Contradiction
This is the name of The Tyrant's new line of perfume...

Just kidding.

What I really mean is that today was a contradiction of age for me.

I spent the better part of my day at my parents' house... doing my laundry.

Yes, I own my own home. Yes, I own my own washer and dryer.

I am also the proud owner of a bad pipe underneath my house that sends water back into my house when I run my washing machine. It is a very expensive problem that I have not had fixed, yet. Hence, I spent the day borrowing my parents' washer so I could do my laundry without ruining more of my house because of a stupid pipe.

The doing of my laundry at my parents' house made me feel like a kid again. During college and right after graduating college, I spent many a Saturday at my parents' house, borrowing their laundry facilities. Today felt like this.

Then tonight, I went rollerskating.

Yes, I am an adult. Yes, I am nearly 30 years old.

And yes, I met a group of friends tonight to go rollerskating.

But, after five minutes of the round and round to terrible rap music, I was done. Why was this fun when we were kids? Round and round, same circle, over and over. Falling down. The embarrassing and socially crucial activity of "couples skate". You don't really want to hold hands with a boy and skate, but then again you don't want to be that kid standing by himself against the wall underneath the blacklight.

This whole rollerskating activity made me feel very old. We were surrounded by kids who were both faster and bouncier than I am. They could zip around and fall down, and be up on the saktes again in no time at all. Kids, however, who were apparently not having fun until they bought glowsticks. For whatever reason, skating is much more fun with a glowstick, apparently.

I had nary a glowstick.

It's weird being 20-something. You are physically an adult, but it takes some special reminders sometimes to remember that you are a grown-up.

I'm definitely too old for rollerskating.

But not too old for glowsticks, I think. It would make going to bed at a reasonable hour after soaking in a hot bath much more fun.

C.T.