So I've now had my very first real away-from-home like experience: Our washing machine died. We, the people of the house, our little community of adults had to fix it. Not physically fix it, mind you, but I'm very much accustomed to seeing something like water spilling out the bottom of a washing machine and fixing it by yelling, "Dad, there's something wrong with the washing machine!" and then waiting for further instructions.

This time, each of the members of my house started working on individual tasks, with no sort of instructions whatsoever. My one housemate's boyfriend did most of the work, being the strongest one in the house, and my next door neighbor had to come over, but all in all, we managed to solve the problem ourselves.

None of this is of particular note, except that it has made me realize that having your own place comes with more responsibility than making sure it's kept clean and the bills get paid on time. There's like actual stuff that you have to do. There's recycling and garbage to go out every week, and appliances that have to be looked after. It's just crazy. Moreover, it gets me to thinking, how the hell is it that I got here? I mean, I remember tonnes of events in my life leading up to this point, but there seems to be very little transition between my having been playing in a leaf pile or making snow angels and my going to school, and living in a house, and paying rent and mopping up washing machine water. Where the hell did the time go? More importantly, what do I do to make the rest pass more slowly?