More On My Mind, Less On My Plate

Hey, can you smell that? Yep, that’s some serious blog neglect in the air. Whoops!

Before I start anything, I refuse to let this go unheard because some feedback would be divine: Who else can’t help but giggle each time they drive past PaPa’s Pizza and see that sign that says “Our pizza is so fresh even Will Smith gets jealous!”? Whoever thought of that little kicker for the sign deserves a few extra nickels each hour.…

What can I really say about what’s been going on these days? Well, I’ve been working less; which has been great for sleeping in, making crafts, and spending quality time with my cat. However, this has been just awful for my financial state and my general well-being. Worry not, I have indeed been keeping busy, if making multiple trips to the craft stores, trying to catch last-minute Borders sales, and dancing to “You Can Call Me Al”  constitutes as keeping busy. I’m not sure you do, but I’ll take it for now. The dwindling hours at work is the result of difference of interest, but rest assured, I’m completely happy with where my hours stand. I felt like I could actually enjoy the end of summer. However, it’s slightly bad (okay, really bad) for my motivation. It’s hard to want to get another job after your job over the past two years has driven you to the ground and at this point, I’m ready for retirement. Unfortunately being 23 and living in this country definitely puts retirement off for way too long for me to even ponder. Eh, so it goes. Ways to make some cash will be sought after soon. For now, crafts have taken the front seat.

As we head into Autumn, I couldn’t be more excited for what that truly entails. This season inspires me like crazy and I’m always down for weather that allocates the windows to be opened and the air to be turned off. I want to make a billion Halloween themed crafts and cannot wait to sip that cider! I wish I owned a bike so that I could send off summer officially by riding around armed with a balloon bouquet whilst listening to “I Might”, one of my favourite Summer tunes of 2011. The song just screams out that image—trust me. One thing that enamors me the most in the Autumn is the fashion excitement that hits me like a ton of bricks. I won’t drone on about that here, but feel free to check out this post at my main blog home if you’re interested; [CLICK]

As football remains on the screen throughout the day (we are lucky subscribers to the NFL Sunday Ticket) which means football ALL DAY, but this September weather isn’t really making me feel awesome about staying in (worry not, I got a walk in). Rainy Sunday football watching IS THE BEST, but with the start of football also means the start of some seriously awful weather. It’s the kind of weather that forces me to wear three layers of every clothing item in order to keep just the teeniest bit toasty. I always dread the cold, but I never mind the snow. HOW ABOUT THAT BEARS WIN?! If you can remember, it is a more pleasant start to the season than last year’s opener with the Lions and then falsely winning the game. I’m glad we actually won this opener and will hopefully rocket out a great season.

I’ve figured out what may have me feeling a tad off and that is likely the lack of escape that I encountered these last four months. My counterpart and I tend to get out of the Oak for the course of a couple days in the summer just to get away from the hectic-ness that is the suburbs of Chicago. I miss that/needed that this summer. This may be one of the last winters that we find ourselves in Chicago, for at least a few years anyway. There has been some serious planning of moving to Portland, Oregon sometime before February. It’s a city that holds endless appeal to us and after going there and experiencing no sales tax, it was just too much for a Cook County resident to handle. Needless to say, we got caught up in the coffee and the scenery and didn’t look back. Now we dream of the day we can nestle in a comfy little home in rainy Portland with our cat and some seriously supurb coffee beans. ... How typical. Have I told you about my unstable relationship with sunshine? Yeah, it will be a move for the better.

As I write this on 9/11 I feel a few words are appropriate as I wrap this up. I was in eight grade in 2001, but luckily I was home sick that day with strep. I remember waking up and popping on the news-so hip-to-it as a teen! (I jest)—and watched the coverage of what had just occurred. I watched, eyes glued to the screen; anxious newscasters report on the latest they’d received while trying to make sense of something that seemed to make none at all, people that were trying to hold their composure with the notion that just one plane had hit just one tower. Then it happened, mere minutes later, the tower’s counterpart was then too struck by atrocity. This time I was able to watch the reactions of others; others who knew the importance of those towers, that day, and how our policies would inevitably change because of it. I was not too young to watch, not too young to forget, but there will never be an age I reach that allows me to make perfect sense of what we have carried out over the past 10 years. What is being done to actually MAKE us safer, instead of just making us FEEL safer? The documentaries that have poured out over the occasion have been really fascinating to watch, Day of Destruction specifically was a highlight on MSNBC with the prolific two-fer that was Rachel Maddow and Richard Engel.

All in all, more has been on my mind than on my to-do list, but I'm okay with that. Hopefully all has been well with Patch readers as I've finally decided to come out of my cute little blog hiatus. Enjoy the week!

[final note] This is probably pretty serious as well, guys. I know I didn't mention XRT in this post. I know you're probably wondering if this is an imposter blogging for me or wondering what's really going on here. DON'T WORRY. I am still obsessed ... and knowing that I can still listen in Portland is simply fantastic!