my own worst enemy

it's the simple things in life that keep me going on a day to day basis. iced lattes, The Office, myspace, and LL Cool J (not really) to name a few. among my favorites has always been the bubble bath, not only because i find the word "bubble" completely intriguing in itself, but who doesn't like a little r&r in a hot, sudsy tub of water?

today my bath unexpectedly took a turn for the worse as it dawned on me that i was sitting in a pool of my own dirt (among other things i can only presume). but it's not like i've never taken a bath before. these things should have crossed my mind years ago. so why the sudden insight? no se. maybe it was because i was reading Sedaris, and Sedaris always puts me in a (wonderfully) cynical mood. maybe i've been protecting myself; subconsciously i knew that if i ever even began to think of all the unsanitary things that a bubble bath actually is my frothy times would immediately cease. if that is the case, my subconscious was right.

though i can't tell you why these thoughts began entering my mind i can tell you they hit me like a ton of bricks. i began to panic. i'm no germaphobe, but i definitely have hygienic instincts. i can deal with clutter (hence the current state of my room) but not dirty dishes in the sink. visions of me drowning in my own polluted bathwater began flooding my head. the tiled bathrooms walls were closing in on me. only one thing was clear: there was no way out.

until i sat up.

let's take a step back. soaking in your own dead skin cells is unquestionably disgusting, but look on the bright side - at least they're your dead skin cells (unless you're sharing your bath time, but that's your conscious choice). who knows how many people's hangnails were floating around in the last swimming pool you jumped into? or how many people's pee you've splashed at your friends in the ocean? don't even get me started... i began weighing the pros and cons and the beginning stages of a panic attack quickly dissipated. i had riled myself up for no reason.

in conclusion, i've determined that the bubble bath is still on my simple pleasures list. so long as you take them at face value, it should still be on yours, too. once you can accept the fact that you are not in the tub to become clean, but simply for relaxation purposes your mind will once again be at ease.

c'est la bubbles.