No Milk, off Milk, to much Milk, soy Milk.....

No Milk, off milk, to much milk, soy milk. That was the analogy that sprung to mind as I tried to encapsulate my living arrangements to date. As you leave school, go through your university days and then head into young professionalism, a major factor in your lifestyle is obviously where your bed is parked and what surrounds it. I just thought I would give you a little insight to how my last few years have developed from a living point of view.

No Milk, my first room out of the nest. This was a student accommodation setup by Unicol in Dunedin which I spent my first year “studying.” Unicol is Dunedin’s biggest Hall of residence with close to 500 people and far far away from any parental supervision. On the surface there is actually a bit of structure to the whole setup with organised meals, events, support staff, RA’s, it is the perfect place to start your university adventure. I was fortunate to be in the “flats” which were situated over the road from Unicol. This gave you time out from the towers, but still allowed you to be apart of the formalities. This was my first experience of living with 5 strangers and learning to work with people’s differences. There was milk provided every two days which signifies the formality, but it never got close to a cup of tea or bowl of cereal. It was either stolen by the neighbours, poured over you while sleeping, or used in a microwave experiment. None of these examples were initiated by me of course.

Off Milk, this put’s the following years in a nutshell as I became a North Dunedin resident. Being completely responsible for a run down house with 6 of your mates, and every neighbour in the same scenario, JACKPOT! I could go on for hours on the informality of student culture, where a hole in the wall means easy access to the next room and a burning couch generates you a fan base. However, this is a snapshot of young adulthood living development, so I must go on! Off milk refers to living in what would be determined as squalor to many, but considered as paradise to us involved at the time. When the udder dispatch actually was around in the fridge, there was nothing in this situation to have the milk with.

The to much milk scenario finds you fresh out of Uni and living with people new into the workforce. This equates to having money, but adjusting to a busy lifestyle. There is always milk in the fridge, it’s more about finding time to delve into it. Working late, Midweek socialising, fitness, weekends away, all majorly factor in your dairy consumption. The drain was the biggest blue top consumer over this period.

Soy milk brings me to my current living situation where I have worked out my milk/life balance, however now find myself living with 3 girls. In the Tofu, Soy, Low carb, wheat free, organic, barn laid land that is todays female, I am the free range piggie in the middle. The current flat shops are a hilarious series of events between aisles which basically brings me back to the no milk section of the cycle.

Next time I am offered a hot drink, it will be a black tea I think.