lately

ran into a cousin of mine in the Punjabi Market on Main today. Was there keeping my grandmother and mom company, but had gotten tired of their shopping antics ("we need to go to one store and get one thing." somehow becomes a 3-hour trip) and was sitting in the minivan, idly reading the Georgia Straight and listening to random rock on the Fox when she strolled by, saw me, was amazed, and came over and knocked on the window. I, understandably, jumped out of my skin (I hate the sound of knuckles on glass.) and got out of the car, and so a half-hour conversation began.

we used to work together at House of Brussels, and I hadn't seen much of her since I'd started school; the odd email or phone call or run-in at a family gathering (sister's wedding included), and so it was a lot of catching up from what I knew, and that was well and fine...

...fuck, whatever. I'll get to the point.

She's off to South America in a matter of weeks. Is putting a darkroom in the back yard. Has a car, and an exciting job as a freelance writer/photographer; we had a lengthy chat about Chomsky and how she interviewed him, and then how he had tea with her, and invited her to Indianapolis...

...and all this because she's not bothering with school, but works down on Granville Island (some tea place) and has the time to do it.

So, I'm a little disillusioned. I have another 3, maybe 4 years ahead of me, spent frantically learning in school and frantically finding work when I'm not, probably stuck in the suburbs, working towards a degree that I have no idea what I'll do with when I'm done. It would be so easy; find a pair of shitty jobs, and work until I have what I need, then go travelling...

[there's no way to adequately denote large periods of time spent mulling, so read this and then go away for ten minutes and then read the next line]

...no. I've started this, and I'll see it through. Even if it takes six years, I'll still be 23 when I graduate, and there's still plenty of time to see the world and be a crazy idealist.

...right?