Butterflies

Inexplicably, I can't stop smiling today. Despite the fact that I woke up late, and didn't have time to wash my stinky hair. I'm just in a really good mood. Spent the night in the burbs last night with my mom and brother. My littlest baby brother is en route to his new apartment in DC today! He's got himself a nice job lined up, and he seems pretty happy (with a side of nervousness).

In some ways, I feel nostalgic thinking about that feeling I had after graduating college - like the world was at my fingertips (corny, I know). But it's true. And at the same time everything seemed ridiculously far away and unattainable. College really does prepare you for all sorts of scenarios, but it didn't really prepare me on how to get to those scenarios, haha.

Of course, my brother is in a totally different boat than I was. He had his job lined up before he even graduated! How does a senior in college have that much forward thinking?! I know I certainly didn't. When I graduated, I ran away to Australia. As we all do at some point.  I'd had a nasty break up towards the end of my senior year, I had absolutely NO idea of what I wanted to do as far as jobs go. So when a friend asked if I wanted to take a 5 month adventure to Australia with her, of course I said yes! And you know what? It was awesome and unforgettable. There were so many days when I was there that I just appreciated. I appreciated the fact that I was able to be there. I appreciated the people I'd met, and the beautiful things I got to see. I appreciated my dad giving me some frequent flyer miles to take the edge off the cost of the plane ticket. I appreciated the 3 bedroom, penthouse apartment that I shared with 9 people in downtown Sydney. God, I've never felt so appreciative so many consecutive days in a row! It was awesome.

this is how I look when I'm pretending to be brave. and not think about falling to my death.



the view from my Sydney apartment.


I don't know how I went off on that tangent, but anyway, I'm happy for my brother. He's graduated. He's smart as pants. And he's making twice as much as I am in his first job out of college! Haha, none of that surprises me though.

That reminds me, I should probably get back to work now ;)

Oh - the icing on my good morning cake! My lovely girlfriend telling me that my text this morning gave her butterflies. Gah, I love the crap out of that girl.

Weird

Do you ever have days where you just can't get...comfortable? Physically/mentally. I certainly am having a day like that. My littlest heart won't stop racing, and my eyeballs are seeing bright purple lines from staring at computers all morning. My head feels sort of detached and loopy. Maybe it's this heat that's getting to me! I don't know, but I sure don't like it. Perhaps chugging a cup of hot coffee on an empty stomach when it's 100 degrees outside isn't my best idea. Shocking, I know!

Hello

I would like to share a timeline of my day with you. Please read if you are interested.
- Getting ready for work & watching the news: non stop coverage of a runaway dog. Helicopter footage and comentary. No weather or traffic today! (Don't worry, they caught the dog).
- Late to work due to runaway dog coverage
- Newly died hair is a little bit too dark, me thinks.
- ANDY GRIFFITH HAS PASSED AWAY :(
- Cancelled doctor appointment b/c well, I feel fine thank you!
- Found out that we are NOT getting out of work early today, as previously thought. Ef that.

That's all for now. Stay tuned.
Also, I am going to look for recipes for grilled chicken as tomorrow is the 4th of July and grilling seems appropriate.
Bye!

Observations

I'm reading this book at the moment. It's called Cosmic Consciousness, and if I had to sum up what it's about so far I'd say it's about the evolution of consciousness. Basically, the author is suggesting that there's no reason to believe that our consciousness has/is/ever will stop evolving. I think it's super interesting, and I get excited reading it. It is certainly not an quick read - in fact it reads kind of like a philosophy book with lots of "if this means this, then this logically means this, which in turn would imply that this means this!". I'm still at the beginning of the book, and I can't wait to see how I'm feeling once I reach the end.

Anywho - on one of my favorite bloggy sites, I came across this article: Self Absorbed is the New Normal. In some ways it blends in nicely with the book I'm reading. I think that the increased focus on self awareness has brought about a wave of self absorbed, egotistical, close-minded folks. Of course, that's a sweeping generalization, but I do think it's the product of our current culture.

I'm going to the post office at lunch today :\ wish me luck!

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!