parties, ponderings, and posteriors

My home played host to a fairly successful party last night, which commemorated an impressive heap of events including but not limited to birthdays, ends of internships, and 1980's music videos. As one of those internships near completion was my own, I found it a good excuse to get tap-dancingly intoxicated and give words to my doting affection for some, lip-curling disdain for others, and bubbly hospitality for those I don't know. (okay, so i'm really not much of a bubbler, but i did show several people how to find the bathroom.) It was one of those crowded-kitchen parties--the sort where the living room has been decked out to accommodate for guests but we stupidly set the beer and snacks over the linoleum instead of the carpet, so the majority of party-goers found themselves uncomfortably crammed between the stove and the refrigerator while the rooms with music and seating remained cool.

In a quieter moment of the festivities I took a moment to let my brain catch up with me and made a few realizations. The primary of which is that I completely forgot to cut two major pieces for my welding project that morning, so i must remind myself to take care of that Monday. After that, however, I began to muse on life, the universe, and several other things, and it gave rise to wondering about that whole Butterfly effect. I have to wonder if I would be here now, doing what I'm doing, if my family hadn't moved states when i was 5 and I wound up skipping Kindergarten. The teacher who evaluated me that day--to determine whether or not I was ready for the first grade--probably considered it a fairly inconsequential move, but it has influenced every aspect of my life from there on. Who i've known. What i've learned. What i was doing when such-and-such happened. Who i've dated. Where I went to college. My time abroad. My career path...i mean holy crap, if we hadn't moved, what's to say I would have gotten into theatre? I might have been that kid who put effort into learning math and studied to become an accountant. Yeeeegh. If i hadn't had an amazing French teacher in high school, i doubt i would have thought to study abroad. If i hadn't had a seriously amazing technical director in college, I wonder if i would have switched from French to pursue a theatre major. And if i hadn't majored in theatre, would I have the friends I do, all over the planet? Would i be in Berkeley? Would i be joining the ranks of the hard-working financially bereft? Where would I be if that one teacher that one day had decided i wasn't ready for first grade? Would i be happier? wealthier? Thinking about graduation? Religious? Alive?

In other news, i think my legs look a little slimmer than normal, particularly the little area under the buttock. or maybe my ass has just grown.