So my grandmother plops down on the grass with her arms stretched out wide, surrounded by rows of gravestones and says, "This is it."

Is that it?

Somehow, you figure that someone would notice what an incredible leap it is from your daily activity being 6 +/- hours in a classroom setting to 8 +/- hours in a workplace setting. But really, this leap is simple. It's from one desk to another, bigger one where you may or may not do things you are interested in. Honestly, work was pretty much what I expected it to be. Do some things that may or may not make sense with those talents that a liberal arts degree did not help me with at all, make some money while cringing at the tiny amount that shows up in a small bank account where more than half of it goes to cover expenses.

Somehow, I'm ok with being pretty much normal. Maybe that's because unlike the majority of my friends, I actually have a salaried job under a year out of college. (Only one other friend can say the same.) Maybe it's because I decided what I liked to do and actually make a career out of it (web design), while the majority of my friends are still in the midst of an identity-crisis and are racking up more debt by going to graduate school for something they may or may not be interested in.

Instead of the leap between school and work that's a difficult adjustment, it's a social leap and a question of 'What now?'. In the proverbial checklist of life I've already gotten to tick off high school diploma, college degree, landed my first job, and moved to a big city. But after that, things on the list become a little muddled, like someone went to the bar and used it as a napkin/coaster and that middle part before 'find someone you actually want to marry and not simply because you want to get married' gets distorted both through the fog of one too many drinks and as a casualty of condensation (no, I'm lying, it's actually just a bit of spilled, sticky vodka and something). Not that I've actually been to a bar and had a vodka and something in quite some time.

In one way, the years before college graduation were easy in terms of life goals. There were set out guidelines. College graduation had a date that was set and you either made it with most of the class or your didn't and spent a bit of time catching up. Except that now, no one sets far off dates for you. No one makes it clear what's next. Instead, you're left in a bit of a strange place. Somewhat comfortably thinking about how you should probably start that IRA next month and wondering 'what next?'

And all this time, through having my first adult roommate and making my first purchase from Ikea, I can't help but think of Fight Club. Where is the substance when you're living in a strip-mall city?

"You buy furniture. You tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you're satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you've got your sofa issue handled. Then the right set of dishes. Then the perfect bed. The drapes. The rug. Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you."