laughing uncontrollably at some adorable thing they’ve said.
16.  Face cream is my best friend.
17.  My teenagers don’t know who Sean Connery is.
18.  My 4yr olds aren’t familiar with The Flintstones.
19.  I actually get mail – but it’s rarely anything enjoyable.
20.  There are 4 different grocery store discount membership cards on my keychain.

And there you have it.  It’s really not all that bad, but every once in awhile, it is jarring to note the differences between now & then (which is, incidentally, an incredible movie – and one I bet over half my kids aren’t familiar with).  Just some food for thought…hope you have a wonderful start to your week!

I took my first “unsupervised” trip this past weekend to San Sebastian, Spain (altho I did not have to plan it – Lindsay & Charetta are amazing). It’s in pais Vasco (Basque country) which is a really interesting region. San Sebastian also might be the best place on earth from what I can tell. But that’s just speculation as of yet – I haven’t been to Lagos or Ibiza yet, haha. It’s situated on the Cantabria Sea and is just gorgeous. The weather was pretty good while were there too, in the 50s etc.

We rode on a train for 6 hours to get there, which was actually a lot of fun. The people who went on this trip were: Lindsay, Charetta, Cristina, Casey, Cat, Meg (Smith), Shannon, Rebecca, Roman, Tramell, Taylor, Jacob, Drew, and me. Ummm I LOVE these people. Anyway, after we got there we just walked around a bit (because it’s gorgeous) and then found some dinner. Vasco is renowned for its amazing food, but some of us are poor and weren’t willing to splurge and I think we traded down on a bit of the quality cause I wasn’t that impressed. But ah well.

After dinner, we headed out to the bars to check out the nightlife – although a bit to early. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but most places don’t even open till 12 in Spain, and places certainly don’t get interesting until at least 2. But we didn’t really want to go out hardcore Friday night, we just wanted to warm up and maybe have a drink & a dance. So we went to this place called Tas Tas recommended to us by our hostel manager, Dominick (sp?). It was pretty fun. Ummm I just have one thing to say about Friday night: highschoolers. ‘Nuff said. Pretty f-ing funny tho lol.

Saturday morning we woke up pretty early and took a bus ride to Bilbao (1hr) to see the Guggenheim. It was actually really good. We saw Richard Serra’s “A Matter of Time” and an exhibit called 100% Africa that was incredible. Once we got back, we chilled in our hostel watching Family Guy etc before dinner.

Dinner was at this Turkish restaurant, actually, because, again, some of us wanted to go cheaper (the group split and the other half did spend the money to eat good food lol). But I really enjoyed the Turkish food. Plus there was great conversation at the table, which always helps. It even ended with Charetta & I holing up in our room for a little bit afterwards to continue our heart to heart about emotionally abusive relationships and why we’re terrified of relationships now. Gooooooooddddd times. Especially since I also got to talk with Lindsay about how awesome good relationships can be when the guy is really wonderful and treats you well.

Afterwards, we honestly just sat in the boys’room and drank rum & cokes (my favorite) and played an intense group game of Never Have I Ever. Around 1:30/2 Dom (hostel manager) came in and we thought we were in trouble for being too loud, but he actually just wanted to join the party. The party lasted until 5amish for me, and it was worth every minute hahaha. Of course, as will inevitably happen when I’m drunk, I took a ton of pictures, viewable here. Oh and I forgot to mention that Saturday night I doled out massages like it was my job and was repaid Sunday morning by Tramell with what might have been the best non-professional massage I’ve ever had.

Sunday we woke up and Dom took us to a good restaurant for lunch and then we went to the beach to say goodbye before catching the train back. All in all, an AWESOME times; so chill and so fun. And I actually was able to get to bed at a decent hour because we didn’t get back too late. Once again, I was incredibly excited to see my madre and eat her delicious comida, haha. I was so hungry that I ate practically all of the tortilla espanola. Mmmm tortilla espanola…

Some highlights of the trip: “sexy bread” “the ear is a very erogenous zone” “Drew I’m going to be completely honest: I have no idea what you’re talking about” “12 year old boys” “curfews” “roofiecolladas” “spider-monkeys”, etc etc.  Um yeah I can’¢t even remember everything.  Just know it was a great time and I love my group/Spain.