Can you blame me?

Life as a Bachelor

I've officially reached the halfway point of my end-of-the summer internship. It's been interesting to say the least. Some of the most memorable moments, however, have come after I've returned back to my temporary home for the night. My adviser, a female, has been away on business for the past week, and I've been left alone as the lone girl amidst two college-aged guys and one middle-aged man. I really didn't think anything of it at first, but there are definitely some striking differences between the house I'm living in now and the house I grew up in.

Perhaps the most striking difference comes when we sit down to dinner every night. First off, it goes without saying that we sit in front of the TV to eat dinner. As if we would even consider eating anywhere else! Next, the quantity of food served for four people is way more than I could even imagine. One night we had chicken, and when I went up to take my piece, I realized that there were two whole chickens on the platter. Half a chicken for each person! I quietly cut my half-chicken in half again and left the remaining quarter for one of the men to take care of for me. A few nights later we had bratwurts soaked in beer in onions and fried on the grill... I can't think of a manlier food than brats..but boy were they yummy!

Next up are the dinnertime conversations. For example, tonight I found myself defending my gender and our desire to carry purses. I was told that I should convince all females that purses are unnecessary. Then, one of them commented about how girls even carry the most impractical purses just because they look good with outfits and how he ends up carrying an extra set of keys and a cellphone. I think they finally agreed that purses are necessary when one of them pointed out that they really like it a lot when girls where "painted-on pants" and that trying to stuff anything into the pockets would ruin the whole effect. True that!