Adulthood Declined

Swoon

Posted on April 17, 2012 by AhDeclined

During the 5th grade talent show, in front of the entire school, I sang and danced a number from Peter Pan. I have plunged into the water from drops as high as 40 feet. While my purse was being stolen I stared at the gun that was used to take it. I take chances on new cities and jobs. At night I walk home alone on 14th Street.

So why is it so hard to tell someone how I feel? The fear of rejection seems to trump any fear of heights, public humiliation, and danger.

To be fearless I need these?

Nights that begin like that often end in mornings like this:

This morning in particular, as the headache and nausea wore off, I remembered something…
I tried to kiss him, but luckily he didn’t notice.

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Electric Me. Electric You.

Posted on April 2, 2012 by AhDeclined

The ability to be spontaneous is an amazing benefit of being in your 20′s… If you happen to be single and it is summertime, it is a requirement. One morning, I was on gChat catching up with a dear friend from the nationally acclaimed organization know as AUMX.

We did not have all the details worked out and less than 48 hours to plan, but we were willing to make this happen. The weekend was not only marked the end of summer, but my one year anniversary living in DC. Celebrations were in order. I guess it went something like this:

This happened:

By the end we were sweaty hot messes, tired and covered in glitter.

Posted in Cartoons | 2 Comments

Sorry to Burst Your My Bubble

Posted on March 13, 2012 by AhDeclined

As we grow up, we are required to take on more stuff that keeps you awake at night. I believe some people refer to these as, responsibilities. They can include; bills, maintaining friendships, taking care of yourself, and having a career.

As an adult, these things are easy to come by, it is actually balancing them all out that is the hard part. Recently I have found myself failing at everything because I just can’t seem to make all the responsibilities co-exist.

I look at this way… I am in my bubble floating around and everything is fine.

To keep the bubble afloat things in life must be good. Granted, I usually find that some things take a hit to maintain others.

If I am working all the time, it is hard to maintain a relationship.
When I am trying to save money, it is hard to go out with friends.
A busy social life and working all the time makes it hard to find time to call home.
And does anyone actually have time to do laundry anymore?

If one area of your life is empty and the others are doing alright, then it is not the end of the world.

When you are blindsided, and manage to ruin everything, thats when panic sets in, because you will fall right out of the sky.

I manage to mess things up at a rapid pace. Canceling plans, buying too many clothes, forgetting birthdays, and hurting people’s feelings.

Usually I can maintain the ship, but every once and while it happens…

The crash site is far below everyone else, it is called, Despair. It is a horrible place to be. Internal Organs feel like they are tied in knots and sleep is non-existent, not until one gets back into the air.

The only comfort is knowing that other people fall out of the sky too. Wandering around looking for a way back up. It requires mending the many things that were broken. No one should stay in this place very long because eventually it will lead to irrational choices that will make it all worse.

Once there is a plan to exit and return to the sky, the new ship will be ready and slowly over time things will return to normal.

Once again, around the other bubbles, there should be some reassurance that it will all work out. The glass will still be stuck in your skin, but after awhile, it won’t hurt as bad.

*This is dedicated to my friends for being supportive and putting up with me.

Posted in Cartoons | Tagged crash site, rapid pace | 4 Comments

Summer 2011 | Part IV Hurr!cane

Posted on March 12, 2012 by AhDeclined

Hurricane Irene was a BIG DEAL in the summer of 2011. This ‘hurricane’ blog has taken several trips to and from the drawing board. Things have been added and omitted. The aftermath has changed once or twice and there is more art than I can color.

There are also a lot of people involved in this story and unfortunately, Adulthood Declined cannot publish everything that happened that night without pissing off at least five people, hurting the feelings of one, and possibly getting someone evicted.

I also am having trouble remembering how it went. This happened many months ago, and while the details are still fuzzy, I do know it was one of the best nights I have had in DC.

So I guess it went something like this…

News coverage and warnings of HOW BIG and OUT OF CONTROL Hurricane Irene was going to be.

We all decided to stock up on provisions. Looking back, the supplies we gathered lead me to believe we are in danger of being alcoholics or just idiots.

Saturday was the worst of the storm, we decided to cook, drink and play games all day. The roommates were around and we had visitors too.

That night was the Happy Birthday 90′s Keg Hurricane Party, and as the sun went down we began to get ready.
I mean…the hurricane was supposed to be a Category 5 BIG DEAL. We wanted to look fabulous.
We got into the spirit of the night by singing 90′s tunes the entire way to this extravaganza.

Here marks the beginning of the end.

Irene may have diminished to a Category 2 by landfall, but the party was a Category 5, and we were all pretty shipwrecked. There was a moment I found myself wrapped in the high winds and the heavy rains of this storm surge. I could have been in the eye of this thing and would not have known.

We ran home without umbrellas still singing. The next day, the clouds parted revealing the brilliant blue sky as the sun reflected off the shiny streets and fallen trees. The hurricane was over, but the rain wouldn’t stop for several months.

Posted in Cartoons | Tagged hurricane party, vacation | 3 Comments

It has come to this

Posted on March 8, 2012 by AhDeclined

Choose 2:

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Summer 2011 | Part III Home Grown

Posted on March 7, 2012 by AhDeclined

I have been transient my entire life, living in many different cities from the West Coast to the East Coast. We would finish unpacking the last of our belongings, and then box them back up before the paint in our new house had even dried.

I am in the habit of making a home out of a place as fast as possible, knowing I will most likely not be there long. Over the Summer, I received some visitors that reminded me that I will always have a home on the Eastern Shore.
[whether I like it or not].

These are the kind of friends that know my entire past and will be there in my future. And when needed we can always find each other. It was nice to remove the distance between us for a night and just have fun.

[Most of that fun took place at Solly's on U and 11th, and we missed #4 dearly...yes you, Kaha.]

It did not take long to recall some of our past, and the place where we all grew up.

It also, did not take long to realize we were grown up [sort of]. Through the fun, the bullshit, the geography, the crying, the laughing, and now through this, we will always find a little bit of home where ever we are.