I’m coming up on a year of living on my own! Despite initial reservations, I’ve come to enjoy having my own apartment. One of the perks of living alone is doing whatever you want whenever you want. The independent life certainly agrees with me. My favorite pastime is just chilling in the morning, in my boy shorts, answering/sending work emails with a cup of coffee in my hand. After all, I live alone and no one can complain about my attire.

Yesterday morning as per usual, I was hanging out in my living room in the above mentioned manner. It was a good morning. I made my coffee just right. My bagel was on point, and to top it all off, it was projected to be under 100 degrees! Life was good on couch land. Then, all of a sudden, I heard a key and my front door lock turning. WTF was the expression on my mind. Then I remembered, my complex was repainting the front doors and would need to open the doors this week. “Shit!” Realizing in terror that I was in my underwear, I scrambled to the door, which was in the process of opening. The knob was slowly turning, in the process of exposing me in my skivvies. As the door was about to open, I victoriously slammed it shut and muttered, “Just a second!”. Then for a few moments (which felt like eternity) I stumbled around trying to find a pair of basketball shorts to toss on. It’s ironic when you need something it’s damn near impossible to find it.  After what felt like ages I found some and hastily put them on and then sheepishly opened the door for the painters. Fortunately they were only there for 20 minutes or so. I’m just grateful my “catlike” reflexes help avert what surely would have been an awkward situation. I still will continue my morning ritual. I’ve learned two things from this experience. 1: write down dates when maintenance occurs. 2: always keep a pair of shorts close by.