The Anatomy of a Roadie House

Morning in La Mesa is mah favorite. For my east-coasters, I know it's already well into the afternoon, but here on this pretty Sunday morning, people are just waking up after late night conversations, spontaneous jam sessions (its kind of like Lee in that every other person seems to play guitar or sing) and crazy camp-style games. Therefore, the house is kind of quiet (a rarity) and I'm sitting next to the open sliding door looking over the balcony to the town below. Seriously, this house is awesome, and its only through the grace of the landlords that IC is able to keep renting it.

So here's the breakdown: the main level of the house has three bedrooms, all girls, with two bathrooms, one with two showers and one in the master bedroom which has another. Oh, and I forgot our half bath Also sharing these bathrooms are the girls in the loft, so shower times are interesting, but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. In the basement (which is sweet) live the guys, and, for the first time, a room of girls as well. Typically, the guys all share the shower and bathroom that is down there, but unfortunately the septic backed up Friday night. Somehow we were able to shut it off down there, but are still able to use our water upstairs, so now we have all 60 of us sharing the upstairs bathrooms. INSANE, right?! Somehow, it hasn't really made that much of a difference. Yes, it will be hectic trying to all get ready for work tomorrow (the landlords are hoping to fix it Monday or Tuesday) but it hasn't changed much. The guys are really great about giving the girls privacy, and it helps that they are only using the showers in the hall bathroom, not in the master.

Anyway, none of this may seem interesting or pertinent, but my point is: I've learned a lot already about living in situations I'm not accustomed to. Here's my uber-fortunate-middle-class-white-girl plug: Very rarely have I ever been uncomfortable in my life. Rarely have I had to adjust my living style or limit my belongings due to space considerations. And as ridiculous as this may sound, I've found it very freeing. I mean, girls are still girls here, we still blow dry our hair, put on makeup, and shave our legs, but it feels more like its by choice, not by some outside pressure to do so. Eh, maybe this is just ridiculous, or I'm making something out of nothing, but I feel like there's a peace that comes with that. Yes, the days are long and stressful, and only about to get longer and more stress-filled, but at the end of it, we come back to the house and its home. There's somehow a sense of peace in the midst of the chaos that inherently comes with living with 60 people. I counted the other day, and I believe that about half of us are returners, so all of us newbies are having to get to know one another as well as the returners, and fit into this little world that has been created here time and time again. It sounds crazy, yet somehow it works! This insane IC system of high expectations and demands has brought us to some degree of closeness. Not to say I know everyone's life history, but even if you're not close with someone, there's just that shared thing that you both have in common. We all come from different backgrounds and have been forced together in this strange marriage, but somehow I know its going to do something amazing.

Love and Peace,
SarahSweet mug we have in the house :)