Conversation with the Plumber*

Plumber: So Sleep, are the kids at school?

Me: *confused* I don't have any kids..

Plumber: Really? Then who do the toys all over the place belong to?

Me: *looking around frantically* Toys?! I have toys? Where?!

Plumber: You know, the drumset and other things in the living room.

Me: Those belong to us.

Plumber: Oh! Are you a musician?

Me: Um, sort of? *looks at the piano* But the drums are for the game Rock Band.

Plumber: *confused, maybe slightly embarrassed* Oh. *perking up* Well, if you need to practice.. *grin*

Me: No really, it's okay.

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*Plumber came yesterday to snake the kitchen drain. Stupid thing just stopped draining. No slowing down first, no warning. Just BAM! You can no longer use the kitchen sink or dishwasher! My downstairs neighbor works in construction, and was kind enough to help me the night before, but we only managed to make a mess. As it turns out, our pipes are old and nasty enough to be disintegrating, so all we managed to do was extract a lot of oil black water that I was informed was rotten pipe. It was disgusting, to say the least.

The whole toy conversation really threw me. I had no idea what he could be talking about when he said there were toys all over the place. My first thought went to the set of wind up tub toys I have (because I really like wind up toys, and who could resist a submarine that says "deep seeker" on the side??). But no, he meant our video games. No one has ever assumed I was old enough to have children big enough to play with something the size of Rock Band instruments. I mean really, they're not exactly small. I'm thinking a kid would need to be at least, what, six? I'm still carded for alcohol and given suspicious looks from time to time for crying out loud. What would I be doing with a six year old?

Originally, this encounter had me slightly embarrassed at the lack of order in my apartment. The more I think about it, the more it just makes me feel old. Maybe this guy is just so out of touch with technology that the only scenario he could come up with is that I must have children? But he wasn't all that old either, 40 at the most. And my parents are in their 40's and know about video games...

Whatever. Screw this, I am not old! Even if I will be 28 tomorrow, that is young baby! And I will play video games until the day I die, so there!