To Do: Avoid Sentient Mould

As I wrote about last month, I was scared about how moving out on my own would go: I’d have to do all these responsible-adult-things all by myself. I was worried it would take up all my time and that I would cease to be able to go to classes or see friends because of all the responsible things I’d be doing.

Responsible-Adult Life

I figured there were some key things that people who had their own apartments did. So I started grocery shopping, cooking, doing my dishes after every meal and even cleaning my shower. But it was awful and time-consuming. I knew I would soon face exhaustion and had to find another way. The Internet had unequivocally shown that this level of responsibility was not sustainable.

How the Wise Near-Adults Live

Jump forward to the weekend when I visited my cousin’s apartment. He is five years older, seems to have his life together and is generally a respectable-adult-being. But as I turned to open the fridge to get milk for my coffee, he suddenly lunged forward to stop me.

But it was too late. There were awful smells already seeping out of the fridge.

I was puzzled, since usually fridges are for keeping food fresh and wonderful. Then he explained that the fridge hadn’t been opened in a loooong time. He said it had been so long that they no longer knew what was making the smell. But they were pretty sure that there was now sentient mould in there…

I was shocked. Here was a responsible-adult with a real job, real relationship and real apartment… but even he didn’t do responsible-adult-things like clean his fridge.

He had been subsisting on take-out sushi and other downtown amenities while allowing his appliances to harbor fugitive bad smells.

It was an incredible moment: I had seen the light and there was another way.

Alternatives to Real Adulthood

My mother often says I should just get the responsible-adult things over with because they're really not so bad.

But instead of listening to her too-sensible advice, I rebelled and set out in search of delicious take-out and other food options in hopes of avoiding my fridge forever.

I ate a lot of Chinese food at New Ho King that week. Lots and lots of delicious New Ho King.

But I still knew it would be important to eat vegetables to ward off scurvy so I also ate at healthy food places like Harvest Noon café on campus. For about $5, you can get tasty food between 10am - 2pm every weekday.

Then I remembered that I actually like vegetables but I hadn’t had time during midterms to go grocery shopping for them. I started feeling a little more optimistic about my fridge and eating from it. So I ordered a Good Food Box through UTSU. For $13, I received a box of local veggies and fruit.

It just arrived yesterday and seems like a lot but what’s the worst that can happen? At less-than-grocery-store-prices, I will be able to avoid scurvy and time-consuming responsible-adult-grocery-shopping.

And I hear sentient mould makes for an interesting roommate, if nothing else.

- Kay