We took my sister-in-law to dinner last night, as a type of farewell before she goes off to college on Saturday. She’ll be back periodically on weekends, of course, but it’s still very sad for me (it’s always about me, right?) because I like her company! I sometimes say that she’s like my sister, until people with sisters remind me that I like her too much for her to be my sister.
I guess talking with her about class schedules and dorm supplies stuck in my head because last night I had a dream about going back to school. In the dream it seemed like I was pretending to be a new college student and was going to live in the dorms and just hide my kids from my roommates. I find this to be a very weird situation to dream about because, I mean, I have NO desire to go back to college. And it was hard enough with one kid, no way in hell I’d do it with two.
Don’t get me wrong, some of my best memories are from college. I met MrZ there and got to study Geography and Mapping in an amazing department with a well-funded program. But the late nights, the all-nighters, the tests and presentations and…NEVER AGAIN. It’s one thing if that’s your job, to stress out over things all hours of the day. But in college? You’re paying someone else for that privilege. No way. Too many nights stuck in an old computer lab working on projects with my 5-year-old asleep on the couch in the corner have scarred me for life.
Now – the ability to go a week without changing my clothes and being able to sustain myself on coffee and cigarettes – those are skills I miss polishing up.
I miss those circles too.
I miss nourishing Lorna Doone cookies. I lived on those, saltine crackers, and coffee.
You did seem to be at that particular university’s geography department in its glory days. Perhaps they’re doing just as well now as they were then, but that would be hard to believe — that dept. was just fizzing over the rim of the glass then. Why were they so well funded at that time? Was it just that the local economy seemed to be experiencing a lot of demand for GIS-related jobs?
Ramen noodles…I miss the unguilty pleasure of indulging in Ramen noodles night after night while I was in college. I lived on Ramen noodles!!!
You’re dreaming about going back to school because Target has put up it’s SCHOOL SUPPLIES section! New crayons! New glue sticks! Those wicked cool new Crayola Total Tools! School supplies are calling your name, Kim. Give in to the siren song of Crayola.
Small pubs, cheap beer, cheap cigarettes, coin laundry, Kraft Mac ‘n Cheese as separate food group, broke, young and freakishly happy. I loved college.