erased memories
this evening, i suddenly thought about the very first (and only) roommate i had as an undergrad. earlier tonight, i was looking at some caseflow analysis and case management worksheets from work. i penciled in some numbers, but ended up doing some extensive erasing when suddenly, a long-forgotten memory of my roommate reappeared in my head. so sit back while i tell you a story:
it was november '92. my roommate was a young one--still 17 when we started college. that month, she turned 18, so a bunch of us girls on my hall decided to make her first birthday away from home (and her 18th) a special one. we did the whole birthday celebration thing. and we got a cake for her. it was fun, although i remember being stressed out that day because i had tons of biology homework and an exam due the day after. anyway, somehow i can still remember the cake: chocolate with white icing and blue & green writing. of course, since it was a huge sheet cake, there was a lot left afterwards so my roommate transferred the rest to a large plate and kept it in a corner of our room just below my desk.
a day or two after the celebration, i remember her deciding to help herself to some leftover birthday cake. she sliced up a piece, and the next thing i knew, she was yelling out my name, and spitting out the cake. puzzled, i looked blankly over at her and asked "what's wrong?" as she went on: "remember the other night, you were sitting at your desk doing biology worksheets? and i saw you doing a whole bunch of erasing? well those eraser bits all ended up in my cake". then it dawned on me: i did remember those genetics worksheets. they were punnett squares, and i recalled erasing a lot with one of those pink block erasers, and then brushing and blowing the dust bits off my desk, not even thinking that my roommate had set the cake right below.
i looked over at the cake remains and was horrified. i mean, it was covered in eraser bits that looked like confetti, or sprinkles, or chocolate shavings. i felt so bad that i was rendered speechless initially, and than i busted out laughing. hmmm... i don't think she talked to me for the rest of that day.
