The Birthday

     I have been away for a while. So long, in fact, that I have most obviously aged. As almost everyone can probably tell by looking at me, I am now 26. It must be the new hair cut. It may also be a combination of the fact that my summer wardrobe is decidedly the style of a 26-year-old (the student trademark of jeans and hoodies being notably absent, rejected promptly upon the arrival of Spring), the fact that I now must work 3 jobs in order to afford life, and the fact that the anniversary of 3 April 1985 has passed for the 26th time. But it's mostly the hair cut.
     I say three jobs, and it sounds outrageous for a full-time student to work three jobs. But it's not so unadvisable as one might think. After all, when each job only affords a day or two a week, one can scarcely feel the affect on the study schedule of a mere 12 credit hours, especially when one can study at work. Oh no, it's the searching, not the working, that sucks my time away like the last drops of a strawberry milkshake.
     Because of the busyness and preoccupation with job searching and working the jobs that I have already found, kitchen time has suffered a serious blow, and entertainment time has nearly become extinct.  For this reason, the 'recipe' of the month is my two favorite quick and travel-friendly breakfasts, the movie and book of the month are blank, and the TV show is a beloved classic that can be watched while doing something else (as I have all the episodes memorized) and is over in 20 minutes. It's perfect for while I'm checking email, eating lunch, or both.
     It is now quite late at night. A stack of work sits before me next to my cup of now-cold tea. Time to reheat the tea and tackle the rest of the books and papers, and the online research for which they call, very little of which is school-related. To cite the famous metaphor, I've still miles to go before I sleep.

Despite her weary wings, the little bird is happy to be back.