Saturday, November 6, 2010

Just a Fly on the Wall

Adults are hilarious. No, I'm not talking about the ones who go to bars and sing "Don't Stop Believin'" off-key with their work pals on Friday night after their second round of rum and cokes. Granted, those guys know how to have a good time, though I'd choose "Bohemian Rhapsody" over Journey any day. I mean the professionals. The ones who wear suits to Saturday morning meetings. The ones who do have lives outside of work and like to tell each other about their kids' soccer games before the meeting actually starts. They fascinate me, and I'm not sure why.
Maybe it's because I'm here on a Saturday morning, sitting outside their conference room in case they need me to boost the volume on the microphone or set up the screen and projector, and I get to watch them interact. I watched two women walk to the bathroom together because it's been drilled into our minds since middle school that girls never go to the bathroom alone. Apparently this adage holds true in a basically empty building while the rest of the campus is still asleep. But anyways, they were chatting and laughing like twelve-year-olds! It made me smile. Another woman walked up the stairs later on with her friend and had the same conversation that we've all had right before a Saturday morning event that we would rather skip.

Woman: "You're soooo happy to be here right now, aren't you?"
Man: "Oh, definitely....."
Woman: "Mmhmmm I can tell!"

I had to wipe sarcasm off my face... it dripped all over the floor too. I'm sure I remember saying that to someone fifteen minutes before taking the SATs on a Saturday morning back in high school. And I'm sure I said it during Phys. Ed. in middle school when we learned that we would have to change into uniforms before each class. And now that I'm in college, I can remember saying it as early as two days ago when I had to work during a loud, late-night event that kept me running from closet to closet, finding all of the various cords and extras that they needed to run the show. And I probably said it again when I had to put away all those cords and extras at the end of the night.... ugh. But I digress.
These cultural quirks keep us young. Right now I'm imagining that every person in that room is wishing they were doing something else. One guy wants to be at his kid's soccer game (this is actually true.... I overhead him talking. Man, eavesdropping is fun). Another woman wishes she were taking a bubble bath with a good book and then preparing dinner for her family. Maybe another wants to do something crazy, like go play in the mud or take a road trip to Maine to see what he can find there. I don't know.
But what I do know is this: these common phrases that we all moan when we're doing something boring or stupid, or really important, but still boring, are part of what keeps us human. It lets us know that we haven't given in to the world telling us everything that we're supposed to want. You can strive for success all you want, but at what cost? Your family? Your friends? Your sanity? No thanks. At some point, you need to find peace and contentment with your current situation. Life isn't a competition where the first person to gain all the fame, fortune, and success wins; in my experience, these people end up being the biggest losers of all because that's all they have. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is say no; no to the obligations, the responsibilities; and then go play outside for the afternoon. Personally, I'm going to go out with a couple friends tonight and maybe, just maybe, we'll end the night with a round of dollar drafts and a chorus of "Bohemian Rhapsody". Just because it's fun.

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