Grown-up Kid

Sometimes I really wish I had a grown-up who ran my life.

They would say things like:

Daisy, change your clothes! You've been wearing pajamas for two days.
Daisy, take a shower!
Daisy, don't eat shrimp cocktail for breakfast!
Daisy, put sheets on your bed!

And I would grumble and say mean things about them on the phone to my friends. But secretly when I went to sleep on clean sheets in fresh clothes, belly full of vegetables and other grown-up food. I would be terribly happy.

When do you start acting like a grown-up? Did I miss this boat too?

Sometimes You Get too Old for Eyeliner

I sometimes write for a music website that is currently showcasing a lot of articles about the Cure, who I love. But the current pictures of the newly rejoined Cure show a bloated Robert Smith, old and haggard, who unfortunately doesn't seem to have gotten the memo- he is still wearing his 80's rocker eyeliner- which of course only just enhances his age and bloat.

We all know the people who can't let it go. Dads who still smoke pot to keep it real. Moms who rock too tight jeans. Aging musicians are especially notorious for public displays of clinging to the coattails of youth. There is the shockingly reunited Def Leppard singing with Taylor Swift as the latest example of guys in their late 40's trying to cram their sagging tummies into leopard print spandex one more time- for the fans, of course.

My own spandex moment came when I was sitting in an airport bar. The waiter was really cute and completely flirting with me. I was psyched! I flirted back and tried to coolly sip my alcoholic beverage when it suddenly hit me. I'm almost 29 years of age. This guy who appeared to be my age was a waiter at an airport bar. An almost 30 airport bar waiter means one thing. He "really" is something else: an actor, poet, bassist, or sculptor. I've dated all four types and paid for all four to live while they pursued their true passion. My true passion apparently was paying for guys to follow theirs.

And right then (with great relief I must say) I was over it. I was over dating not quite successful, 30 something artists. Good bye airport waiters, baristas, line cooks, dishwashers, bartenders, etc. You were great fun back in the day but now dating you is like sad, 80's black eyeliner on my heart (and wallet)- it makes me look as pathetic and desperate as poor Robert Smith.

Being really young and fun is great and I wouldn't have missed it for the world- but I'm kind of excited to learn about something new- like what it's like to date men with jobs! It will probably cost a lot less and there won't be all those mornings where you wake up hungover with your awesome black eyeliner smudged and stained with waiter induced tears.

Final Countdown: Update

Somewhere in the midst of quitting my job, packing up my apartment, completing a midterm, and saying aloha to a million people, things, and cheeseburger joints it dawned on me that I have approximately two more days in NYC. Well to be honest, two more days now and maybe two more days later this month and that in all likelihood I will not be able to complete my NYC bucket list which consists of (in no particular order):

1) Ride on a double decker tour bus
2) Eat at Esca, Gotham Bar and Grill, and Per Se
3) Spend an afternoon at the Natural History Museum
4) Ride on the Circle Line
5) Take the Water Taxi to the Water Taxi Beach
6) Visit the Tenement Museum

But instead of getting upset or trying to cram it all in- I've also been looking back at the amazing things I have done here in the past two years, which include (in no particular order)

1) Go to both the Regional and National Air Guitar Championships and manage to get on stage at both events.
2) Ride a boat around the tip of Manhattan dressed as a pirate
3) Go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
4) Experience New Year's Eve "near" Times Square
5) Spent many an evening with friends dancing and possibly kissing someone in various bars
6) Had Mike Myers make fun of me
7) Sat next to Jake Gyllenhal
8) Seen Dolly Parton at Radio City Music Hall
9) Gone to Parsons
10) Lived on a great street in the West Village
11) Listened to the other end of many a conversation with Lenny Kravitz
12) Made really amazing friends and eaten at many amazing restaurants
13) Eaten sugar fries at Florent
14) Sunbathed at the Christopher Street pier
15) Walked the length of Central Park
16) Figured out the subway system for the most part
17) Found my inner compass for city directions (found my inner compass in life, hmmm...probably not yet, but getting closer)
18) Been bowling in Queens on numerous occasions
19) Worked in publishing
20) Worked a real job for longer than I ever have before
21) Watched Chinese musicians and dancers almost every morning for a summer in Sunset Park
22) Been VIP at She and Him

Whew- and this is just the short list of so many amazing experiences I have had, which makes me smile on the inside, feel a bit sleepy and happy to go back to a calmer life, something I think I'm going to celebrate tonight with one of my favorite things to do in NYC: walk to the Union Square movie theater, get a box of Nachos with cheese and a big Coke and watch a movie I may or may not be interested in- all by myself.