Living it Up

I told myself in January that it was my duty to wring every ounce of awesome out of this final semester. True, I have to get good grades and find a job and an apartment for May, but I also have to hang out with my fellow seniors as much as possible. Plus, I am finally twenty-one and have recently developed amazing drinking powers (thank you, London), so I have no choice but to go out there and live it up.

Here are some of the highlights of my recent exploits in the past week:

Wednesday: There was a total lunar eclipse, and my friends and I decided to make a party of it. We stood out on the quad and drank beer to keep warm in the freezing cold. Towards the end of the eclipse, we were so cold/tired/buzzed that we shouted encouragement to the moon: "You can do it, moon! Eclipse already so we can go inside! C'mon!" Our words did not hasten the process. Other students walking by thought we were crazy.

Thursday: Wrote a paper. Hey, I have to be a student sometime, right?

Friday: We got five inches of snow and had a snow day. I didn't realize it; I woke up early and spent the morning in the library before going to my 11:30 class. It was only when I noticed that the classroom door was locked and dark that it dawned on me that school was closed. I had lost a morning to sleep in! To vent my frustration I had a snowball fight with my guy friends. That made me feel better in no time.

Saturday: I went out into Manhattan with six of my oldest friends (that I've known since freshman year). We went to an awesome little Mexican place on 54th and 9th, and then we went to a local dive bar and split a few pitchers. At around 11:00, three kids decided to go back to the Bronx (wimping out on a Saturday night??), and the remainder of us decided to go all the way downtown.

Now when I say downtown, I mean downtown. We ended up right by the New York Stock Exchange; any farther on the subway and we would have landed in Brooklyn. We went to this cool bar called Ulysses', which boasted imported beer from all over the world. A good Irish girl, I ordered Guinness on tap. I have to say, it was one of the most delicious beers I've ever had in my life. Maybe it's because it's been so long since I've had one, but every sip was ecstasy.

So the four of us sat there in this cool bar, all the way downtown, and I was overcome with this marvelous feeling of satisfaction. Here I was, with good friends, good drinks, in the most exciting city in the world, on a Saturday night. How could it get any better? Okay, maybe Prince William could have strolled in and professed his love for me...

Anyway, Saturday night contained one of those moments that I look to achieve when I try to 'live it up'. I want to take advantage of this unique time in my life- I'm young, finally legal, I live in New York, and I have no serious responsibilities (mortgage, marriage, kids). I know that this time will not be forever, so I have to relish it while I can. So far I think I have been accomplishing my mission.

Until next time....