Welcome to Real Life 101

When it comes to living on my own...I tend to fail.

I can't cook, I can't iron, laundry is questionable, and I definitely struggle with kitchen technology and appliances.  Over the years, my mother and roommates have tried their best to help navigate my independence--written out directions and recipes, distinct instructions on delicates and unmentionables, and the idea of spray wrinkle releaser. But there are several things that were left unmentioned--several things that lead straight to experiential learning.

For the first two years of college, dorm life was only a small step towards my independence.  But now, I have really branched out.  DC was a really big step for me and unfortunately, an apartment and even bigger step.  But I decided it was time to grow up--it was time to take on more responsibility.

Cooking has been a very slow, but productive experience! Two of my roommates at DC programs have this cooking thing on lock-down, but the third--well she's just as bad as me, so we are kind of experiencing responsibility together. After tag-teaming the old-fashioned way of washing dishes, we decided to branch out and use the dishwasher located conveniently in the kitchen! Who knew? 

The series of events that followed lead to Morgan and Melanie's very first real life, no guidance experience.

Lesson 1: DO NOT put regular dishwashing liquid in the dishwasher.

(Photo by Melanie Ciarrone)

Obviously, we did something wrong. 

(Photo by Melanie Ciarrone)

After two mops, and several soaked dishtowels, the floor was fresh and beyond clean.  But the dishes were still soapy, so we decided to start the dishwasher again. 

Bad idea.  Bubbles began to bust out of the irate dishwasher...again!!  My roommate just so happened to be right by her computer. She Googled "How to stop a dishwasher from oozing liquid soap."  Who knew olive oil and salt would defuse the exploding bubbles??  Thank you Wikipedia...problem solved.

Needless to say, Melanie and I now leave dishwashing duties to our responsible roomies.  Thank God they thought it was funny!

Originally posted on InkTank by Morgan Daniels on September 9, 2009.

When it comes to living on my own...I tend to fail.

I can't cook, I can't iron, laundry is questionable, and I definitely struggle with kitchen technology and appliances.  Over the years, my mother and roommates have tried their best to help navigate my independence--written out directions and recipes, distinct instructions on delicates and unmentionables, and the idea of spray wrinkle releaser. But there are several things that were left unmentioned--several things that lead straight to experiential learning.

For the first two years of college, dorm life was only a small step towards my independence.  But now, I have really branched out.  DC was a really big step for me and unfortunately, an apartment and even bigger step.  But I decided it was time to grow up--it was time to take on more responsibility.

Cooking has been a very slow, but productive experience! Two of my roommates at DC programs have this cooking thing on lock-down, but the third--well she's just as bad as me, so we are kind of experiencing responsibility together. After tag-teaming the old-fashioned way of washing dishes, we decided to branch out and use the dishwasher located conveniently in the kitchen! Who knew? 

The series of events that followed lead to Morgan and Melanie's very first real life, no guidance experience.