THE UNSALTED

When I was a teenager, I always thought the social activities my parents planned were so mindblowingly boring. Hosting a dinner party while telling the same old stories and asking the obvious questions? Snooze. Inviting people over for some wine and cheese, during which you get inappropriately drunk and think everything you say is hilarious? Snooze meets embarrassment. (“OMG mom, could you like, not?!”)

I never understood the essence of those incredibly dull dialogues, nor the pleasure in their convos. I’d describe my parents’ (and friends their age) social interactions as “so not cool, get me out of here before I sink into an endless coma of either boredom or humiliation”.

You decide you’ll never be like that when you grow up. You swear you’ll be hip and awesome and legendary. You take an oath to never. grow. old. At least not like that. I’ll tell you right now: you’re kidding yourself. Sooner or later, you will experience a day when you realize you are doing the exact same thing, and you didn’t even think about it. Wait a sec, am I really organizing a drink? And since when do I “occasionally” party in the weekends instead of during the actual week? When did this all happen? Are those.. appetizers? OH MY GOD, WHAT’S HAPPENING TO THE WORLD?!

Wasted Wednesdays become Friyays, snacks become appetizers, take-out meals with friends become actual homemade meals with “guests”. Even if you can’t cook shit. Yes my friend, you are now an official resident of.. adulthood. Despite what you might think, the transition happens quite fast, mostly as a result of this change: You now have a job. Whether it’s fulltime or parttime, you just don’t have the luxury anymore to go out whenever you feel like it. Sure, you can try to still party some nights even though you’ve got a shift at 8 AM the next day, but we all know you won’t keep that up for long. If you want to see your friends, you now have to check your schedule. (It sounds horrible, I know). And despite your greatest efforts: there will be moments (lots of them) when you just want to be left the fuck alone. You’ll be cranky, or tired, but for whatever reason: seeing someone because “you have to” or “planned this rendez-vous ages ago” doesn’t seem relaxing or alluring at all.

This might sound dreadful to you if you’re not one of us yet (Yet. Y-e-t. YET. Stressing the “yet” here), but it’s not. I finally understand what adult-time is all about. Having a relax dinner with your friends is wonderful. Getting drunk on wine while bitching about work and other people.. even more so. Nowadays, I get all bubbly and enthusiastic whenever I see a friend holding up a bottle of alcohol when (s)he arrives. We all cheer in excitement when a moment like that occurs. Picture it. That’s just beautiful. Beautiful, I tell you!

And you know what: arriving at that one chosen party (because yes, you chose that one over others for multiple reasons, which makes it THE party) feels great. Especially when that party involves Destiny’s Child, dear old Justin T or the ever great “No Scrubs” by TLC. Awww yeah, you bet you can say my name! You’ve been missin’ me all week!