Fireside Chats with Julia are stories I share that are unrelated to my regular recipe posts. They are my way of sharing bits and pieces of my life experiences, thoughts, and general ridiculousness. Spoiler alert: I use the F-Word in this episode.

Fireside Chats with Julia - Episode 2: On falling off the top bunk

Itโ€™s been a while since our first fireside chat. Because Iโ€™m spending the weekend sitting around a campfire, I thought it appropriate to have another fireside chat with you. So for this episode, we can crack open some beers, roast up some โ€˜mallows and enjoy some gooey sโ€™mores while we chat about falling off a bunk bed.

A few weeks ago, I went in Breckenridge, CO for my long-time friend, Kristinโ€™s wedding. Kristin and I have been friends since khaki mini skirts and the Thong Song (read: 8th grade), and over the years we mingled with the same group of friends. Since our high school friends (including myself) were coming from out of town for the wedding, we arranged our accommodations in advance through a string of emails. We all would be staying in the same house, and I was assigned the bunk room. I blame this on being 5โ€™3โ€. Short people always get assigned the bunk room. But I happen to love bunking, so the height thing is a moot point.

Once I found out I’d be sleeping in a bunk bed, I immediately called top bunk. Who wouldnโ€™t? Especially if you have prior experience top bunking.

Letโ€™s back up a smidge. I grew up with two brothers and a sister, which means there was a lot of Indian giving, dead-arm punching, and room sharing when I was a kid. My sister and I had bunk beds for years and you can imagine who dwelled top bunk. Moi. And I was a pro. I was a pro at sleeping, eating, and playing Tetris on my Game Boy on the top bunk. For this reason, I at no point questioned my ability to sleep for 4 nights on the top bunk at my friendโ€™s wedding. I thought Iโ€™d be a top bunk maven, per ush.

Fast forward, and Iโ€™m squirming with excitement on my flight to Denver. I get to see my Kristin, I get to see my buds from high school, I get to get drunkโ€ฆfor like daysโ€ฆ, and I get the top bunk. Life is going to be rad.

Once everyone has arrived in Denver, my buddies from high school immediately start a game of Ice. If youโ€™re unfamiliar with the game, itโ€™s simple. Some bastard hides a bunch of Smirnoff Ice around the house and whoever finds the Smirnoff, drinks the Smirnoff.

My version of participating in this game is hoarding the Smirnoff I find (as opposed to drinking it) and strategically re-hiding it to target certain individuals. A game of Ice is always made better by re-icing, in my opinion.

So I do some Smirnoff Ice hoarding, and we all drive to Breckenridge the next day.

Upon arrival to the bunk room, I immediately observe how otherworldly this bunk bed is. First, the frame is made out of logs, and Iโ€™m 98% sure Paul Bunyan built it with his bare hands. Second, the height of the bunk is like none I have seen. Itโ€™s 20 feet tall. Third, the bunk room has no windows and is situated on a concrete floor with a single fancy rug, which leads me to believe this was once some sort of utility room. If you know me at all, you know this outfitย is straight up my alley.ย  In essence, the bunk room is my jam.

In spite of my doe-eyed Iโ€™m-going-to-bunk-the-crap-out-of-this-bed attitude, there are two problems I observe. Problem #1: the elevation. The bed is really freaking tall, and Iโ€™m not. It practically has its own atmosphere.ย  Will there be rain? Should I have packed my poncho? I wish my legs were longer. Problem #2: Lack of ladder. Because this bunk is a straight up badass and was built by the behemoth known as Paul Bunyan, it comes with no ladder. Unless you consider the horizontal logs that are 10 feet apart at the foot-end of the bed a ladder. But no worries, I shall overcome. Iโ€™m a mountain person, so Iโ€™ll adjust quickly to high-elevation bunk. Iโ€™m also fairly fit when Iโ€™m sober, so I already know I can hop, skip, and jump my way up the non-ladder ladder. No prob.

I hide one of the Smirnoff Ices that I had hoarded under my bunk mateโ€™s pillow and get on with my day. The buds and I wander the town of Breck, get ourselves some crepes, and collectively decide this wedding needs a shot ski.ย  Have you heard of a shot ski?

Hereโ€™s how a shot ski works:

  1. You get yourself an old ass ski (preferably 1980’s or older)
  2. You glue or skrew shot glasses to it.
  3. You fill said shot glasses up with booze.
  4. You, plus your gang of shot skiers, collectively take shots off of the ski.

This is what it looks like to shot ski:

Fireside Chats with Julia - Episode 2: On falling off the top bunk

Photo by Happy Confetti Photography

If you are one of those people who went โ€œon vacationโ€ in a mountain town, and โ€œnever left,โ€ this is why. The shot ski.

Anyhoo, we need to find ourselves a single ski, so we poke around ski shops. One of the employees of a ski shop is bemused by our enthusiasm and tells us we can have one of his skis (The other ski had done broke itself in some sort of shredding-the-gnar cliff-hucking hoorah, so he only had one ski left from the pair. No one needs only oneย ski unless it is to shot ski).

We secure ourselves the ski, shot glasses, and super glue. Badabing badaboom, we have ourselves a shot ski. This shall serve as entertainment and wedding present. This is a twofer. This is crafty, thoughtful, practical, economical, and dope.

That evening, weโ€™re all playing Cards Against Humanity whilst hounding the booze. If youโ€™ve never played Cards Against Humanity, itโ€™s an ahhhdult version of Apples to Apples. Each round, someone reads a question or fill-in-the blank from a black card and the rest of the players respond with their most amusing white card.

For instance, one may read, โ€œComing soon to Broadway: ______ the Musical.โ€ In your hand, you may have cards that read, โ€œa slightly shittier parallel universe,โ€ โ€œsome douche with an acoustic guitar,โ€ โ€œDick Cheney,โ€ โ€œBATMAN!!!โ€ โ€œEdible underpants,โ€ โ€œStephen Hawking talking dirty,โ€ or โ€œthe Virginia Tech Massacre.โ€

You may (if youโ€™re me), choose the latter so that when put together, the cards read โ€œComing soon to Broadway, Virginia Tech Massacre the Musical.โ€ You will most certainly win the round, but your friends may think youโ€™re an asshole. They will look at you like youโ€™re crazy. Clearly, you should have directed your friends to your first Fireside Chat (On Being an Asshole) so that they would have acclimated themselves to your assholiness prior to the trip.

Anyhoo. Booze. Cards. Bed.

Like the old lady I am, I go to bed early and the boys stay up to get drunker and hang in the hot tub. I clamber up the non-ladder ladder of Paul Bunyan Bunk and plop myself in bed for some shut eye. Just as Iโ€™m about to fall asleep, my phone chimes, signifying a text message.

This is when shit gets real.

Itโ€™s pitch black, alcohol has been consumed, Iโ€™m sleepy McSleepsalot, and this sans-ladder bunk is the one thing that stands between me and a text message.ย  I employ a bunk de-mounting method I used frequently as a child. Itโ€™s called Shimmying off the Bunk with the Grace of a Disney Princess. Okay, thatโ€™s a lie. Itโ€™s called throwing yourself off the bunk.

This method works when a.) youโ€™re 8 and youโ€™re made out of bricks. II.) your bunk bed is standard heightย  3.) youโ€™re sober, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. D.) Itโ€™s not pitch fucking black in your room with no windows. V.) The floor isnโ€™t made out of concrete. Translation: throwing myself off the bunk did not work this time around.

My left foot hits the log bed frame before I collapse straight onto my side on the concrete floor. And lay there. Forever. Whimpering like a ninny. What happens next is a total mind blow. As I lay there, I begin questioning everything as though this was a life-changing event. My toeโ€™s broken = my lifeโ€™s broken. What led me to falling off the bunk? Why did I reaaaaaally fall off the bunk? Should I stop drinking (the answer is no)? Is my life in shambles? My life is in shambles.

After I conclude that falling off a bunk = I need to figure my life’s shit out immediately, I put myself back together and hobble to my phone.

This is what I discover on my phone:

Fireside Chats with Julia - Episode 2

With a message from my bunk mate that says, โ€œThereโ€™s a fox in the house!โ€

Thanks. ย My life’s now broken because of the damn fox and Paul Bunyan.

What feels like hours later, my bunk mate comes in and says โ€œHey! Hey, Julia! Julia, weโ€™re feeding a fox!โ€ to which I respond, โ€œwhat kind of fucking bunk bed doesnโ€™t have a laaaaaader?โ€

He giggles awkwardly and walks out to continue feeding Bear Dog (which is the name of the fox). Hours later again, bunk mate comes back, discovers the Smirnoff Ice under his pillow, curses, laughs, then passes out.

The next morning, I shamefully limp into the kitchen. Luckily in this crowd of winnersย who have far more shit together than I do (Iโ€™m still in my-life-is-in-shambles mode at this point, mind you), there is a nurse and a physical therapist. I whine, we determine one of my toes is sprained or broken, I get taped up. I limp along. Business as usual.

The wedding is beautiful, we take all the shot skis, we dance to all the songs, and enjoy the remainder of our trip. And I donโ€™t fall out of the bunk bed anymore.

That’s the story of falling off the top bunk, but haste: there is something to be learned. There always is.

Lessons that can be learned from this story:

  1. No text message is worth getting out of bed for. Ladies, Iโ€™m talking to you. Donโ€™t text and bunk. It just ainโ€™t worth it. When inebriated on a bunk bed built by Paul Bunyan in a dark ass room with a concrete floor, you can wait until morning to look at your phone. Thereโ€™s really no reason to throw yourself off of a bunk bed. Not ever.
  2. Just because you fell off the bunk doesnโ€™t mean your whole life is in shambles.
  3. Alternatively, just because your whole life is in shambles doesnโ€™t mean you need to throw yourself offย of a bunk.
  4. Upon falling off a bunk bed, you should work on your dismount. Practice makes perfect and thereโ€™s always room for improvement.

Enjoy your holiday weekend, and if youโ€™re going to fall off anything, donโ€™t let it be a bunk bed that was built by Paul Bunyan.

Julia Mueller
Meet the Author

Julia Mueller

Julia Mueller is a recipe developer, cookbook author, and founder of The Roasted Root. She has authored three bestselling cookbooks, – Paleo Power Powers, Delicious Probiotic Drinks, and The Quintessential Kale Cookbook. Her recipes have been featured in several national publications such as BuzzFeed, Self, Tasty, Country Living, Brit.co, etc.

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Questions and Reviews

    1. Haha! I usually post my Fireside Chats on the weekends, so lots of people miss them. I’m glad you enjoyed the read! xoxoxo

  1. Now that just sounds like an EPIC wedding weekend. I could not have handled a 20 foot ladder-less bunk AND a fox though. Maybe one or the other, but certainly not both.

  2. You know, I think I’ve heard of shot skis before but I just thought it was a funny nickname for shots! haha, woops.

    Your fireside chat was hilarious and I hope your toe is better! No bunk for you next time, killer.

    1. I actually thought the same thing until my friends and I became frequenters of T Club (in Truckee) and really boozed it up via old school ski. Those days are definitely over, but shot skis make for good memories, I tell ya. Next time you’re in the area, we’ll do a shot ski..even if it’s summer time. Shot skis don’t discriminate ๐Ÿ˜‰

  3. oh wow, I used to *love* that song and my mother would listen in horror. And this post literally made me lol.

    #5. Don’t feed woodland creatures, or they will bring their friends back to part-tay. Fed a cute baby squirrel in a wooded rental once, and they came back in swarms. have you ever witnesses more than 2 squirrels together?! its intense.

    1. Oh gawl, I can only imagine what would have happened if Bear Dog invited his friends. Some of us (myself not included) weren’t too keen on the idea of bringing a fox inside AND feeding it (cashews, by the way), but there’s just no stopping a pack of drunk boys.

  4. Haa, omg. This is hillarious. I also love your version of Icing people — we normally just hand it to someone and say “you just got Iced!” like it’s the 90s and that’s a thing people say.

    1. Your version is pretty awesome, too! Just think how amazing it would be if Ice Ice Baby played every time someone got iced. Oh jeez, I think I need to go buy me a pack of Smirnoff.

    1. So happy you got a kick out of it, Susan. There’s always something funny about a grown human falling off a bunk bed and getting injured ๐Ÿ˜‰ Hope you had a great weekend!

    1. YES! You will love Cards Against Humanity! It’s cheap entertainment and really helps you to see your friends’s true colors, ha!

  5. This was the most magical thing I’ve ever read. I want to be your best friend and take ski shots with you. I’m also amazing at cards against humanity. My favorite card is “an even bigger black dick”.

    1. Haha! So glad you liked the chat and I’m always up for a game of CAH! “Two midgets shitting in a bucket” is a close second to “an even bigger black dick” ๐Ÿ˜‰

  6. Hahahaha! Well, not you falling off the bunk bed and killing your toe. Just the whole thing. And, I will say it before the girl does: You are going to mesh with Alex like the two of you are siblings. (Did that just get weird? Probably.) Furthermore, if you end up in the same type of situation when you visit us, I’ll make sure that there is a mattress for you to land on. Just in case you forget your lesson learned.

    1. Re: Julie’s comment – We live in Peoria. You’re more likely to end up stuck in a sketchy hotel than a 20-ft bunk bed with no ladder. But we’ll provide you with bug spray. (Jokes. You’re staying with us. Yes, I’m saying it now.)

      Also, I love you.

      Also, Alex would so shot ski with you. Julie is right.

      1. Youuuu ladies! I can’t wait to hang out with the lot of ye. I’m so glad my toes won’t be at risk when I go to IL and even happier to know I have a shot ski buddy waiting for me when I get there. I wuv you too, my dear!