Update cupcake

Just kidding about the cupcake. (Sorry!)

Last week's trip: success!! It was wonderful. Somehow the perfect combination of adventures and relaxation was acheived. Friday night after work (and after rush hour died down) we drove to Indianapolis to visit with Sunny. Was a quick visit, but still nice. Saturday: Nashville! So so so much fun, and so exhausting! We wanted to take it all in (especially since Amanda had never been there before), so we saw tons of live music and did lots of exploring of the city. Sunday early afternoon may have been even better, though. We went back downtown and walked around, occasionally stopping to listen to live music and grab a beer/snack. The weather was beautiful, and nothing beats good live music.

Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday morning were spend camping :} It was lovely. We camped out right along the shore of Kentucky lake. Rented some kayaks, hiked, played frisbee, made fires, told scary stories (seriously), and just fucking loved it all. I really need to start putting pictures on facebook, I've gotten so bad at that!

So last week I only worked on Thursday and Friday. I could get used to that, haha. Yesterday, of course, was Chicago pride parade! Mass groups of happy people are always a good time. Mass consumption of alcohol and no water is not a good time. I am feeling the brunt of that decision today. I fell asleep sitting up on the bus this morning, and when the driver made a sudden stop I was not prepared. I fell into the lap of the guy next to me who was playing words with friends on his phone. Yikes! That was the first of many examples today that have demonstrated how tired I am, haha.

Something awesome I'm looking forward to tonight? Watching River Monsters at home, and then going to bed early. Hell yeah.

This:

Health? part 2

Oh my god. Just returned from lunch outside and it is incredible out there. Sun! Warmth! Human smiles aplenty! Today is a day where I drink lemonade at my desk because it tastes like the sun is in my mouth. The beginning of this week was rough (i.e. anxiety, stress, panic attack, me generally being angry and tired all of the time). But no more! I'm not sure what brought on all of the negativity, maybe it was Venus crossing in front of the sun. Yeah, that's probably it.

The coffee shop I frequent is on the first floor of my office building. There are 2 employees - 1 middle aged guy who seems to be the owner, and a very unpleasant 16/17 year old girl. I have never seen either of them smile. Despite the buttheads who work there, I go to this coffee shop nearly every day. And I get the same thing every single time: a medium coffee. Sometimes if I am hungry and rich I will buy a muffin. Anyway, the point of the story is that I am a regular now, and they get my coffee ready for me before I'm even at the front of the line! I love it.

Angsty girl was at the cash register when I arrived this morning, and the woman in front of me in line approaches her. Angsty says, "hello" but never looks up from the register. She is pushing buttons, and seems to be having issues with something. 10 seconds pass and she keeps pushing buttons, never looking up. The woman in line finally says, "I'll have a large coffee please". Angsty says nothing, just pushes buttons. Face: expressionless. The owner man, also behind the counter, is leaning against the wall watching the events transpire. I am embarassed for everyone involved. Finally, owner man walks over and asks the lady, "what do you want?" She says, "a large coffee" and he begins to pour it for her. He hands her the coffee, and reaches in front of angsty girl to push some buttons on the cash register. She says nothing. Without ever looking up, she holds her hand out for payment of the coffee. The woman hands her a credit card. Angsty swipes the credit card and hands it back. SHE NEVER LOOKED AT THE CUSTOMER. NOT ONCE. Like I said, despite the fact that I was in no way involved, I was mortified and embarassed.

My negative feelings subsided when I saw the owner man get my coffee and set it on the counter before I got to the front of the line. Angstly finally looked up, and as soon as she saw me she rang up a medium coffee on the register. I felt pretty cool. But still a little mad at these rude people. How does such an unpleasant pair of people get a job in an industry that thrives on positive customer interactions? I am inspired now to look this place up on Yelp....

*10 minutes later

They are not on Yelp - gah! But I did read all of the reviews of their other locations, haha. Toooootally not a waste of time ;)

Work is calling me. Bye!

Monday

This is the first Monday I've had to work in a while - it's not my favorite. Thanks to NATO and Memorial Day for giving me the last 2 Mondays off work. I suppose the 4 day weeks and the 3 day weekends had to end sometime.

I have a camping trip planned near the end of this month, which has the fixins to be awesome. Heading out on Friday night, staying with friends in Indianapolis, then driving down to Nashville, TN on Saturday for good times and live music. Sunday and Monday camping out near Kentucky Lake! We may stop in southern Illinois to visit my grandparents on our way home Tuesday night. Anyway, I think it sounds like a ball of fun and can't wait for the next 2 weekends to pass :) Though I am nervous about asking my boss for the time off. I have been putting that off. Shh, don't talk about it.

Amanda and I are trying some detox this week. No beers til Friday AND waking up to go for a run on Tuesday and Thursday. Haha, this should be interesting. We both want to be healthier, but we are terrible at acting on it! I see so many people out running in the mornings while I'm on my way to the bus stop, and I've felt so jealous of them. Finally, I realized I didn't need to be jealous anymore because I too could chooise to be a morning runner! Getting out of bed at 5:15 will not be easy, but it's certainly not impossible. As for the no beer rule, I figure that can't hurt, right? Several nights a week when we get home from work, Amanda and I will have a beer. Especially since it's getting warm outside, it's really lovely to have a beer on the balcony and talk for a while. But we don't need the beers, so why waste the money and the calories? We aren't drinking to get drunk, it's just become a bit of a habit. I think the no beer rule will help with the waking early, and the being healthier thing so we're going to give it a shot! Please wish us luck, haha.

Exciting news from yesterday: the baby birds from the nest on our balcony are growing up! One left the nest yesterday afternoon, and the three roomies (Amanda/Molly/Me) eagerly watched from the window as his adults tweeted encouraging words and would occasionally regurgitate food into his mouth. We named him Olivander. I think there are 2 other babies in the nest, so we may see some more "coming of age" action soon.

Okay, I've been putting it off long enough - time to get to work. Bye!

Even though I see this view everyday, it seemed extra nice today :)

It's that time again

End of the work week, it is Friday folks! All week I've been enjoying the weather, and the smell of Summer is slowly creeping in. It will be so refreshing to not wear a jacket (and scarf) to work anymore! And with the tip of Summer on the horizon I can't help but create this seriously lengthy "summer bucket list" in my head. There are just about a million things I want to do this summer, and I really hope I get to them all!

Next week I will start experimenting with working out (at the gym in my office building) during lunch. I know a few people who do this, and I think it's a really great idea. I can always eat my lunch at my desk afterwards AND it might deter me from smoking during the day :) I notice such a big difference in my lung capacity when I walk/run after (or during) smoking. Even this morning-- I chose not to have a cigarette on my walk to the bus stop, and was able to make the quick sprint down the block and across the street so I didn't miss the light. Because of this I caught a bus that I wouldn't have otherwise, and I wasn't late to work! See how that works?!

On Tuesday this week I went to a *free* reading at a bar in my neighborhood. There were 6 or 7 people who read stories about their lives. Some of them were funny, some were a bit more serious, but they were all so interesting. A lot of the stories were about weird or crummy jobs, which I can relate to, haha. Not this one necessarily, but some of my past jobs have been interesting for sure. Anyway, I went to this reading by myself because nobody was available so last minute. It turned out to be really fun to take myself on this little date :) I met a friend, drank a beer, listened to some stories, and had a lovely walk home on a warm night. Apparently this story thing happens on the 2nd Tuesday of every month, so I'd like to check it out again in June!

I'm about to head off to a meeting, but before I do I want to share some of my summer bucket list items with you!
- Go kayaking
- Camping
- Take a road trip
- Go to the beach (a lot)
- Ride my back around Andersonville (and possibly beyond, if I get brave)
- Baseball games!
- 6 flags
- Have some poker nights at our apartment
- Take a class (this one might be a fall thing, we'll see)
- Run a 5K
- Go to free/cheap concerts as much as possible
- Go to lots of neighborhood festivals
- Brew my own beer!

Alrighty, my coffee and I are outtie 9000. Cheers!

Meditation

I've always been intrigued (and intimidated) by the thought of meditation. Maybe it's because I associate introspection with anxiety and impending doom (haha?), but I would like to change that! For this reason I've added meditation to my summer bucket list. I often hear my own inner voice as critical, nagging, and overly analytical. What I'd like to gain from meditation is a more positive relationship with...myself I guess.

I am also very interested in meditation with my Amanda. It seems like it would be an insightful and intimate way to spend time together.

Okay, that is all for now :)