The alarm and the lady

You know what happened at 10:15 this morning? Something really annoying? Something that really shouldn't happen on a Saturday morning, especially when it happened last night as well?

Dooooaaadooooaaadooooaaadoooaaa

That's right. The fire alarm. I was half awake and it sounded weird. Then it stopped a little bit, it's funny how it does that, there's no sound in your room but you hear it from the hallway outside and from the other floors. It kept going and then it got quiet in here. I thought it had stopped because I couldn't here anything from the hallway or our kitchen either but then I heard a gentle doooaaadoooaaa from some other part of the building.

I gave up sleeping and wondered if I should go outside... Got dressed, put in contacts, brushed teeth. Alarm still going. Not gonna stop is it? I figured I'd go to the shop to buy something for breakfast, couldn't even hear myself think in here and maybe it would have stopped by the time I came back.

So out I went. Beautiful day, it's been snowing and the sun was shining on the mountains on the other side of the city. The sky was blue, the air was clear... I love being up early in the mornings, especially when the weather is like this, it just happens way too rarely (both getting up early and the weather being good). When I was halfway there (takes about 3 mins), an old lady stopped me. She asked me "isn't it wonderful when the sun shines?" (didn't shine on us, have to go to the other side of the bridge for that). We started talking a little, something Norwegians never don't do with people they just meet on the road (road is more correct than street in this case).

She asked if I was going to the store, and she said that was a good idea because there aren't so many people in the mornings. I said the fire alarm had gone off so I just needed to go out a little bit, and we started talking about the houses in the area, and the rent. She told me she had lived in the same house for 53 years, she pays less rent for a whole apartment than I do for my one room. She was 80 years old, but she didn't look 80, didn't sound like it either, not compared to my grandparents who are 80 and 81, and can't lead a conversation, much less walk to the store. She said I couldn't be too old, was I 18?

She was nice. I liked her. I generally like old people, unless they act old. Isn't that how it's supposed to be though; we don't like old people and sick people? I love how old people tell stories, and it's totally cool when old people talk about sex. My grandparents are the other kind of old, they don't tell stories, and they most certainly don't talk about sex (thank goodness for that). They don't walk either and they just sit there when we go to visit them. I just hope they're happy though, that's all that matters. But it's hard for me to imagine that they are...

I hope I'm fun-old and not boring-old in 50 years from now.

I just kept smiling after I met that woman. Sometimes that happens, when I talk to someone and it's a beautiful day, I just smile. Then I keep smiling for hours and people look at me like I'm a little funny. But so what? It's a beautiful day and it's good to be alive.

Now I have to clean my room...
*smile*
see, not even THAT can get this silly grin off my face