I’ve been so busy lately with graduation, moving, and starting a new job that I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write properly. I feel like I’ve become a full-fledged househusband - buying appliances, grocery shopping, cooking, getting takeout, doing housework, the whole nine yards.
I recently posted something on social media: “Once this door closes today, it’ll be two different worlds from now on.”
The zeroth anniversary of graduation marks the end of my 23-year student career (my mom says I started kindergarten at two and a half) and the beginning of year zero of my working life. Over the past year-plus of job hunting, I’ve been through the wringer - weathered all kinds of storms - but gradually got used to it.
What is growing up?
Growing up means:
- When you walk into a supermarket, you discover that even the cheapest bottle of cooking oil costs 30-40+ yuan; a single bowl costs 10 yuan. You learn to budget carefully.
- You boil an egg first thing in the morning.
- When cycling, don’t wear a backpack - it makes your back sweat like crazy. Just put it in the basket.
- You can tell the difference between electric bikes with removable lithium batteries and those with non-removable lead-acid batteries. The lithium battery ones don’t look as nice.
- You carefully observe Beijing’s elaborate transportation system and discover there are bike lanes with well-designed merging and diverging. Follow the bike lanes and you can ride smoothly to your destination, even through overpasses. This is probably a lot like life itself.
- You can soak the shower head in diluted disinfectant for effective sterilization.
- Yeah, I’m just broke.
I don’t know what the future holds. I’ve been wanting to learn Android development lately and check out the book “First Line of Code.” But whatever path lies ahead, I chose it, and I’ll see it through even if I have to crawl.
Finally, a note to myself: as long as your spirit never dies, life will keep running forward.
– DevHu, recorded on July 4, 2015, at a rented apartment.